We are just under 10 months away from DCs do or die release of Justice League. Try as they might DC hasn't come close to replicating the critical and commercial success of Marvel Studios. 2016 was an especially tough year with with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad both proving to be disappointments with both critics and fans. Money is still being made so I don't think you can say the DCCU is in trouble of going away but you have to imagine that those box office returns are going to begin to diminish with every off the mark movie they release. Justice League is the line in the sand, if you ask me. They either get it right by the time of its release or they call it a day and take solace in the fact that their TV universe is stellar. Wonder Woman is up first this year, coming out in June, seeing as how Diana Prince was the breakout star of BvS it has become a safe assumption that the Amazonian's solo film will be the turning point for DC movies. Of course early word has been leaking out that it suffers from the same issues as the previous DC movies I can't believe anything anyone says about these films until they premier, negativity is the fashion of the day so everything has to be taken with a grain of salt, remember those Rogue One re-shoot problem rumors? Wow, did I get off on a tangent or what...there was a point to this article originally. Oh yeah, new images. So here's the new image via Empire
Yup, that's right...it's just them standing around again. Granted the outfits are amazing and it's always going to be cool to see this group standing together but whoever is in charge of their marketing really needs to be sat down and talked to. First of all the biggest issue with all of the DC movies thus far has been their dour tone, now they've made statements and done interviews claiming to have made adding levity and humor a high priority but seeing is believing folks, and what I see is dark and drab. Let's take a quick look at the other two major image releases we've seen.
I mean c'mon! Is it always dark and dreary in DC world? Yes, they are decidedly bad-ass but they have to know by now that this isn't enough. How about some action shots? I know it's hard to convey comedy in a still image but how about a shot of someone not looking like they just got an audit notice from the IRS. Plus, what's up with Aquaman? I'm going to go ahead and make some predictions based on the trailer and these images. Aquaman isn't going to join the team until the very end, in the start of the third act and the last image in the series here...the one that looks like an 80's music video with all the steam, that's going to be the team arriving to the final battle before the return of Big Blue (more on that later)
The other thing you'll notice in these photos is the absence of a certain red and blue clad God. Well, of course we all knew that Superman would be back from that final shot of dirt rising from off of his casket in BvS, but Zack Snyder's finally come out and confirmed that not only will he be back but he will be back in time for this movie.
From the Empire article:
"Superman does play a big part in this movie," he tells us, cryptically. "His presence, and lack of presence, are big story points..."
So from that I'm surmising that the team is formed to fill the gap left by Superman's death, and then he'll be "resurrected" somewhere in the third act when the team is beaten down leading to a moment reminiscent of Wonder Woman's debut in BvS.
Here's hoping for great things ahead but good or bad we'll be here to keep you updated. Just keep checking in!
