As the DCEU is set to expand with the upcoming releases of The Flash, Black Adam, and Aquaman 2, the material at hand may become overwhelming to some viewers. Reboots, box office numbers, and film trivia all play a role in the perception of these films: so having the correct information is crucial. Even hardcore D.C. enthusiasts may have missed some of the lesser-known facts, and paying attention to these can be critical for future stories.
In fact, some of the lesser-known facts may alter the audience's perception of the DCEU forever and play a part in upcoming projects. While there will always be "what if's?" in film, executives pay attention to box office numbers, and while some of D.Cs's projects have been met with mixed reactions, the films are breaking box office records. With the most recent material, D.C. is on course to rebranding itself as it continues its rivalry with the MCU.
DCEU Is Not An Official Name
Similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans have been using DCEU to refer to the DC Extended Universe. The term was adopted by fans and figured to be used in DC's production house, films like Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League all "connect" to the same universe.
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In a tweet by Abraham Riesman, a staff writer for Vulture, it is revealed by DC executives that the DCEU term does not originate in-house, and in fact, none of the films are referred to in that term. While this does not change the cinematic universe, it gives some leeway for writers on future projects to establish a new canon in each series.
Christoper Nolan Turned Down The Justice League
During The Dark Knight Rises press tour, speculations began that Nolan would helm a film featuring the Justice League in a battle against evil. However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nolan firmly denied an ensemble film saying "We've had our say on the characters, I've got no plans to do anything more, and certainly no involvement with any Justice League project."
Warner Bros initially planned a Justice League film in 2007, however, after several production issues the film was scrapped. With Nolan's Batman films doing exceptionally well, the director boarded 2013's Man of Steel: this for many was confirming his involvement in the DC universe. While there will always be a "what if?", needless to say: Christoper Nolan delivered on his take of Batman.
Batman V Superman Was More Succesful Than The Avengers On Their First Day
Batman V Superman edged out the second Avenger film: Age of Ultron. The long-awaited showdown between the man of steel and caped crusader scored approximately $27.7 million in ticket sales, a record for Easter weekend pre-show sales. On the other hand, the already established MCU earned $27.6 million on its opening night.
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Snyder's first DC film, Man of Steel, was a different take on the Superman character. Man of Steel ushered in a gritty, realism to Superman, and even though there were mixed reviews on the writing, audiences loved Henry Cavill. His pairing with Ben Affleck's Batman was always going to draw in the ticket sales, and even if the early reviews were mixed, a film containing Batman and Superman will always do well at the box office.
Soundtrack For Batman Begins Has A Secret Message
In the 2005 film Batman Begins, the legendary Hans Zimmer scored the soundtrack and left listeners several easter eggs. First: all tracks within the Batman Begins soundtrack are Latin names for bats: with each track name being specifically created for the scene and named after one of the thousands of bat species in existence. While the names Lasiurus, Molossus, and Eptescicus may sound foreign, the names were chosen for specific tracks in the film.
While Hans is known for his award-winning work, listeners didn't know he had a clever side to him. Another easter egg left in the soundtrack is that the first letter of the 4th-9th song spells out "Batman". Zimmer may have been auditioning for the role of the Riddler long before Paul Dano was cast.
Patty Jenkins Did Not Want Gal Gadot As Wonder Woman, Initially
Patty Jenkins revealed in a Playboy interview that her first reaction to the Gadot casting was "...my heart sank." In her defense, the director wasn't too familiar with Gadot and had always envisioned an "all-American" version of the superhero. However, once she saw more of Gadot's work, she quickly realized that Gal possessed all the mannerisms and qualities to play the powerful Amazon.
"Never judge a book by its cover." The casting worked so well that Jenkins believes the studio did a better job casting Wonder Woman than she could have. To date, the casting of Wonder Woman is one of the most positively received superhero castings ever.
Wonder Woman (2017) Is More Succesful Than Thor (2011) And Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Combined
Patty Jenkin's Wonder Woman outperformed Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger combined at the box office. With a brilliant marketing campaign accompanied by positive reviews, DC's Wonder Woman hauled in a staggering $821 million.
While the MCU is a global juggernaut by this point, casual movie-goers may have not been familiar with the stories of Thor and Captain America. On the other hand, Wonder Woman has been a cultural icon for decades. The two MCU films were the stepping stones of the sort, while Wonder Woman already had the character's global popularity.
Bill Finger Was A Major Contributor To Creating Batman
Bill Finger was an American comic strip, comic book, and film writer, who was a co-creator of Batman. His contribution to Batman was always attributed to a ghostwriter. Bill Finger was responsible for a cowl, cape, gloves, and removing red sections from the original costume, and most notably, Finger was responsible for the name: Bruce Wayne.
Unfortunately, Finger passed away in 1974 in poverty and obscurity while the Batman brand amassed global popularity. In 2015, DC Comics' parent company agreed to recognize Finger's intellectual property, and with the help of Bill Finger's only remaining heir, his granddaughter: Athena Finger, the fight to restore his lost legacy continues. A true pillar of pop culture, Bill Finger and Bob Kane are both responsible for the Batman audiences know and love today.
Gal Gadot Almost Appeared In Man Of Steel
This was years before Gadot was cast as Wonder Woman. After her film debut in the Fast and Furious franchise, Gal was approached for a role in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, but not as a hero. In the film, Zod's second-in-command is Faora-UI, played by Antje Traue. While unconfirmed, this was certainly the role pitched as she described the character being "the evil Superman character".
Fortunately for her, she was pregnant. Gadot has mentioned how she would have taken the role if it had not been for her pregnancy, however, Gadot realizes she would have never been selected to be Wonder Woman. While a supporting role in any Superman film would be a great addition to a resume, it does not have quite the same ring as playing the most iconic woman superhero of all time and earning over $800 million at the box office.
Wonder Woman's "No Man's Land" Battle Was Almost Cut
One of the most iconic scenes from Wonder Woman almost didn't make it. Patty Jenkins revealed in an interview with Fandango that some of the film's creative members were hesitant to include the impactful scene: which ironically turned out to be many of the team's favorite part of the movie. Those hesitant at first mentioned that it wouldn't make sense, "how many soldiers would she fight? How many bullets can she block?"
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Jenkins saw this moment as a transformation for Diana, it's the moment she truly becomes Wonder Woman. She became so confident in the idea that she storyboarded the sequence herself to sell the visual aspects of the scene fully. She is right, while the film had many key moments to the origin of Wonder Woman, this scene, in particular, showed the bravery and confidence from within, removing any self-doubt the princess may have once had.
Adam Driver And Joaquin Phoenix Were Up For The Role Of Lex Luthor
Joaquin Phoenix passed on the role, and eventually took on his iteration of the Joker, in the 2019 film, Joker. Ultimately this decision nabbed Phoenix his first Academy Award for Best Actor. On the other hand, audiences may have had a much different take on Luthor as Adam Driver who was also offered the role, however, due to scheduling conflicts he also declined.
Once these two actors had turned Luthor down, the studio decided to go toward a young Luthor, choosing the witty, quick-spoken Jesse Eisenberg. In one of the more controversial castings, Eisenberg gave an extremely unique take on Lex Luthor. Opting for a more "outcast-genius" type, the typically bold and confident Luthor was played in a soft-spoken, yet maniacal tone.