How DC Can Catch Up to Marvel’s Success
As the super hero movie wars heat up, there seems to be one studio that definitively leads this race - Marvel. They’ve managed to turn out a lot more movies than any of the other studios and they’ve done this despite having a limited pool of (sometimes lesser) characters to work with. The Disney/Marvel machine is in full effect and, as they move into their “Phase 3” with Guardians of the Galaxy, they don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
So what are the other studios to do if they want to bite off a big piece of this delicious money pie? Well, the folks controlling the X-Men are looking to branch out and expand off of their rich piece of the universe. And the Spider-Man crew is doing much the same thing, despite having one of the most limited selections of characters to work with. The big contender, however, is likely to be Warner Bros./DC. Though they’ve done little in the way of trying to catch up thus far, I would argue that matching Marvel in their success isn’t something as far out of reach as many might think. Today I present a list of five things that Team DC could do to improve their position within the contentious world of super hero movies.
1 - Make More Movies
By far the biggest thing that DC needs to do is to crank out more movies. They made the Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel, but little else has come out of that camp. Green Lantern? That one was a travesty and did little to improve their standing. They need to stop, take a deep breath and then hurriedly start hiring up some top-notch writers to give life to the many interesting characters that they have control over.
The next on their list is the Batman vs. Superman flick, but even that won’t be hitting theaters until summer of 2016. That’s three years between it and Man of Steel. With Marvel putting out two movies every year, DC will keep falling behind. Unless, that is, they put forth the effort to give characters like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (in a reboot, please), The Teen Titans and other popular faces some of their own screen time. This doesn’t mean they have to rush the process, but they do need to think more seriously about using the resources at their disposal.
2 - Make More TV Shows
This is one aspect of success that DC seems to be taking seriously. They already have Arrow, a series that is miles ahead of its chief competitor, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., at least as far as quality goes. They don’t have the ratings yet, but quality speaks for itself and the more they invest into developing their TV potential, to more they’ll see fans flock to watch.
They’ve taken two major steps in putting together both the
Marvel is trying hard to fight the TV wars in their own way by producing a series of different shows via Netflix, but whether they’ll be as well-written and expertly put together as Arrow remains to be seen. As long as DC puts as much effort into the two new shows (and potentially into future shows), they’ll remain the top dogs of super hero television.
3 - Integrate TV and Film
This is one thing that DC has said it won’t be doing, but if they don’t take advantage of the ability to combine their audiences, it will be a huge mistake. How many people would suddenly tune in to see Arrow if Henry Cavill’s Superman decided to show up for an episode or two? How many people would want to investigate Arrow if they saw Steve Amell show up in one of the big screen super hero adaptations?
Plain and simple, DC needs to tap their loyal fan base so they can spread. People that adore Arrow are more likely to go see the new Batman vs. Superman flick simply because it’s the same universe. They’ll go see it even more readily if they feel that the stories are connected in some significant way. Marvel is already doing this with S.H.I.E.L.D. (albeit in a limited fashion) and DC can not afford to pass up the opportunity they have in front of them.
4 - Take Advantage of the DC Universe
One of the greatest strengths that DC has in the super hero media war is that their universe is complete. They have no need to hedge around the fact that other studios own characters within their universe. Anyone and everyone that is DC are under their control. Thus, they can approach their productions from a wider variety of angles. It also allows them to create a consistent and fully fleshed-out universe that spreads across all their properties.
By deciding which characters and stories are best suited for TV vs. movies, DC can create a barrage of properties and entice fans of one character or super team into exploring the rest of the DC universe. Of course, this requires that they pay attention to suggestions 1 to 3 on my list. All the interesting and unique characters in the world can’t help them if they let them get dusty in storage.
5 - Pay Attention to Casting
One of the biggest beefs that people seem to have with DC revolves around their casting choices. Ben Affleck as Batman put people close to rioting. Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor received its own fair share of derision. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman caused another outcry from the Internet community. But I would argue that DC is doing exactly what they need to be doing to be successful.
The casting for DC movies straddles the line between big-named, easily recognizable actors and actresses and those that are more unknown or don’t seem to fit the part. To me, this proves that the casting folks at WB are paying very special attention to every decision. They took nearly a year just to cast the three main characters for Batman vs. Superman. They’re not rushing into these things like some may think. Each casting choice is incredibly deliberate, which means it’s very likely that all relevant folks involved with production (director, producers, casting) are putting in their two cents regarding casting.
Despite the outrage from fanboys and fangirls, DC needs to hold true to this pattern and continue to make surprising choices regarding their characters, particularly the iconic ones such as Batman, Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor. They proved they know what they’re doing with Heath Ledger as the Joker and Cavill as Superman. If they continue to surprise us, we shall be impressed. Marvel, on the other hand, seems to play it safe most of the time. The actors in their movies aren’t bad, but neither are they something to write home about (with a few exceptions).
So, DC, are you listening? If you want to play catch up rather than just picking up the scraps, get to it. You have an amazing universe to work with and a great many people are sitting around waiting for you to put your cards on the table.
Photo Credits -
DC vs Marvel courtesy of fanpop.com
Arrow courtesy of collider.com
Arrow and Superman courtesy of comicbook.com
DC Heroes courtesy of mynerfherder.com
Luthor Eisenberg courtesy of totalfilm.com
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