Warner Bros. is finally taking the DC Universe seriously and is planning to go up against Marvel with around nine films that are slated to be released throughout the next six years. So, what's the mandate for these new movies going forward? It appears Warner is staying away from Marvel's tried and proven formula.
According to Drew McWeeny from Hitflix, the mandate he keeps hearing about is a "no jokes" policy, and it appears to be echoing throughout Warner Bros.
Marvel movies are usually filled with comedic relief from beginning to end. For some, this mandate goes down well because it allows the whole family to visit the theater and have a laugh. For others, however, they would prefer a more serious comic-book movie that takes itself seriously, and this is exactly what Warner is planning to do, if this rumor is true.
We've realized that every time Warner creates a comic-book movie with several humor scenes, it doesn't turn out particularly well. For example, Batman and Robin, and Green Lantern were films filled with humor, but the movies turned out to be utter destruction.
Furthermore, this so-called no jokes mandate could be Warner attempting to differentiate itself from Marvel, and we have no problem with it. You see, DC comic-books are generally serious in tone, and bloody, too, and fans tend to enjoy it a lot, especially the older crowd, so there shouldn't be a problem if Warner brings this flavor to films.
We have to admit that sometimes the Marvel films are too riddled with comedy, and it takes the viewer out of the action sometimes. "Thor: The Dark World" is a culprit of this -- too many times the comedic relief puts a stop to the action.
In all honesty, we need DC movies to balance out Marvel movies. It doesn't make sense to have both comic-book powerhouses following the same mandate, for things would get boring really quickly. And it is not like a serious-toned comic-book movie is impossible to achieve success with, just look at the Christopher Nolan "Batman" trilogy for the perfect example of this.
If done well, Warner will have no problem doing justice to DC properties. Going for the serious tone is likely a more difficult task than what Marvel is doing, but it is a good thing. It would give Warner more room to tell a compelling story that is capable of gripping viewers. Because let's face the truth here, Marvel movies are so caught up in comedic relief and flashiness that there's no real story to be found.
Up to this day, there's not a single Marvel movie that can compare to the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy, films that put a lot of focus on story, and a serious tone.
