Warning: the following contains spoilers for Justice League

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After two polarizing films from director Zack Snyder, Warner Bros. was concerned that the DC Extended Universe wouldn't survive another release with similar issues, so Joss Whedon was brought in to punch up dialogue, lighten the tone, and establish more connective tissue for Justice League. It was widely preached by those involved that Whedon was simply following a roadmap established by Snyder and wouldn't drastically change the plan, but the final product says something else entirely, with obvious Zack Snyderisms kept to an absolute minimum in favor of a far simpler plot and a lot more comedic relief.

Unfortunately, the massive adjustment didn't work out as WB intended. Instead of offering enough Zack Snyder to appease fans of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman mixed with enough Joss Whedon to draw in more casual audiences to love The Avengers, Justice League resulted in what many consider a worst of both worlds situation where an overly simplistic plot and shallow villain are accompanied by tonal whiplash, masked with the obvious seams of reshoots and bad mustache replacements, resulting in another critical lashing, an opening weekend box office that doesn't even hit $100 million, and a second weeked box office where it's overshadowed by a Pixar movie. With Star Wars: The Last Jedi on the way, Justice League's box office troubles will only become worse in the coming weeks.

So, things may seem pretty bleak, but there's a number of things Warner Bros. should do with the DCEU before it needs to consider something as drastic as abandoning a connected universe, shelving team-up films, or rebooting altogether.

joss whedon justice league

One of the most prominent sentiments of fans coming out of Justice League was that "Warner Bros. blinked." After two polarizing Zack Snyder movies leading into Justice League with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, the studio was clearly worried that Justice League would see a similar result and took evasive action to try to salvage the movie, reshooting and re-editing significant portions to simplify the story, lighten the tone, and change the characters - particularly Superman.

On one hand, the decision makes a lot of sense. After taking similarly drastic measures with Suicide Squad, the villain team-up went on to score big at the box office, despite scathing reviews. If the lesson learned by WB in that case was that meddling works - citing box office numbers as evidence - instead of learning that meddling is bad by assuming the reviews wouldn't have been much better with Ayer's original darker take, then the same logic is clearly being applied with Justice League. The only problem is it completely backfired this time.

Instead of potentially sacrificing reviews for box office or vice versa, Justice League split the DC fanbase between those who wanted a proper conclusion to Man of Steel and Batman v Superman and those that wanted something lighter, and the movie ultimately didn't even serve to increase the audience. Justice League ended up not only underperforming but doing so to a tune of $20 million less than the first movie in the franchise, Man of Steel.

It's not even clear that Justice League will even make a profit, but at this point the difference between barely squeaking by with a profit and the amount it should have made is so vast that even a "profitable" Justice League can't be referred to as a success story.

Henry Cavill Superman Mustache Justice League

Fortunately, Justice League is the first DCEU flick that can be definitively considered a bomb. BvS and MoS may have underperformed, but Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman both exceeded expectations, and Warner Bros. had some big hits in 2017, meaning it can afford to take a hit on something like Justice League without having to make snap judgments about canceling, rebooting, or anything of that nature. In fact, the DCEU is currently poised for its best run yet, and WB needs to let it happen.

Aquaman, Shazam, and Wonder Woman 2 are all different from previous DC films and helmed by competent directors. Warners needs to take faith in that fact and not try to change those films in reaction to Justice League. Let James Wan do his thing with Aquaman, let David F. Sandberg do his thing with Shazam, and let Patty Jenkins do her thing (again) with Wonder Woman. If all three of those films can get a positive reaction and do well financially, the failure of Justice League will be ancient history as the franchise moves forward.

That rule shouldn't only apply to the upcoming solo-films either. There's been a lot of discussion suggesting WB may abandon team-ups and more connected movies in favor of smaller stand-alone stories. While more stand-alone movies (taking place within the shared universe but without major crossover) could be a great thing, WB also needs to not blink when it comes to the Justice League and future team-ups. There are currently no Justice League movies on the calendar, but the failure of this first team-up shouldn't deter WB from (carefully) looking into a sequel.

