What An Amazing Time To Be A Fan Of DC Movies!
First and foremost, let me start this by saying I am a film fan before I’m a comic book fan. Superheroes made me fall in love with them through their movies long before I even picked up a comic. Tim Burton’s ‘Batman‘ intrigued me but ‘Spawn’ or ‘Blade‘ really showed me the dark side of comics. Fast forward to 2016 San Diego Comic-Con and I’m reminded all over again why I love superheroes & film. DC released two trailers on Saturday for ‘Justice League‘ AND ‘Wonder Woman‘; showcasing their Extended Universe after ‘Batman v Superman‘.
Seeing the first looks at both films comes as a pleasant surprise and continues the very polarizing marketing style of Warner Bros. and DC Comics. They are bold and brash; seemingly showing you too little and too much all at the same time. If you didn’t see ‘Batman v Superman’ by now then the ‘Justice League’ trailer completely thrust you into the world created in that so watch at your own risk.
“So I heard you talk to fish.”
–Bruce Wayne to Aquaman
We now get to see Bruce Wayne try to bring a team together to fight the evil forces Lex Luthor hinted at. It’s awesome to see more of Ben Affleck as Batman in this trailer because he really was the best part of BvS. There is some great scenes with Barry Allen AKA The Flash where Bruce easily gets Flash to join him, much to even Bruce Wayne’s surprise. Their characters have interacted before but that was in one of the many surreal sequences in ‘Batman v Superman’. Now ‘Justice League‘ is showing us the aftermath of that and all the files found bout metahumans. The most intriguing “meta” shown here has to be Aquaman. He is handled with a great mystique and looks to maybe be a minor problem for the team. Atlantis is known to be a little aggressive at times…
What I love most about what Zack Snyder and Geoff Johns have created in the DC Extended Universe is this mashup and homage to different stories and universes within all of DC lore. Instead of just focusing on telling one story we’ve told before, the filmmakers are showing use new inspired stories. I find that refreshing; it brings something new to the film and keeps me on my toes on what’s to come.
Also, the stylized filmmaking of both ‘Justice League‘ and Patty Jenkins ‘Wonder Woman‘ offer something fresh for the genre. Not since ‘Watchman‘ has the world of comics looks so visually stunning and each DCEU film keeps looking better. Complaints rolled in about the slow-motion used but that’s a signature that I think keeps the films on brand. The overall color palette of the films also look different from one another and the previous films. Some superhero brands can all get muddled together but these have wonderful distinctions between pieces.
“What’s a secretary?”
–Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman
‘Wonder Woman‘ is turning out to be this beautiful epic. Reminiscent of classic war and fantasy films, the first trailer has sold many others on her solo outing. After being introduced in ‘Batman v Superman‘, we finally get to see where the mysterious Wonder Woman came from and how she was introduced to America. Mix all of this and her hilarious scene with Bruce in the ‘Justice League‘ trailer and I’m more excited for Gal Gadot’s ‘Wonder Woman‘ film than anything else. Viewers agree as her trailer is leading the ‘Justice League‘ trailer in views on Youtube.
So what’s to come? These were just the Comic-Con trailers for the film so don’t expect to see any other looks at the films for months. We can expect much hype leading up to the 2017 releases. Viewers still have ‘Suicide Squad‘ to look forward to. Many are suspecting that will further establish the universe and the upcoming ‘Justice League‘. Who knows what kind of madness lies within that film.
These movies give me an overwhelming feeling of joy. As someone who doesn’t enjoy the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’ve been desperate for something different. I’m happy that my hopes have been answered with the DCEU. It feels like someone crafted together this universe with things I enjoy like extremely dark humor & an astounding visual style. My only fear is the upcoming films will lose the social commentary that ‘Batman v Superman‘ had. I don’t want it replaced it with mindless action. Nonetheless, this feels like Christmas for fans of DC movies.
Are you excited for the upcoming DC Extended Universe films?
Which one are you most looking forward to?
Let me know in the comments below!
