I’m not arguing that the DCU should be entirely populated with bright, poppy blockbusters — of course there’s a place for the occasional darker and more serious project. But since “dark and gritty” were essentially the defining characteristics of the Zack Snyder era at DC, I’m saying it might be wise to actively try to court new young viewers — ones who might be more interested in, say, a team of young teenaged superheroes than a grim Batman and Superman screaming at each other about how their mothers share the same first name. That way, DC can build the next generation of fandom — people who might become the next wave of obsessives about these characters, and could follow them across all types of media for years to come.
The fact that Gunn is taking a back to basics approach with “Superman” and returning Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El to the type of aspirational, do-gooder figure he was in the Christopher Reeve films bodes well for the tone and direction of the new DCU. My hope is that “Teen Titans” will have a somewhat similar approach — one that intrigues kids instead of catering to the middle-aged fans who pump their fists when Robin tells Batman to go f*** himself.
We spoke about this and a bunch of other movie and TV news on today’s episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below:
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