In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Geoff Johns and John Berg, the DCEU’s appointed senior creatives who are co-producing the upcoming “Justice League” movie, set the record straight on what the tone for films will be.
“Mistakenly in the past I think the studio has said, ‘Oh, DC films are gritty and dark and that’s what makes them different.’ That couldn’t be more wrong. It’s a hopeful and optimistic view of life. Even Batman has a glimmer of that in him. If he didn’t think he’d make tomorrow better, he’d stop.”
John Berg confirms that Warner Bros. has been disappointed at the critical reviews that both “Batman v Superman” and “Suicide Squad” received saying, “To have these characters be part of the fabric of pop culture is so rewarding, though of course we’re disappointed the movies weren’t better reviewed.”
On the back of such backlash it was reported that Warner Bros. had pushed to have the tone of “Justice League” changed somewhat. Berg confirms that as well.
“We accelerated the story to get to the hope and optimism a little faster.”
This aim for “hope and optimism” isn’t just something Warner Bros. and DC Comics are aiming for in their films, it’s a company-wide approach, as seen in the comic books with the recent launch of the “Rebirth” era.
“We’re trying to take a really hard look at everything,” said Geoff Johns, “to make sure we stay true to the characters and tell stories that celebrate them.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
‘Dark and gritty world’ is what it became when I think they were shooting for ‘more realistic world.’ I think the tone was meant to be serious and not dark. I think that was evident with MOS, but BvS was definitely dark. I hope they don’t do a complete 180 and make these new movies lighthearted because that will be a jarring change. If they do if gradually and progress naturally then it will work. However, DC and WB are known for their knee jerk reactions. As many have said, the world can be dark but the heroes have to… Read more »
I agree somewhat. Their intention was to do “movies with superheroes”, which is why the universe seems to come off as dark and gritty. To me, the only thing realistic about the DCEU so far is the reactions of the people towards the superheroes and the superheroes reactions to their surroundings. Can’t say there’s anything realistic about a man who can survive a nuke, pull a tanker, and fly while shooting energized heat from his eyes; and pushing a bus out of a river with one hand as a 13-year-old kid. Shoot, I can’t even give realistic to Batman. Never… Read more »
sundevil82 in all honesty, Batman didn’t murder anyone… He just didn’t go out of his way to “Save” certain people.
Also I feel that BvS seems to get a harder time over all the other Batman films where he has clearly been responsible for people dying!
During the warehouse scene, you are absolutely correct, but he seems to be directly responsible for a few deaths during the bat mobile chase scene. When he drags the car and it smashes the other one with the henchmen inside and when his tire runs over the guy in the back of the truck. Sure, they might be able to say that they survived, but it didn’t seem very ambiguous to me if they survived. I could be wrong though!
Also, yes this universe is getting a hard time for sure. Hence the knee jerk reactions to try and right the ship. That is my fear… That they over correct it. It should gradually progress.
Kal L, Not sure we watched the same film, because Batman absolutely killed people intentionally throughout the film and worse planned premeditated murder. And using previous movies and/or comics as justification has always been and will always be a poor excuse.
lcmcbain The only difference in the movie I watched and the one you watched, is the fact that I chose to not go with the crowd that nitpicked every aspect of this film. From bad guys dying because of Batman to the whole “Martha” thing. If you think Batman killing in all other Batman films is a poor excuse, then so is the arguments I pointed out and then some. Everybody went with the trend to bash this movie, very few wanted to point out that this movie is a seed for pretty much all the DCEU movies coming in… Read more »
I’m certainly not bashing the movie. I enjoyed the directors cut, but still, i can acknowledge that it is a flawed movie. I fall into neither the apologist category nor the basher category. It’s okay to enjoy something yet still be objective.
It seems Burton survived the issue of his Batman killing people.
