Of course, we all know how that turned out. Warner Bros were set to kick things off with a Superman movie, the most recognisable superhero of them all, led by a dream team of Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan and things, well, they looked incredibly rosy. In sizing up the DCEU’s premier super team, there’s a Wonder Woman and an Aquaman in there too that seem to be doing alright, but overall, it is hardly the all-conquering force that Warner Bros was dreaming of when it looked enviously at the monsoon of cash and adulation showering Marvel Studios’ 2012 team-up extravaganza, The Avengers.Īt that point in time, Warner Bros was deep in production on 2013’s Man Of Steel, the studio’s own opening foray into a superhero shared universe.

One of those Caped Crusaders happens to be Michael Keaton’s take on the Dark Knight and we’ll be returning to him shortly. A Cyborg who has heaped damaging allegations upon the company, A Flash mired in legal woes who audiences have little appetite for, A Superman that nobody seems to know what to do with and yep, those three Batmen. Whilst that might simply be part of the process of getting Krypton’s Last Son back to cinemas, it is also entirely emblematic of Warner Bros’ handling of the DCEU in general: haphazard oversight, flawed storytelling and a few circumstances largely beyond its control have resulted in the studio assembling a Justice League for the ages. Marvel on the other hand? Despite being almost 30 films deep, (not to mention the wealth of TV shows,) the MCU hasn’t even introduced two of its biggest hitters yet with the X-Men and Marvel’s ‘first family’, the Fantastic Four, set to make their bows in the next few years.Īlthough there is a danger that Warner Bros could overexpose its most valuable characters, word on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ new movie take on Superman has gone ominously quiet, as has the rumoured Michael B Jordan take on the character. Yes, it might possess a slew of characters that are more iconic, but the studio has run roughshod through those big names in the last nine years with three Batmen having suited up, not to mention the incumbent Superman set to be joined by at least one other incarnation of the character, perhaps even two. Try three issues of Film Stories magazine – for just £1!: right here!

Batman forever movie official poster