DCEU: Why Are We So Hard On Warner Brothers?

Warner Brothers has placed enormous bets on the success of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). With a pattern of negative fan reaction having developed throughout the release of their first three films, its worth asking if fan expectations are aligned correctly. Our Dewayne Edwards takes up this issue in asking why fans are so hard on Warner Brothers.

DCEU: Why Are We So Hard On Warner Brothers?

We live in the golden age of superhero movies and in an era of movies sharing the same world or universe. Every studio is coming out with their version of a cinematic universe. As we know, the DCEU from Warner Brothers is sort of just getting started in their task of universe building; from their initial efforts with Man of Steel to their most recently released film, Suicide Squad. There now appears to be a common reaction to the DCEU's film from critics and fans that seems to follow a pattern. When comparing the DCEU to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it just seems that we are being much harder on Warner Bros., but why?

Obviously, the DCEU is taking a different approach to their cinematic universe than the MCU is. As we have seen over time, Marvel has taken the slower and safer approach in introducing several characters with solo films before getting to the big team together in The Avengers. That was, arguably, the film that started the trend of sharing the same world or universe because of the positive response by fans. This is a formula that fans have become familiar with. On the other side of the coin, the DCEU is sort of doing it backwards, having multiple popular characters in the same film from the beginning of their cinematic universe; excluding "Man of Steel".

As we know when looking down the slate of films to be released by Warner Bros., there will be more solo superhero films, with a mix of team-ups. Whether or not this approach was taken to catch up to the MCU, it doesn't explain why fans and professional critics seem to have a bias against DCEU films.

As I have stated before, the MCU seems to have a formula down, its a process they have been following since the beginning of their films back with 2008's Iron Man. That film lead to The Avengers. We

Source: Warner Brothers