In case you missed it, DC Films and Matt Reeves may not have broken the Internet, but they damn sure throttled Twitter with a surprise new trailer about his mercurial vision of “The Batman.”
See The Bat and The Cat in 4k right now. Watch the new trailer for #thebatman here: https://t.co/wAkCgGPhpH
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) December 27, 2021
There it is: “The Bat and the Cat” and nerd pants flew everywhere! No one was expecting it, and everyone praised it. You know, unlike the reactions for most of what Warner Media has cranked out to sojourn their comic universe.
This post is not full of reasons highlighting where DC Films has failed. Also, this will not be a Marvel lauding. It is no secret what Kevin Feige developed was a master class in world-building, storytelling, and character development.
It was an 11-year course of expert angling—the bait was Marvel’s classic characters, and he reeled us all in with a potpourri of origin stories and great marketing.
Then, there is the ham-handed partnership between Warner Media and DC Films. Each time there was development to the Promised Land, the duo encounters some colossal fart-and-fall-down moment that propels those two eons backward from where Marvel stood. From the moment “Man of Steel” ended, fans knew they were a few planets short of an entire extended universe.
It’s Their Fault in the Stars
Look at the timeline from when Toby Emmerich, Walter Hamada, and the rest of the keystone cops decided to make the DCEU. It all began with a vision of another comic multiverse—DC Films and Warner Bros. brought us “Man of Steel.”
It was a revelation of origin stories and one immense trampoline for DC Comics to jump into action and give Marvel a run for their money. Both a Nolan and a Snyder touch? Please. That film was beautiful, visceral, and somehow familiar. Unfortunately, that’s when the trampoline’s springs busted, and that vision went blind.
2016
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
No one was utterly embracing the thought of Bats and Supes whooping each other, but that post-credit scene was promising. The leaks about Deathstroke. People were coming around on Batfleck. And then, Gal Gadot stunned everyone as Diana of Themyscira. This could work.
Suicide Squad
David Ayer at the helm of a DC movie was a bonafide hit. And, financially, it was. How can anyone say a film tanked when it made $750 million?! Yet everyone did. DC fans were looking for a smooth path to a full “Justice League” promise, and they were forced to watch Tier Two and Three characters?
2017
Wonder Woman
Still no Batfleck solo film. Still no sequel to “Man of Steel.” Yet, a third in the DC Trinity needed an origin story. With World War I as a backdrop, Patty Jenkins’ depiction was gold. Well, except for that bootleg pyrite villain we got. Ares?! If that was the God of War, no wonder Zeus eventually died.
Justice League
Suffice to say, there is nothing positive to share except that it showed what can happen when nerds unite without falling to the temptation of trolling. That was majestic. And then, there was the rest of the “Josstice League.”
2018
Aquaman
If any schlep still wanted to hashtag Warner Bros. to death, this was the reason they should have stopped. DC and James Wan brought WB their first $1 billion movie. It was a vision to behold but not to hear. That soundtrack was a fork piercing an eardrum. A love song…in a CBM…with words?! Can’t they do anything at WB without tripping over a collection of Marvel graphic novels?
2019
Shazam
The wisping gasp of fresh air all DC fans needed. It was not dark and dreary. There was humor and that pedestrian “Flash just saw a girl’s boobies” humor. It was canon and lighthearted. And David F. Sandberg should have dipped in bronzer because he was practically worshipped after those rolling credits and a post-credits scene that had a bit of promise.
Now, we are showing two movies each year—Margot Robbie was in two of them, and one was the promise of what could have been. The DCEU is dead. Stop holding your breath, fans. You will choke and die because the DCEU is, in fact, dead. But…there is a lightning bolt of hope.
Three Movies, Two Worlds, One New Universe
For those still praying to sweet baby Jesus that they will restore the Snyderverse or resurrect the DCEU, please jump to world peace or fighting cancer. “Black Adam” was the death knell in the DCEU coffin. However, there is ample reason to shout for joy!
Doctor Fate. Isis. Cyclone. Hawkman. Dwayne Johnson is bringing us the Justice Society of America. You heard it here first. We have seen Atom and The Flash. Stargirl has been on the WB, and Black Canary was on “Birds of Prey.” Look up the characters. The JSA is on the way. Your prayers have been answered.
Next, we have a multiverse in DC. Warner Media looked at something the nerd-savant Kevin Feige was doing, and straight-up copied it. They missed doing that with setting up a multiverse and master post-credit bliss, but we’re getting a Flash origin and multiverse, with the O.G. Batman, no less.
Is it just me, or does DC Films and Warner Bros….eh, Media look like they finally have this thing figured out? On the left, we have Matt Reeves, who has any comic fan kneeling at his altar because the umpteenth different Batman looks like he could be the first Batman, and it does not matter. Those trailers, those villains, and Nirvana. Oh, hells yeah!
Matt Reeves has already said this will not be part of any extended universe. And that’s fine. Nolan’s take was not either, and it is still the best thing WB and DC have ever done together. So, high hopes for Paul Dano destroying everyone’s expectations. (Yes, he will outshine Battinson. Dude is freakishly talented.)
It took WarnerMedia and DC Films half of a decade to realize they have been outworked, outsmarted, and outdone in every category possible. The Infinity Saga was one of the most outstanding cinematic achievements ever. It was Fritz Lang and “Metropolis,” Hitchcock’s welcome to horror, Bruce Lee’s creation of martial arts storytelling, Bullet Time in “The Matrix,” Real3D in “Avatar”… this was a big deal!
We have 23 movies, 11 years, 1 story. Yes, DC and WB have sucked wind for years, but it looks like they are done with the banana in the tailpipe and getting back to making stellar movies with amazing characters. And it all starts next April.
You’ve been alerted. Get your popcorn ready!
Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.