I find it illogical to complain Batman killed in Batman v Superman, yet not acknowledge that Batman killed in Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returned. In Batman, Batman blew up an entire factory with Joker henchmen right next to the bomb he dropped. Batman shot Joker henchmen from the air with bullets and missiles, thus killing them. He attempted to do the same with the Joker, but missed. If someone, or some people, are going to call out Batman in Batman v Superman, then they need to be logically consistent and call him out in those movies as well, and… Read more »
Took the words right outta my mouth.
Believe it when I see it.
Does this mean that Justice League Part 1 that is schedule for November 17, 2017 has been pushback?
No, the release date hasn’t changed.
As you should. 🙂
This is all well and good, but there’s a couple of concerns to have imo. First is whether or not they’re going to go too far, and just end up mimicking Marvel with too many jokes, and everyone getting in their little quips, and one liners. I mean, that first trailer felt very much like a Marvel movie. Don’t get me wrong. Both MOS, and BvS were both too dark/gritty, and the films are in dire need of some levity, but I do like the more serious tone in general. I just hope they strike the right balance. Secondly, once… Read more »
One thing I know about WB/DC is that they are incredibly greedy. They make decisions based on what they believe will make them more money. Also, their main problem is that they don’t trust their filmmakers like they should. They say they’re filmmaker-driven, but all evidence points to the contrary. They wouldn’t let Zack Snyder pursue a MOS trilogy, as they wanted to world-build and compete with Marvel, not realizing how severe a task that was. They sent a butchered version of BVS to the theaters (even though they had to for length and rating), but also cut a lot… Read more »
There’s so much defensiveness from WB on this issue that it just makes me more uncomfortable. ‘Man of Steel’ is a great movie – WB should’ve backed off and let Snyder make a decent sequel instead of immediately trying to shoehorn Batman and Wonder Woman into a plot that barely made sense. Now they’re bending over backwards to try to reassure fans that they will give them what they want. That’s not a good look for any art form … ‘BvS’ wasn’t a disaster, but it had a lot of minor flaws and one major one. I actually like the… Read more »
In all honesty, the way I see it is…
Marvel makes there films like comic books…
Where as DC seems to be making Graphic Novels!
Marvel movies may be the flavor… But I feel that DC films all will pay off in the long run. I appreciated MoS so much more after BvS (extended cut)… And the ramifications from BvS made Suicide Squad not only possible, but a glimpse into the larger DCEU world.
This cinematic universe should continue and carry on. And with the right captain steering the ship. Sure…the last two pitches suffered a setback of epic proportions, but it doesn’t mean they were not enjoyable. Moviegoers enjoyed it a whole lot more than the critics did, myself included, and it would be a shame to just throw it away. It all depends how JL and WW perform. So we’ll see.
In response to Batman killing. Batman was fighting and killing a bunch of THUGS and MURDERERS not people selling ice cream cones. The way I see it, they were part of an organization that would kill in a heart beat so they deserved Batman’s wrath. Ben A’s version———A+, best Batman to this day. I wish we would have gotten a little nod towards a sequel to MOS.
It’s Batman and Superman. Not the Punisher and Wolverine. “Badass” has become one of the most overblown and overrated things in all of pop culture.
@ Mattcomics Indeed. Sadly many just don’t seem to care anymore that there’s supposed to be a difference.
@redcape Well said and I agree 10 fold, lol I was happy to not see people complaining that Superman killed Doomsday in this movie. I mean they called him a murderer for saving the world from Zod’s wrath lol!
