Summary
- The DCEU’s biggest problems could have been solved by adding TV shows to the lineup, but Warner Bros. ignored this solution.
- Introducing TV shows could have addressed the dark tone, pacing issues, and lack of screen time for iconic characters in the DCEU.
- The DCEU likely avoided creating TV shows due to the success and popularity of the Arrowverse, which already had a large fanbase.
The DCEU‘s three biggest problems had an easy solution, but DC parent studio Warner Bros. — now Warner Bros. Discovery — ignored it. The DCEU will end this December with the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, making way for James Gunn’s new DC Universe. Gunn choosing to reboot the DCEU with the upcoming DCU once he became DC Studios’ creative head has likely to do with the many problems that plagued the DCEU over the years. From the best to the worst DCEU movies, the shared DC film universe faced a series of issues that led to divisive reception for pretty much every new film.
The DCEU received complaints for its handling of DC’s iconic characters. Even though director Zack Snyder’s vision for the DCEU was divisive, it is clear that he had a distinct plan for the franchise; however, to make matters worse, Warner Bros. ended up parting ways with Snyder before he could complete his vision. That led to the DCEU remaining aimless for the rest of its run after Snyder left 2017’s Justice League. Even though 2022’s Black Adam tried to put the DCEU back on track, it was too little too late. Three problems arose as the biggest DCEU issues, and there was an easy solution — only Warner Bros. ignored it.
DCEU’s Most Complained About Issues Had A Perfect TV Show Fix
The DCEU suffered from three big issues: its overall dark tone, poor pacing on multiple projects, and iconic characters not having enough screen time. While there were many controversies over the years that DCEU executives couldn’t have planned for, the three major problems with the shared movie universe could have been dealt with by adding TV series to the DCEU’s lineup. Gunn’s DC universe has announced that DC’s upcoming movies will be accompanied by TV shows, animation, and video games, so it was definitely possible for the DCEU to have expanded its horizons.
By introducing TV shows set in the DCEU, the universe could have solved its major problems somewhat easily. The DCEU movies became known for their overall dark tone, which suited some projects and characters but failed to generate public acclaim when employed with characters that are supposed to be lighter, like Superman. The DCEU’s series could have been more light-hearted in tone, helping balance the universe’s output to speak to both sides of DC fans.
Some DC movies dealt with pacing issues, and those could have been resolved by turning them into series instead; also, the DCEU needed to have some origin stories to properly set up Justice League‘s cast, and DCEU TV shows could have handled at least some of those. Finally, Superman and several DCEU characters were absent for long periods, and that could have been mitigated with appearances in DCEU series between their movie roles.
Why The DCEU Avoided Creating TV Shows
The most likely reason why the DCEU never had TV shows was due to there already being a shared DC TV universe in play — the Arrowverse. While the DCEU was going through a rough patch, the Arrowverse thrived, with DC even having Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen cameo in the Arrowverse’s groundbreaking Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover to get audience interest up for this year’s The Flash movie. With the Arrowverse at the height of its popularity for most of the DCEU’s life — having a large fanbase — Warner Bros. ended up never developing TV shows for the DCEU, and so the universe’s biggest problems remained unsolved.
