MULTIVERSE MADNESS Does Warner Bros. Have a Batman Problem?
Warner Bros. should rely less on Batman as the figurehead of its DC film and TV projects.
On Wednesday (when I usually put out the second weekly instalment of the newsletter; I was unable to this week due to other commitments) Warner Bros. announced two different projects based on the Batman universe: a new animated series, produced by J.J. Abrams (currently developing various titles under an exclusive deal with the studio), Matt Reeves (currently in post-production on The Batman) and Bruce Timm (who has worked on most of the animated DC projects released since 1992), and a Batgirl movie, previously in the works with Joss Whedon attached as writer and director.
Reactions online were largely positive, given the names involved (the Batgirl script was written by Christina Hodson, who also worked on Birds of Prey and the currently filming Flash movie), but some of the comments echoed a common criticism of the studio’s handling of DC properties: as good as it may turn out to be, do we really need another Batman project? The same can arguably be said for Superman (who also has a new animated series in the works), but the really massive elephant in the room is Bruce Wayne’s alter ego, and that has been the case for a long time.
Since 1989 (the year Warner Bros. started being directly involved in the films based on DC properties), Batman has headlined eight live-action movies as a solo protagonist, shared the spotlight with Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and played a prominent role in Justice League. In addition, he’s been the star of two animated films (Mask of the Phantasm and The Lego Batman Movie) and a key player in three more (the two Lego Movies and Teen Titans Go! To the Movies). Throw in his uncredited cameo in Suicide Squad, and that’s sixteen theatrical appearances in 32 years.
He's equally pervasive on the small screen, sometimes even in an indirect manner: the hit series Arrow, while nominally based on the character Oliver Queen, was so blatantly inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy it borrowed plot points (Queen’s relationship with Deathstroke is basically the same as Bruce Wayne’s with Ra’s al Ghul) and used a wide variety of antagonists typically associated with the Caped Crusader.
The aforementioned Teen Titans Go! film poked fun at this with a scene where Robin finds out even Alfred and the Batmobile are getting spin-offs before he does, and that gag was written before an actual Alfred-centric show entered production (Pennyworth, which recently finished airing its second season).
Then there’s the DC Universe Original Animated Movies line, which consists of direct-to-DVD films based on famous storylines and generally aimed at older viewers. Typically, the line has three releases per year (with the exception of 2007, which only had one, and 2008, which had two), and Batman stars in at least one of those three.
Of the 42 titles released so far, 17 feature the Gotham vigilante as the main character (two of these with a shared spotlight with Superman), with another 14 where he’s a prominent member of the Justice League. That means he’s currently absent from only 11 movies in the series, while other characters routinely struggle to receive solo projects (a proposed Aquaman film was shelved a decade ago because the studio thought it wouldn’t sell enough copies, while Wonder Woman had a ten-year gap between films where she was the sole protagonist).
On the one hand, this is understandable: Batman is DC’s flagship character, even more so than Superman, and one of the most recognizable and popular superheroes in the world (depending on the country you’re in, he’s the most popular). On the other hand, this means the studio has come to rely on him like a crutch, the dependable cash cow in the event other projects don’t pan out (this is perhaps also why they parted ways with Zack Snyder, whose vision for the DC Extended Universe included a third Justice League where Batman dies permanently).
This has also meant holding back other characters who are just as worthy of having their stories told on the screen: by the time Wonder Woman and Aquaman made their cinematic debuts in 2016, Batman was on his third live-action incarnation under Warner Bros. (in terms of film series, the Burton and Schumacher films are in the same continuity), with a fourth one due next year. Conversely, and mainly out of necessity, Marvel has managed to craft a diverse universe, where no single hero hogs the spotlight too much.
Having said that, I am greatly looking forward to the new animated show. I just wish other characters were granted the same opportunities. Batman himself would definitely not mind taking a back seat for a while. After all, unlike his fellow League members, he is only human.