Chef…….people calling Superman a murderer from MOS is their way of exaggerating their personal distaste for the movie in general. Zod did say, “there’s only only one way this is going to end Kal.Either I die or you do”. Well I was all to happy to see Superman put Zod down. And from a stand point of Superman, he wasn’t really Superman at that point of the movie. And…….in BvS he wasn’t even called Superman to his face by anybody. He was referred to as Superman by other people. I didn’t go to the movie looking for things that didn’t… Read more »
Things will be “hopeful and optimistic” once Zack Snyder, Geoff sellout Johns, Greg Berlanti, and the entire snyderverse live action cast are fired and replaced/the snyderverse is over. They still don’t get it: it’s not the tone that is the main problem, it’s that the films are terrible. Great films come in a variety of tone. Sprinkling some humor, rock music, and “optimism” on terrible ideas to begin with made by terrible storytellers isn’t going to improve anything. Snyder needs to go, and his awful cast and costume designs with him. Only then will they have learned your lesson (and… Read more »
Dude, how is Geoff Johns a sell out now? and whats Greg Berlanti got to do with the cinematic universe… He does TV dude! (and doing a fine job with it).
Kel, 1) How is Geoff Johns a sellout? Please explain. 2) Why do you feel it is okay to make fun of Geoff by inserting “sellout” in-between his first and last name? Would it be acceptable if I called you Kel “obsessed-with-red-trunks”? I do not believe that would be appropriate. I believe I would get a warning or a banning. You are coming across as being mean to someone you do not know. 3) Why are you bringing up Greg Berlanti. As far as I know (and I could be wrong), Greg is only involved with the tv shows Arrow,… Read more »
Another thing.
Murder: The unlawful killing of another human being without justification or excuse.
You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.
Batman killed. Superman killed. They did not murder. There’s a difference.
2008 flashback: “We’ll be going dark because Dark Knight made a lot of money and got great reviews”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121936107614461929
2016: “We’ll be going funny and optimistic because we think that’s what MARVEL is doing and they make a lot of money and get great reviews”
People really need to stop being childish and stop blaming Zack, he made the movie, get over it and stop crying about it. Millions love the movie and maybe people Really Misinterpret or they just want to hate. He had a vision and stood next to it, let him be a director and let just see what he does next….
Childish? I blame Zach because he was both the director of the films and part of WB’s “DCEU braintrust”. If people didn’t like the movies, he’s a big target. Not the only target, but targeting him for overall complaint is fairly valid.
Sure, he made those movies. But maybe the people who are complaining just don’t want to see him make more of them?
I don’t want to see what he does next, unless it’s as far away from Superman as possible. lol
Like I said: get over it.
I have an opinion that doesn’t match yours. If you don’t like that (as it would seem by your reply), then we both have something to “get over”. My post was showing why there’s reason to put at least some criticism on Snyder, and there is. He’s not some innocent bystander, he had an active hand in this. The fact that the “crying” is having enough of an impact that WB is at least feeling the need to address it (if not correct for it) is telling. i think it’s why we have “Rebirth” and it’ll have an impact on… Read more »
Well said and agree.
The reason why I do not stand all the crying is because I’m sick and tired of all the negativity aimed at Snyder this and Snyder that. So he fumbled the ball so what!? He had his screenwriters and executives breathing all over him and maybe the pressure of making this film took his toll by telling this story. And now he’s picking the ball up again. He deserves a third and final strike. I’m staying optimistic.
Nevertheless thank you for your reply and opinion.
I definitely understand. If you enjoyed the films completely or even just overall, having such a split fanbase is tough. It sucks and can kill the excitement/”buzz” somewhat. I can also say (from experience lol) that it sucks to be so down on these films – I certainly don’t want to be. i hate not liking something with Superman in it. I do think, unfortunately, that Snyder deserves a certain level of consistent negativity, only because it seems that’s the only way he and WB listen (notice his tone is quite different after BvS than it was after MoS, after… Read more »
Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought the reason it was called Batman v Superman DAWN of Justice is because it is always darkest before the dawn. I always thought it would be darker before the Justice League assembled. And, as they came together, it would get brighter and brighter. But that’s how I interpreted the title. Anyway, I loved Man Of Steel. I loved how BvS came directly out of that story. I also love how Suicide Squad built upon Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. I am also able to enjoy the lighter Marvel movies, the darker Marvel… Read more »
I can only agree