Geoff Johns Discusses DC Movie Changes That Will Bring Hope and Optimism
After all the negative reviews for Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. and the DC movie team are definitely making changes to the upcoming films. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Geoff Johns, DC Comics chief creative officer, opened up on what they are doing to make the upcoming slate of DC films better. Some of those upcoming films include Wonder Woman, Justice League, The Flash, Aquaman, Batman, and Cyborg.
For the longest time, WB seemed to have this idea that the dark and gritty style of their films set them apart from Marvel. We've seen that in almost every film they've produced, but Johns wants to bring something more optimistic to the table. He shared his point of view saying:
“[I]n 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.”
WB executive Jon Berg was part of the interview as well, and he said that after they saw the reactions to Batman v Superman, they accelerated the story for Justice League "to get to the hope and optimism a little faster.”
It's also explained that Justice League will “directly address Batman’s extreme actions in [Batman v Superman], such as torturing criminals and nearly killing the Man of Steel, rather than accept them as par for the course.” I assumed they would do that because they did the same thing in Batman v Superman when they addressed the destruction Superman caused in Man of Steel. I guess whenever they take things to the extreme and people complain about it, they try to fit it into the story of the next film to rationalize it.
According to Johns, what it all comes down to is that they are “trying to take a really hard look at everything to make sure we stay true to the characters and tell stories that celebrate them.”
Here's the thing... light or dark, it doesn't matter. These films could be either, that's not what makes the movies good or bad. What makes or breaks the movie is the story, script, and character development. That's what they need to focus on and improve in my opinion. Making things more hopeful and optimistic won't make the script better, but if they have those three things, the movie should fall into place and make critics happy.
We'll just have to wait and see if this new direction they are taking these DC films will work.
Wonder Woman is the next DC movie to be released, and it comes out June 2nd, 2017. Justice League will follow on November 17th, 2017.