Legal problems have been holding Warner Bros. back from making Superman movies for years. But last week, a key victory allows Warner Bros. to use Superman, and key elements from his mythos, in movies after 2013. This is a huge boon for anyone hoping for a DC come-back in the face of the Marvel juggernaut that's been plowing through theaters. With the success of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and a slew of others, superhero fans have been waiting for a DC rebuttal. Except for the major success of Christopher Nolan's Batman, DC superheroes have failed to excite much attention. All that could soon change, however, as plans for a Justice League movie are slated for summer 2015. Warner Bros. is then hoping to spin out each superhero in their own movies, eschewing Marvel Studio's success teaming up their heroes after the fact.
While I'd love to see an adult treatment of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, I'm not actually excited to see this movie. The Justice League has always seemed kind of hokey to me, the writing is barely tolerable, and the basic premise is just kind of shallow. I get that it worked well in the 70s and the 80s, and the cartoon spin-off is one of the highlights of my childhood. But it's not a memory that I want to revisit. Warner Bros. have their work cut out for them to get me interested, but I'm looking forward to see what they're planning.
I believe they are attempting to cash in on the success of the avengers. The issue of course is that they are doing the opposite of what the Avengers did, and it will fail as a result. The Avengers worked so well because most of the characterization and back story was done pre-Avengers; you basically had 5 movies to do all the back work for you. The opposite will not be equally successful; a group of characters without their own in-universe back stories and personalities smooshed together on the screen. Following it up with their own movies is like trying to build a ship after it has sailed.
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