By asking that question, it’s immediately obvious the answer is “more than one.” Just as Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel essentially reimagined Richard Donner’s first two Superman films within a more grounded and somber world, James Gunn’s Superman has reversed the equation by essentially reimagining most of the main beats and arcs and themes of Batman v Superman (as well as some nods to Man of Steel, thus further mirroring the way Snyder’s film conceptually merged Donner’s two films, so to speak). In these ways, which are in varying ways and degrees plot points and character arcs and themes throughout Man of Steel and Batman v Superman as well as this weekend’s new Superman, WBD and DC Studios are mirroring not merely aspects of the stories and films directly, but also the broader concept of looking to earlier films for inspiration and combining previous Superman films into a single reimagined idea and story taking certain reverse tonal and visual approaches. Combine this deja vu with the fact we’re seeing a new shared cinematic DC world launched separate from a much more grounded, adult-leaning Batman franchise that’s a top earner for the studio, and the sense we are revisiting the start of the DCEU all over again – with the same choices and dilemmas confronting the studio and audiences – and this is where my concern about longterm momentum comes from.
Author: Mark Hughes, Contributor, Mark Hughes, Contributor https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/
Published at: 2025-07-12 22:04:41
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