After years of empty talk, DC finally got its act together and released a comprehensive list of upcoming movies. Marvel did this years ago with Iron Man, Captain America and Thor movies leading into The Avengers, and DC plans to take a similar route.
But there was a slight hitch in their plan. Batman v. Superman, a movie that was supposed to lay the groundwork and hype the upcoming movies, just flat out stunk. Yeah, it did well at the box office, but Zack Snyder could have filmed a two-and-a-half hour game of Risk and still made a shit ton of money with Batman and Superman attached to the title. In the end, it was super confusing and cluttered. For a movie that was supposed to be dark vs. light, Batman and Superman were awfully mopey and dreary.
DC still has a chance, however, to set up its universe right. Suicide Squad, coming out in August, seems like it will be everything Batman v. Superman was not. While critics berated BvS for being too dreary and overly self serious, Suicide Squad, at least in the trailers, seems fun and lighthearted yet still dark in the right places.
Batman V Superman is somehow more boring than it is strange https://t.co/brmOEhCw8E pic.twitter.com/EhTaj9rZxR
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) March 26, 2016
Suicide Squad looks like a breath of fresh air from the depressing universe Snyder created in Batman v Superman. The Joker and Batfleck cameos look like they’re well planned, rather than jammed in. Margot Robbie looks ready to steal the show and not just because of her outfit. The film seems more like a Marvel movie, in the sense that it appears like everyone’s having a good time.
DC desperately needs fuel to keep the hype train going between now and the summer of 2017, when Wonder Woman and Justice League come out. But BvS barely got the engine warm. Marvel was able to smoothly segue into Avengers by showing fans it could be trusted to make consistently good movies. The age of Christopher Nolan, of Dark Knight fame, is long gone for DC, and there isn’t much faith they won’t butcher Justice League like they did BvS.
Suicide Squad will be the test case to see if Justice League will work. Successfully managing an ensemble cast of super-powered personalities will prove to fans and critics that DC has the chops to flesh out this expanded universe of titles. And maybe, dare I say, achieve the impossible and make a decent Aquaman movie.