After watching David Letterman interview President Obama for his new Netflix show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, I’m left with hope. For what? Why? I’m not sure, but I thought I’d ride the positive wave and apply it to this week’s Wonder Woman Wednesday column.
After much speculation as to what Warner Bros.’ next move will be after the “failure” of the Justice League movie, Warner Bros. may be acknowledging that it can’t keep up with Disney (In fairness, who could?) and has greatly scaled back its movie schedule.
Luckily, the already filmed Aquaman and upcoming Wonder Woman 2 have survived the chopping block. I have high hopes for both films and think they will do well. Frankly, I’m fine with this. DC and Warner Bros. gave us Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, and Wonder Woman could easily separate itself as its own franchise. You have to give DC credit for being realistic about its lofty goals. It’s a pretty similar situation, as DC had triumphed with the coming of “Rebirth.” After sinking its heels in to stand by the “New 52,” that’s what DC pretty much did until not just the voices, but the sales reflected fans’ contempt for the new status quo. I think that DC has more than made up for it with “Rebirth” in the comics and a similar approach could easily be applied to their films. But, please find a different name. “Rebirth” still sounds creepy for some reason.
They can just pretend Man of Steel, BVS, and Justice League didn’t happen and focus on making good movies that people want to see.
Marvel may have done it “right” in as much as building their cinematic characters prior to putting them all together in one big movie, but that kind of paints them into a corner. How could you possibly top a movie with every frickin’ character in the MCU? I’m joking, of course; with Disney acquiring FOX, there’s plenty of room left for more wow factor. My point is that one of Marvel’s strengths (and weaknesses, frankly) is that they seem dependent on a shared universe. Whereas with DC, you could read Hellblazer without giving a crap where Superman was at the same time and be perfectly happy with it. I don’t need Amethyst showing up in Sgt. Rock. OMG, I’m dating myself!
So, as we move forward, I think DC did the best they could, and the best was with Wonder Woman. If anything, they should focus on more femaldriven movies in the future. I’d love to see Starfire or Zatanna on the big screen.
It was so good to see Barack Obama and David Letterman. I didn’t think we’d hear much from either, and it felt like a visit from a dear, old friend.
Whether it’s fixing a comic book universe’s continuity or mending a fractured society, as dark and dreary as the world may seem, I still have hope.
Check out our sister Facebook page, I Am Wonder Fan.
Be back here next week for another Wonder Woman Wednesday and follow me on Instagram (@MichaelFitzTroy).
