In fact , the DCU ’s newest motion picture addition could well serve to expand the franchise in an crucial counselling that ’s been arguably miss in superhero universes and the literary genre more broadly speaking speaking in its current history , despite its real potency . However , this glide slope would take it into notably similar territory to Sony ’s Spider - Man Universe , which presents a complicated scene given the Marvel movie series has not historically been see as the pic of success consecrate the reception to the vast majority of its own releases .
DC Universe’s Path Forward Looks Like It Could Have More Than 1 Villain-Centered Movie On The Horizon
The DC Universe kick off with a project starring a roster of villains viaCreature Commandosimmediately get to the potential for more abide by - up task centered around fiber who are conventionally antagonists in DC traditional knowledge . Indeed , there were ab initio plans that suggested the dealership would focus on villain - particularly Batman baddie - early on on , as the DC Universe was set up to have anArkham Asylum showthat would have center on the characters hold there .
The serial was reportedly canceled in 2024 , but it ’s by no means the DCU ’s only villain - focused release , and theVarietyreport that bring out the labor ’s cancelation also noted that " a new labor set within the infamous Gotham City mental institution could be originate in the future " fit in to their source . BetweenCreature Commandossetting up the potential for a spinoff movie , a Waller show on the horizon place to explore her complicated moral alignment , describe that aDeathstroke and Bane movieis impending , andthe newest confirmations that aClayfacemovie is set to release in 2026,the voltage for multiple villain - centered movies is very much set up for the enfranchisement .
of course , theClayfacemovieis the most promising of these medical prognosis , since the moving-picture show is set to total out before long , and offer a chance for the DC Universe to capitalize on Batman ’s considerable and iconic rogue gallery by showing Gotham ’s villains operating prior to the release of theDCU ’s Batman movieThe Brave & The Bold . James Gunn describing the projection as " a DCU news report " onsocial mediaappears to support that it is indeed part of the master DC Universe timeline , which also offers the opportunity to show more antagonists than merely Clayface himself , should the project be actively place in Gotham .
Image Made By Zoe Miskelly
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Tried To Make Movies Centered On Supervillains & Suffered For It
The landscape for villain - centered superhero motion picture has had an odd track in the past few years , in no small part because of the Sony Spider - Man Universe , which sought to create a cinematic world out of exploring the stories of several noteworthy Spider - Man fibre , centering primarily on the web - slinger ’s antagonists . As a franchise , the Sony Spider - Man Universe fare arguably the speculative of any recent superhero world in account , with initial complaints coming about the fact the " Spider - Man Universe " was without its own Spider - Man , and afterwards complaint directed at the refutable quality of the films themselves .
While figures like Venom and Kraven the Hunter theoretically had enough prominence to beget hearing interest in their respective narrative , only the Venom trilogy served to have any solid decisive or commercial-grade success - and this alone was not enough to anticipate questions about how the franchise could work without its main hero , which were then reinforced by subpar reviews and troubling box offices . Though this certainly paint a concerning picture for any movement to slue into the same territory , DC has already demonstrated its capacity to debar replicate the same pitfalls .
DC Has Already Proved They Can Really Make Villain Movies Work (Though It’s Still A Risk)
Recent history has demonstrated just how catastrophic some supervillain - pore release can be , but it ’d be an outright lie to say that ’s all that is shown by looking at the last few age of the superhero writing style . Perhaps most importantly , 2019’sJokerproved to be one of the most successful picture in the music genre , bringing in over a billion dollars in terms of its worldwide box office on a budget of $ 55 million . search at the success and popularity of this chapter of DC history , it ’s clear there is immense and relatively untapped potential in this corner of the franchise .
Up untilDeadpool & Wolverine ’s release , Jokerwas also the highest grossing R - rat movie in story .
Ironically , though , theJokermovie series also wait on to showcase that this sort of succeeder is by no means inevitable , and that there are still very much risks to even those supervillain movies who do n’t straight mirror the subject commonly mention with the Sony Spider - Man Universe . While the originalJokeris one of the superhero literary genre ’s biggest winner stories , it ’s continuation - 2024’sJoker : Folie à Deux- essentially became the opposite word , as its drastic change from the original fell monotonous with consultation , which was reflected in its far lower $ 207 million results .
I’m Convinced The DC Universe Could Pull Off The Kind Of Villain-Focused Movies Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Couldn’t
Though focalise on DC ’s adversary evidently is n’t something that would guarantee the success of any DCU releases to do so , it does seem that free likeJokerandThe Penguindemonstrate there can be real promise in palm these characters with the concern and gravitas they deserve . The Sony Spider - Man Universe assist as a cautionary tale of sorts , but if Clayface and the reported Deathstroke and Bane project are in the mainline DCU , there ’s nothing to stop the franchise at bad repeatingCreature Commandos ' refined Batman cameoto keep things link to the poor boy , even as they focus on villain .
TheDC Universehas already put a lot of strain into fleshing out its overall universe and trying to make the dealership feel actively go - in , which - based on the stamp lists ofCreature CommandosandSupermanalone - involves using a wide chain of characters with an even wide range of moral alignments . As such , where the Sony Spider - Man Universe suffered from minuscule to no connective tissue paper , the DCU has not only already built a background , but also can use projects like Clayface to make what could well be Batman ’s most grand motion-picture show world to date if handled the right way .
Upcoming DC Movie Releases
