The DC Extended Universe shouldn’t follow the example of its rival connected universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe – but its Batman movies should. The superhero genre has been going through a very successful run thanks to the adaptation of popular superheroes to the big screen in big-budget productions and as part of big, connected universes, the most important ones being the DCEU and the MCU.
The MCU has stood out for its more realistic approach to its superheroes and their stories, while the DCEU has gone through a couple of obstacles that have forced Warner Bros. to rethink its plan. The DCEU started in 2013 with Man of Steel, and its next movie brought Superman and Batman together in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After the release of Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, the DCEU went through a rough patch with Justice League, which was poorly received and prompted the studio to change its plan when it comes to its DC Comics heroes. Its biggest change was the inclusion of a multiverse, which is making it possible for it to have different Batmans: Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson, and Michael Keaton, who is set to return in The Flash after playing the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns.
Since its beginning, the DCEU has been endlessly compared to the MCU in every aspect – from its tone to its stories and how it has handled crossovers, with most of those comparing and criticizing both universes forgetting that they are very different worlds. The DCEU, then, has already made the mistake of trying to copy the MCU model, and it’s now correcting its path with movies like Birds of Prey and the upcoming Batman reboot with Robert Pattinson, and it should avoid falling into the “MCU copy” trap – however, there’s one division within the DC Films’ multiverse that should follow the MCU’s example, and it's this universe’s Batman movies.
The Batman universe shouldn’t just be focused on Batman and his development through the years, as Pattinson will begin as a young Bruce Wayne on his second year fighting crime in Gotham, with the rest of the characters – both allies and villains – being left as supporting ones. Instead, the Batman side of DC’s universe should be a shared one where the characters from the Batman comics, including its villains, get a chance to shine at some point. The MCU has done so with a variety of superheroes – from classic ones like Captain America and Spider-Man to more modern ones like the Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’s now turning the spotlight towards some of its villains, most notably Loki, who is getting his own TV show. The Batman universe is very rich and has a wide variety of characters with different backgrounds, abilities, and goals, which would make a “Gothamverse” a much more interesting (and profitable) idea than trying to fit the DCEU into the MCU model.
The DCEU has some exciting projects coming up that don’t require that it copies the MCU’s example, and with the multiverse only getting started, the possibilities for it are endless. Batman, on the other hand, is about to start a new phase in its film history with Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which can make way for a bigger shared universe if Warner Bros. decides to go on that route, making it a lot more exciting.
