“Heroes, Villains, and Me” is a periodic article on Geeky KOOL by Larry Litle about the world of comic books and my reaction to it. “Heroes, Villains, and Me” is not a comic book review article. I will write about current events, speculation and rumors, or my own wacky thoughts about the world of comic books and related stuff.
As previously reported, J.J. Abrams has signed an exclusive deal worth $250 Million with Warner Bros for the next 5 years. Abrams will work on movies, TV (probably for the Warner Streaming service), and video games. His name is being thrown around to direct several different DCEU movies including Green Lantern Corps, Superman, and Justice League. It is highly anticipated that Abrams will direct at least one of the DC movies during this time.
J.J. Abrams who has worked on some of the biggest geek franchise like Star Wars and Star Trek. He created TV shows like Alias and LOST. He has developed and wrote several Geeky and KOOL original movies. He is a superstar (like him or hate him) in the geek community.
Because Warner is paying Abrams and Bad Robot a quarter of Billion dollars, there are suspicions that Abrams has been brought in to do more than just direct, write, and produce movies, shows, and games. Many believe that Warner Bros wants Abrams to be their version of Kevin Feige (head guy at the MCU). Could Abrams come into the now disjointed DCEU and create a joined universe like the Marvel movies?
This is a controversial idea to some fans. As much disdain that some have for it, there are very loyal fans that love the dark DC Cinematic Universe movies like Man of Steel and Batman Vs Superman. Some of my friends swear that Batman Vs Superman is the best Superhero movie of the last decade (I don’t share this opinion but is out there).
Lets make the assumption that Abrams will hold a similar position to that of Feige’s Marvel role. Abrams will have directors Reeves and Gunn working with him to make their movies and to put them back into a shared universe. He would oversee the general overarching plot of the films with a defined direction for the franchises.
The rumors for a combined universe suggest some sort of soft reboot to the DCEU. This way they can keep certain parts that they like and recast and redo the parts they don’t. It definitely looks like Henry Cavil and Ben Affleck are out as Superman and Batman. The popularity of other characters like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and SHAZAM! will probably keep Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, and Zachary Levi. It appears that Robert Pattinson will be the new Batman in the DCEU and not just a prequel Batman.
There are several natural storylines from the comics that they could use for a soft reboot. If they did a Crisis on Infinity Earths story like they are going to do in the Arrowverse, they could explain the different actors and versions of the characters. Another possibility would be a Flashpoint movie (previously done in the Arrowverse). They could just go with the new cast members and enhanced personalities without explaining it and let the fans just roll with it.
A definite change is happening with or without a reboot or Abrams. Jeffrey Wright will be the new Jim Gordon for Matt Reeves movie, The Batman. Since Wright is an African American and J.K. Simmons, who played Gordon in Justice League, is Caucasian, it doesn’t look The Batman is a prequel to Batman Vs Superman. The only way this doesn’t mean a change is if it is an Elseworlds movie like The Joker.
The bigger question for the scenario, would Warner Bros let him develop his vision and put out the movies he wants without interfering? I was not a fan of Zach Snyder’s DCEU but these movies were constantly being disrupted by others higher up in Warner Bros. What would we have received if Snyder was allowed to do what he wanted? If I were in Abrams position, I would demand Feige level freedom to go with the Feige level position. But I doubt Warner would go for that.
Stay Geeky!