Justice League may have done a dirty job, but now these characters are out there in a way general audiences seem to appreciate more, and the hype generated from the post-credits scene with Luthor and Deathstroke needs to be acted upon. Stuff like the Justice League vs the Injustice League is the reason people show up to these movies in the first place. Putting in the work to make that movie possible, then shying away from the payoff would be a mistake.

Establish a Pattern of Success

One of the biggest takeaways from Justice League's abysmal opening at the box office is that Warner Bros. and DC don't have buy-in from mainstream audiences yet. While consumers know what to expect from some franchises like Star Wars, Marvel, or Fast and Furious, the DCEU has yet to establish itself in the same way. Partly because its initial takes on characters like Superman and Batman were darker than traditional versions and rejected by mainstream moviegoers, but also because there hasn't been enough consistency in the brand to teach audiences what to expect.

Man of Steel and Batman v Superman were both drastic departures from traditional genre conventions, then Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, while they were loosely connected to the larger universe, had little to do with the plot of the Superman trilogy, meaning there hasn't been as much focus on the main Justice League story audiences are expected to invest in. Then there's the quality divide. Wonder Woman is really the only one to stand out as a film everyone agrees is great, and while some might see that as good for the larger DCEU, others see it as the exception that proves the rule.

In order to earn a place on audience's "must see" list, DC Films needs to put together a series of wins so audiences can trust that the DC brand means an enjoyable movie. Marvel has found their secret with a winning formula. While it might mean that many MCU movies follow similar tropes, it does wonders for reviews and box office. Meanwhile, Fox has made a name for the X-Men brand by taking some riskier moves and experimenting with genre. The hard R comedy of Deadpool was followed by the gritty western of Logan, and by now many fans have long forgotten the back to back failures of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men 3.

Given its current lineup, the DC Films universe is poised to begin doing the same thing, maximizing its use of genre to give audiences a variety of experiences and hopefully raise the stock of the brand. Simply serving as a palate cleanser to separate from the more polarizing efforts will be helpful for the universe, but also providing back to back assurances that the DC logo indicates accessibility for general audiences will go a long way.

Lower Budgets

The other lesson the DCEU can take from the X-Men films is that massive budgets aren't a prerequisite for success. Logan and Deadpool are both examples of this, and Wonder Woman also stands as the DCEU's most successful movie, despite its smaller budget. Fortunately, it looks like DC might already be headed this direction, with Aquaman, Shazam, and Wonder Woman 2 likely to see lower budgets as well (although Wonder Woman 2 might see a bump after the success of its predecessor). When it comes to future projects, movies like Nightwing or Deathstroke could both easily take a cue from the John Wick movies, both of which provide some of the highest quality on-screen action for under $40 million each.

The primary benefit of reducing budgets is a major reduction in risk. It's a lot less harmful for a $150 million or less movie to perform poorly than it is for a $350 million movie to flop. On the flip side, as WB saw a number of times in 2017, it's possible for a smaller budget flick like Annabelle: Creation or especially IT to really take off to see profits difficult to realize in movies with far more inflated budgets. And most importantly, they're less likely to see studio interference like Justice League experienced on matters such as runtime.

With a plethora of characters well suited to the sub $100 million approach, the DCEU can start telling stories that fit into the shared universe of the DCEU without drastically impacting the larger stories seen by the Justice League, allowing more experimentation and creativity as it develops and introduces new characters. Think of it like Marvel's Netflix heroes, only in stand-alone movies that actually have a chance of seeing their characters show up in a team-up film. With New Mutants appearing to continue the X-Men franchise's genre experimentation by going into the low budget horror genre, it's easy to dream of the DCEU embracing such a bold take for a comic book movie with a property like Justice League Dark.

The DC Films universe is in a moment of soul searching, with an abysmally low box office haul and a 130,000 signature petition making the rounds demanding an alternate cut of the movie that should be the flagship of the franchise, there's clearly a number of strategic decisions that will need to be made as the franchise moves forward. Treating the above as guiding principles for a sort of "phase 2" of the DCEU is a great first step to bringing audiences back with a diverse selection of quality movies that can help make sure an eventual Justice League 2 sees a greater buy-in than its predecessor.

NEXT: Don't Expect a Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League

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