There isn’t one blueprint for how to make a franchise or a shared universe work. Nonetheless, recent history indicates that introducing a team – or a multiverse – in just one film without any setup is anything but a sure bet, and Warner Bros. seems to be making the same mistake withThe Flashthat it did withJustice League.
It’s clear that some of the issues withJustice Leaguewere on the directing choices – and that Marvel’s model isn’t the only one that could work. It’s also clear, however, that Marvel’s model has worked.It has its own drawbacks, of course, like the fact that it often feels like some properties exist more to set up future properties than because of their own merits, but that still means more content for fans, not less. In general, fans are unlikely to have many issues when they’re consistently given things to care about. And even if they do, financially, it still makes sense to take the time to set up teams – and multiverses – properly.
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Warner Bros. didn’t really do this withJustice League, which was released as the fourth DC movie, afterMan of Steel,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,andWonder Woman. Two of those films were origin stories –Man of SteelandWonder Woman.Batman v Superman, however, the second DC movie released, was less of a team movie than a confrontation movie, but it nonetheless featured the DC Holy Trinity: Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman. It just didn’t really go into Batman’s origins. This was a bet for Warner Bros. but not an entirely inconceivable one. Like Peter Parker’s uncle Ben, fans were a little tired of seeing Bruce Wayne’s parents get killed. People have seen Batman’sorigin story multiples times before. No one needed to see it again.
ButJustice Leaguewas still released after two origin stories and a movie that didn’t really set up the dynamics of the Holy Trinity, and barely had Batman and Superman exchanging actual nice words, much less fighting together. It was also released without any background on the other members of the team –Aquaman,who would get his own origin moviea year later, Cyborg, who has yet to get a solo outing, andThe Flash, whose own movie is now in production. This meant that the movie had to spend a lot of time not just setting up the backstories of those heroes but establishing team dynamics. Plus, there was that pesky little matter of Superman being dead at the start ofJustice League. This left very little time for the plot to be as cohesive as it should have been.
It’s impossible to know for sure howThe Flashmovie is going to go. The information available, however, indicates that the movie is set to introduce the multiverse, and bring backalternate versions of characters that existin the same universe the movie exists on, like Batman. This is a very exciting concept that fans have been waiting to see brought to screen for years – and yet it feels like Warner Bros. andThe Flashare walking a tightrope with the time, and space they have to develop such an encompassing story. Marvel, for example, has onlyjust introduced the multiverseduringLoki, and they’ve been building towards it for years. The wait has felt like too long at times, but at this point no one’s surprised by the concept, or what it entails.
And more importantly, no one’s going to be left asking for more of some specific storylines. This is something that could very well happen inThe Flash. The movie has to, after all,presumably focus on Barry Allen, and the people in his immediate orbit, while still allowing new and exciting secondary characters,like the newSupergirl, to make their mark. Add to that the burden of introducing the multiverse, explaining it in a way that makes sense and giving the characters the movie will bring in from other universes agency, the movie becomes very crammed, and maybe not as enjoyable. Good writing and directing can, of course, change this, but it’s still a gamble Warner Bros is taking, and perhaps an unnecessary one.
The idea for what’s coming inThe Flash, the characters it’s going to introduce, andthe possibilities it’s setting upfor the future, are things that should make all DC fans giddy. The way Warner Bros. has set up the movie, following the blueprint that already didn’t work forJustice League, though, is making some fans pause. Perhaps good writing and good directing can make the movie work, but there are easier ways to set up big event movies and Warner Bros. would be smart to keep those in mind going forward. Particularly considering all the exciting news coming out of DC the last few months, and how much fans are looking forward to seeing some of those characters interact with already-established ones.
