Is the DCEU being Rebooted?

In January 2016 the world got their first glimpse of the DC Extended Universe in a half hour special dubbed 'Dawn of the Justice League.' At the time we were weeks away from one of the biggest film events of the year, Batman v Superman, and months away from the villain romp Suicide Squad. As we all impatiently waited for those two films we now had an idea of what the future held.

The Flash, Green Lantern corps, Cyborg, Wonder Woman & Aquaman were all announced as upcoming film projects, with Wonder Woman already in production.

We were seeing our favorite comic book characters FINALLY reaching the big screen.

However, since then there have been a few, and that's putting it nicely, changes.

As of right now out of those films announced during that television event, The Flash film is undergoing a page one rewrite while Cyborg hasn't exactly been officially canceled it's probably safe to assume they may be walking away from a solo film about him. Green Lantern is currently being written by David Goyer (Blade Trinity, Batman Begins) Wonder Woman is due to release in less than two months with Justice League following it in November. Finally we have Aquaman merely weeks or even days away from principal production beginning.

So why does any of this sound like we may be getting a REBOOT of the entire Universe?

Honestly, it all comes down to the divisive nature of the past two films, Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. On top of the news (or rumor) that Ben Affleck wants out of playing Batman.

It's also interesting to point out that over the past few months we have been getting announcement after announcement about more films being made within the DCEU.

Gotham City Sirens, Suicide Squad 2, Man of Steel 2, Nightwing & Batgirl are just a few that have been announced and could be in production sooner than The Flash, Green Lantern Corps or Cyborg.

So, maybe it's not right to call this a reboot, maybe the best term to use in this instance is a separate Plan... say, PLAN B.

Plan A was everything announced January of 2016. The dark gritty take on these super heroes, something that I have fully enjoyed, seemed to be their and  Zack Snyder's plan.

Snyder who is an excellent director when it comes to putting comics to screen had a vision that we are seeing play out which started with Man of Steel and will soon be ending with Justice League this November. And while there were rumors earlier in 2017 that he and Geoff Johns had worked on a script or treatment for a Man of Steel sequel you best believe Snyder may be done with DCEU films after this November.

And really It's a shame, I have enjoyed the universe he started and built. I was very intrigued by the idea of placing these heroes in a real life setting while taking a step back, really considering how the world would view those who would be perceived as Gods.

Plan A, in my opinion, would have been an excellent adventure. Unfortunately money speaks and Batman v Superman didn't make as much as the studio, Warner Brothers, wanted. So it seems we will be getting away from the dark gritty take on these characters and possibly shifting more to a tone similar to that of the CWverse (Arrow, Flash, Legend of Tomorrow & Supergirl).

I want to stress TONE here. We wont be getting films that are Soap Opera-esque. And yes those shows have a Soap Opera feel to them, this coming from one of the BIGGEST fans of that universe.

In a recent interview with Geoff Johns, the supposed head of the DCEU, he stated that the films need to make sure they have these three things. Heart, Humor & Heroics.

That's pretty interesting since the three H's are exactly what the CWverse uses on an episode to episode basis. It's also something that the DCEU films, thus far, have lacked.

Look, for every one person that really enjoys what the DCEU has brought, there is probably two who are not a fan. It's no surprise that they want to try and bring those who dislike it back into the fold.

For me, I still believe that Man of Steel is possibly the best superhero film to date, and BvS will be a film that in 10-15 years will be a cult classic. But as we sit here now WB and DC are in transition mode. Will this transition mean Ben Affleck will not longer play Batman after the Justice League film? Does this mean we will be getting a more formulaic strategy similar to Disney's MCU?

These are all things we have to wait and see. But what will be interesting, or maybe disappointing is if Wonder Woman and Justice League both rock only to then be shifted into Plan B.

All I have to say to DCEU fans is to be patient, things are running more smooth than I believe the rumors suggest. With writers and Directors like Matt Reeves, Matthew Vaughn, David Goyer, Joss Whedon, Chris McKay and Mel Gibson all handling or possibly handling some of the properties, it's easy to see things are moving in the right direction. Now if only they could get that Flash movie into the production soon!

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- Robert