Warner Bros’ DC film universe hit rock bottom when its biggest film – ‘Justice League’ – also became the biggest failure. Now it appears Warner is going with what DC films previously excelled in, which is self-contained franchises. In an interview with latimes.com, Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara said, “The upcoming slate, with Shazam, Joker, Wonder Woman 1984 and Birds of Prey, feels like we’re on the right track. We have the right people in the right jobs working on it.” This does seem like the right track. Both the out-and-out hits of the DC Extended Universe have been relatively independent – Wonder Woman and Aquaman. The films which tried to bring together multiple superheroes – ham-handedly as it turned out – have failed, if not commercially then critically. Tsujihara added, “The universe isn’t as connected as we thought it was going to be five years ago. You’re seeing much more focus on individual experiences around individual characters. That’s not to say we won’t at some point come back to that notion of a more connected universe. But it feels like that’s the right strategy for us right now.” This does seem like the right track. Both the out-and-out hits of the DCEU have been relatively independent – ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Aquaman’. The films which tried to bring together multiple superheroes – ham-handedly as it turned out – have failed, if not commercially then critically Zack Snyder was given the reins of the DC universe films and he carried forward a tone that was similar to Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. But what worked with Batman does not have to work with everybody else, especially a character as sunny as Superman. After middling Man of Steel and the ridiculed Batman v Superman, Snyder was fired by WB during Justice League’s production. Joss Whedon, who had directed the first two Avengers films for Marvel Cinematic Universe, was brought in, and the film appeared as though it had two conflicting visions. The tone too was all over the place. At least in Batman v Superman, the tone had remained consistent – dour. Since then, DC films had shown little connection with each other. The future slate of DC movies – whether it be Shazam, Joker or Wonder Woman -suggests that these movies will not be interconnected. And this, it might be a while before we see a Justice League movie again. Published in Daily Times, March 2nd 2019.