The story of the DCEU is nothing short of an incredible rollercoaster ride. With “Man of Steel” kicking things off with pretty good box office numbers, the Warner Bros. superhero franchise sunk pretty low with “Batman v. Superman” and “Suicide Squad” (not monetarily, mind you, just creatively), but rebounded greatly with “Wonder Woman.” Then came “Justice League,” which not only bombed at the box office but also seemed to put the final nail in the DCEU coffin. But with last year’s “Aquaman” doing record business, the trajectory of the DCEU looks better than ever. And now, after years of experimentation, WB executive Kevin Tsujihara feels they have the formula for success.
READ MORE: Will Smith Is Leaving The ‘Suicide Squad’ Role Of Deadshot
In a new interview with the LA Times, Tsujihara talked the future of the DC superhero film franchise and what lessons were learned by the failures and successes along the way.
“The upcoming slate, with ‘Shazam,’ ‘Joker,’ ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and ‘Birds of Prey,’ feels like we’re on the right track. We have the right people in the right jobs working on it,” said the executive.
So what is the “right track?”
“The universe isn’t as connected as we thought it was going to be five years ago,” explained Tsujihara. “You’re seeing much more focus on individual experiences around individual characters. That’s not to say we won’t at some point come back to that notion of a more connected universe. But it feels like that’s the right strategy for us right now.”
Translation: The DCEU will be moving further and further away from the MCU-level of connectedness and focusing on a very limited continuity.
READ MORE: ‘Aquaman 2’ Has A Release Date But Fans Will Have To Wait Several Years
When he’s asked what was the lightbulb moment for WB, where the studio realized that the path the folks were going down was doomed for failure, the executive pointed to Patty Jenkins and “Wonder Woman” as the beacon of hope, and the blueprint for future success.
“What Patty Jenkins did on ‘Wonder Woman’ illustrated to us what you could do with these characters who are not Batman and Superman,” said Tsujihara. “Obviously, we want to get those two in the right place, and we want strong movies around Batman and Superman. But ‘Aquaman’ is a perfect example of what we can do. They’re each unique and the tone’s different in each movie.”
READ MORE: Jared Leto’s Joker Movies & Time As Character May Be Over At DC Films
Of course, as he mentioned, WB isn’t giving up on Batman, with Matt Reeves helming that character’s new adventures. And as for Superman? Who the hell knows?
WB can’t fully celebrate the revival of the DC superhero film brand until after “Shazam” hits theaters in April. With “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman” proving that WB can make quality (and highly profitable) superhero films, “Shazam” is the test of whether or not their recent goodwill with fans will carry over.
