Wizza 🇵🇸

The thing about this mindset is that it is, objectively, correct from a business standpoint. Marvel Studios is as successful as they are now because they’ve always approached their projects with the mindset of having the broadest appeal that could have their work be enjoyed by everyone. My issue is that this is what has also caused the MCU to feel extremely samey over the years and formulaic. This is why the MCU has few auteurs aside from Ryan Coogler who is only just now hopefully being able to have more creative freedom with his work, even though Marvel did jack shit to market the Iron Heart show he produced and- let’s be real- they’re still gonna make Ryan drop in that white guy in another Black Panther movie to ensure more white audiences show up. This is why the original Doctor Strange director, Scott Derickson, stepped down from the sequel due to creative differences because he wanted to tell a psychological horror that delved into the personal story of Stephen Strange and Marvel wanted to bolster their useless multiverse crap. This is why Nia DaCosta, despite being an incredible filmmaker, was quick to say that The Marvels does not belong to her but is a “Kevin Fiege movie”. This is why James Mangold publicly criticized the MCU for how they treated Logan and called them the “death of storytelling”. This is why Destin Daniel Cretton had to jump from an Avengers movie to Spider-Man before he could return to Shang Chi. This is why ex Blade director Bassam Tariq has gone on and said just how restrictive Marvel is with their filmmakers and treats their movies as, in his words, “a Marvel film directed by a person” rather than anything auteur driven. This is why Blade could never get its foot into production meanwhile a Shawn Levy Ghost Rider film is deep into production with a crew assembled and ready. This is why Wonder Man is cancelled whilst Israeli SHIELD gets the green light. This is why we are likely never going to get a female led project in the MCU ever again unless it’s an ensemble with men. The MCU is SAFE, and SANITIZED. When your goal is to make everything for everyone, you ultimately make it for no one. There are no creative risks, there is no distinct voice, there’s no authorship, and there’s nothing bold. And when there is such as Wonder Man? It gets snuffed out immediately and placed under the rug. James Gunn, for what it’s worth, had a passion to push against that. He understood that not everything should be for everyone and wanted creative freedom. He made a Superman movie that was experimental, carried bold subject matter, and was fully his own. He made the Peacemaker series which was undeniably him pouring himself into those characters and their story. He pushed for Elseworld productions like The Batman 2 and Dynamic Duo which will introduce a wholly new animation style never seen before. He wanted something as tactile and mature as Lanterns to not only carry serious topics of its own but still exist in the same world as his campy Superman. He wanted to do something radically different for cinematic universes by integrating a rated R body horror into his world. He wanted to shepherd a filmmaker driven world that could speak not only to different audiences but the storytellers themselves. And now that’s being tossed aside for standard practice and maximizing profit. The DCU was far from perfect and there a plenty of things to criticize, but their creative foundation and intentions were in the right place as they were finally doing something to have DC stand apart from Marvel.