Well, We Can Throw All That Away, Too

I had just written an article about Clayface saying that its Box Office spelled good things for the DC UniverseThe successor to WB's failed cinematic universe, the DCEU. Headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran, this new DC Universe carries over some continuity from the former film and TV series while crafting a new, rebooted universe for the future. and we were likely going to see James Gunn and Peter Safran heading up the studio for a while… and now I have to retract all of that because, as recently reported, James Gunn and Peter Safran are going to exist the studio very soon. And it’s likely all because the DCU hasn’t been nearly as successful as new DC owners, Skydance, would like.

The things I mentioned initially that were good signs – decent reception for Superman, good performance on streaming for Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and Lanterns, and a solid, if small, showing for Clayface, itself a small budget film – can also be looked at as harbingers. Let’s break it down in detail:

Superman was a solid film that people liked, but its international Box Office (especially in China) was anemic. That can likely be attributed to the fact that Supes is a character tied very tightly to America (his catchphrase was “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” for a long time) and, under Trump, America is not exactly well loved internationally. That, plus changes in superhero performance at the Box Office in general, and the fact that the DC waters were soured by the previous DC Extended UniverseStarted as DC Comics' answer to the MCU, the early films in the franchise stumbled out of the gates, often mired in grim-dark storytelling and the rushed need to get this franchise started. Eventually, though, the films began to even out, becoming better as they went along. Still, this franchise has a long way to go before it's true completion for Marvel's universe., all put Superman at a disadvantage. While it was a Box Office success, it didn’t make a Billion dollars, and some people felt that made it a flop (even if it wasn’t).

There’s no denying that the second film in the new franchise (not counting pre-DCU Gunn works, like The Suicide Squad) was a major bomb, though. Supergirl was aimed to build off the momentum of Superman (and the larger DCU at the time) so it could catapult the franchise to greater heights. Instead it received a so-so critical response, audiences didn’t bother with it, and it didn’t even make enough to cover its budget, let alone actually propel the DCU forward.

And then there’s Clayface, which is doing well for a tiny film. It has made $109 Mil (as of the time of this writing) against its $30 to $44 Mil budget, clearly putting it financially in the black. From the standpoint of a tiny movie about a B-list Batman villain, that’s also a rated-R Body horror flick, Clayface’s performance is actually pretty solid. But, again, it’s a film in the superhero genre and if it doesn’t make hundreds of millions then, somehow, it’s a failure.

The big successes for the franchise came from the streaming television side where all the shows put out so far – Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and Lanterns – have all done boffo numbers. But streaming isn’t Box Office, and while the money brought in from subscriptions can be correlated to views and ratings for television shows, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. It’s pretty clear that the glowing appreciation for these shows didn’t lead to audiences coming out in droves for other works in the universe (because otherwise Supergirl and Clayface would have made way more money), and if your studio is looking at needing to make a lot of money, fast, that just won’t do.

So from a purely financial standpoint we have to all accept that the DCU was doing good, but not great, and that was a death blow for James Gunn and Peter Safran as heads of the studio during a shaky buy out and transition period. Heads were going to roll, as they always do during a merger, and these two didn’t have the performance needed to keep them around as Skydance transitions DC into its next phase. It’s a mercenary action from the studio, but I get it.

At the same time, though, this leaves the DCU on even shakier ground than it was before. Bear in mind that the DCEU had already gone through three supervisory periods before Gunn and Safran took over. Zack SnyderOften reviled for the bombastic and idiotic content of his films, there is no question that what Snyder's movies lack in substance they (at least try to) balance out with flash and style, making him one of Hollywood's top directors... sadly. was the creative driver for the first few movies, with Geoff Johns and Jon Berg leading the division for a couple of films right before Justice League blew up in everyone’s faces. They were replaced with Walter Hamada, and he lasted just long enough to see a half dozen projects all bomb. Gunn and Safran were brought in at the tail end, as Blue Beetle and The Flash both tanked while Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom limped along (and Batgirl was straight up cancelled). They had to reboot the franchise to try and lure people back.

And yet now they’re out, with former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham succeeding them as president and chief creative officer. He will have to try and take the pieces that are still in production – James Gunn’s final two projects at DC, the second season of Creature Commandos along with next Summer’s Man of Tomorrow – and then try to figure out how to carry the franchise forward. I’m sure a few stars will stick around, since they have contracts they’ve signed and bills to pay, but the main creative vision that was behind their projects will be gone. That is going to lead to a shake up within the creative ranks, and maybe a number of characters getting recast.

It also throws any future plans into question. A number of projects Gunn proposed, like Waller and The Authority, functionally became vaporware. But it’s clear there was a Wonder Woman film in early production, and the Batman-centric The Brave and the Bold was also in the works. Many of these projects will likely now be cancelled, and it’s entirely possible that all future projects are scrapped and we get a lull of a year, two, or more while Latcham pivots the studio and figures out what next.

It also means that whatever plan Gunn had for films beyond Man of Tomorrow, likely all of it leading to a Justice League film, are also gone. If he’s stepping down as creative head I have serious doubts that he’ll stick around to continue making films in the franchise. Even if he wanted to (which something tells me he wouldn’t), the studio will want a clean slate without him bumming around. This is all going to get messy, and it’s going to throw a big wrench into DC’s whole works.

All in all this is terrible news if you’re a DC fan. Gunn brought in some hope for the franchise, and the projects he directly worked on were great. He brought his weird, creative energy to everything he touched, which is exactly what DC wanted from him at the time. But DC is going to be different now under Skydance, and his vision wasn’t their vision, clearly. So we probably won’t see a third Superman film from him now, nor third seasons of Creature Commandos or Peacemaker. Everything that was uniquely his will die on the vine with him gone, leaving a ton of loose ends that won’t ever get resolved.

It’s all part and parcel for studio mergers, but that doesn’t make it suck less. Say what you will about what Gunn did with DC Studios, at least it was fresh and different. Now who knows what comes next?