The MCU Exchange has put together a fantastic super cut trailer that shows how the plot lines that will explode in Captain America: Civil War have been slowly converging over the course of the first two phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s a fantastic tribute, really, to the plotting and pre-planning that has made the MCU such a success and the lack of it has caused the DC Cinematic Universe to barely get off the ground. There are just as many pieces in play in Captain America: Civil War as there are in Batman vs. Superman, if not more. However, I’m not worried at all about Civil War, and I’m dreading BvS.
The Russo Brothers have proven themselves with Cap 2, and the MCU has proven itself time and again. I hear a lot of blowback on Age of Ultron online, but the movie was good. Was it the best MCU film? No. Do you realize how high that bar is now? AOU, I think was wrongly anticipated to be a climax like the first Avengers film was. In reality, it was much more like Iron Man 2 in that it established several other movies, moved the story along and served as a pivot. I think Civil War is actually the movie that people thought AOU was going to be, because this is the one that will change things forever. I know that’s tried and true comic book hype, but it’s accurate. The MCU as we know it will cease to exist after Civil War hits on May 3, 2016.
I’m worried about BvS too, but “dread” is a strong word, because there’s always a chance that it will work. Zack Snyder is a crazy person (in a good way) who held back on MOS, but BvS looks like it might be an insanely ambitious risk instead of a product of corporate groupthink. And if that’s the case, there’s at least a possibility it’s a hit.
That makes an MCU shakeup a really good idea. Disney needs to experiment with the canvas, but the tone needs to shift a bit, too. I’m not talking Watchmen, I just think there’s a need for the MCU people to adapt to a world with more than one ongoing nerd franchise.
Pretty soon, the MCU is going to get overly familiar, especially in the face of this shiny new thing called Star Wars, as well as the DCCU, which right now could go either way.
Worst-case BvS scenario…
It really did have a production budget of 400 million. It tries to be dark and mature, but Deadpool was dark, mature, and FUNNY, and the pretentiousness and self-importance of BvS will be thrown into relief.
The BvS cinematography is murky, especially in 3D, there are way too many characters, the plot is muddled, the run time is bloated, and the audience becomes desensitized to the action and CGI midway through.
WB’s short-sighted response to Deadpool was to celebrate the fact that an R-rated version of BvS will be available exclusively on Blu-Ray, and this is a huge mistake in two ways. First, a lot of parents are going to keep their kids away, because the film already looks DARK, and now it’s being discussed in the same sentence as an R rating. And some parents who are not paying attention will think the theatrical version is R.
Second, Deadpool is Deadpool. It’s kind of obscure, and has never been aimed at kids, ever. But a movie about Batman and Superman cannot be primarily targeted at adult nerds, and an R-rated version appeals to adult nerds exclusively. WB needs to be focusing its energy on roping in kids and casual fans. The adult nerds will be there no matter what.
When BvS is a relative failure, WB shifts gears again, comically fast. Instead of continuing to emulate Deadpool by pushing the R-rated envelope, WB fires Zack Snyder, ruins Suicide Squad through reediting, and fast-tracks Affleck’s solo movie, because he is the one part of BvS that is well-received. But all this talk of Justice League being right on schedule is a lie. WB is obviously waiting to see how BvS pans out.
Best case scenario: BvS is awesome.
We’ll have to wait and see.
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Ok, here’s the thing that people don’t get about what I’ve dubbed “The Deadpool Effect”: it didn’t work because the movie was R. It worked because comedies are at such a dismal ebb that this is probably the funniest film in the last two or three years, plus it had a kick-butt super hero film on top of it. Wolverine going R is something everyone has always wanted to see, so ok. But BvS? No. They’re not R-rated characters, and the last thing the DCCU needs is to get grimmer and grittier. It seems like the only cohesive thing about it is GRIM AND GRITTY. The MCU yeah is due for a darker tonal shift because we’re ramping up to the INFINITY WAR. It’s all on the line. Darkest before the dawn, and they’ll still mix up the tone as they’ve done all along. They’re freaking masters at it. We haven’t really had a dark, tragic MCU film yet, and I think they’ll bring some funny but this is going to be dead serious business. Bucky is trying to shoot Tony in the face in that last trailer. But after this we get intros to Dr. Strange, Spidey and Black Panther before we dive back into what is sure to be another dark film in Thor: Ragnarok. But then here come Guardians Volume 2! So they’re mixing it well even though it’s turning darker. My prediction for BvS is similar to yours. I think 50-60% RT, $400 million domestic, an opening way below Deadpool’s, and massive panicky, reactionary fallout. I don’t think they’ll mess with Suicide Squad because it is kind of part of the Batverse with Batman in the film so assuming that what people take from this is “Batman rocks….WTF?”, I don’t think they mess with that and WW is already filming, but yeah, I think Snyder is done and the solo Batman film will be made while they rethink everything else. They better not fire Henry Cavill, because I truly like him as Superman and I think they’re going to ruin him in this film and blame it on him. I’ll be binge watching Daredevil season 2 which releases that same day before seeing BvS.
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Need I point out that WB would have been smarter if they had simply rebooted the Batman universe, then slowly moved from there? Affleck’s older, grizzled, Frank Miller-esque take is very different from anything film audiences have seen before, and I think it might have been extremely popular, despite the close proximity to Nolan’s trilogy.
Bruce Wayne needed to be carefully positioned as the Tony Stark of the DCCU, because only Batman (out of all the DC heroes) has a proven track record on film, at least in the modern era. A Batman-centric franchise still could have brought in Superman, and the two of them could have still gone at it. But Superman would not have had to carry any movies by himself, or stand on equal footing with Batman. Suicide Squad could have still gone forward, establishing the Joker as a leading man of sorts and opening up a whole new vista in the process.
But now… too much, too fast. The DC characters are just not as appealing as the Marvel ones, except for Batman, who is nothing but charisma. WB needed to lead with their best foot forward.
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