4 things Walter Hamada can do to save the DCEU

WB’s new head of the DC’s Extended Universe, Walter Hamada, comes over from New Line Cinema to save the DCEU. With the success of the Conjuring and It, there are a few things we expect from the new boss of the DCEU and a reboot isn’t one of them.

There’s a lot that has gone wrong with the DCEU so like any dissatisfied franchise there had to be some change. New Line Cinema’s Walter Hamada will come in with the expectations from fans and naysayers to reshape and save the DCEU from its early failures. The horror buff has been called upon to right the wrongs of the WB and turn their DC Extended Universe into a respectable. Hamda’s success with the Conjuring, Light’s Out, and It should give fans the confidence that he can make up for lost time and establish an identity for the DCEU.

Rebooting the entire franchise is out of the question even with the upcoming Flashpoint move. However, the quicker the WB understands that they don’t need to compete with Disney’s MCU the better. And based on this hire it does appear that they get it. Comic book fans, especially fans of DC should have high expectations going forward. Hamada is in the drivers set and will have a ton of support as he attempts to ensure the DCEU bounces back from a disappointing start. There’s no reason why he can’t get the job, and here’s how he can.

4. Embrace the darkness and gritty tone of the DCEU

The DCEU had a ton of problems, from bad scripts to questionable directing. However, the dark tone of the universe wasn’t one of them. In fact, it was refreshing especially when you consider the greatness of the MCU belongs to the wonderful world of Disney. The MCU gives us the family-friendly light-hearted tone and it’s great, but there’s nothing wrong with something a little different. Before the DCEU’s Batman, we had Christopher Nolan’s take, The Dark Knight Trilogy. Nothing about any of those movies were light, they were gritty, dark, and made Batman as grounded as he could get. I’d imagine Hamada will take that same approach going forward.

Batman v Superman might be the example people point to as to why a brooding world should not exist in the DCEU, however, that had more to do with the script which force-fed Wonder Woman, questionable casting,  and an overarched story. None of which had to do with the tone, in fact, some believed that BvS Ultimate Edition was better than the theatrical version.  So there’s some need, want for a different superhero genre and Hamada can and should do that. Before you close the tab, hear me out.

Part of the DCEU’s problem was forcing some of their films to be more lighthearted when in fact, the stories were meant to be a little darker. Two examples stick out Suicide Squad and of course Justice League. Both of those movies were meant to be a little more serious, but because of the misconception and precedence set by the MCU, the brains of the DCEU opted to make things “lighter.” Suicide Squad was very much dark however, that was not the problem —one of the major issues involved the wrong villain choice and edits.

In the case of Justice League the pressure to be like the MCU really messed things up. There were two directors and a number of reshoots which included changes to the script. The result was some comedic relief that at times felt forced and a laughable CGI smile on Henry Cavil. None of that should happen with Hamada behind the scenes. After all, his entire background consists of movies that are anything but, just look at Lights Out, Annabelle Creations, and It — all box office and critical success.  With upcoming movies like Flashpoint, Deathstroke, and a Joker/Harley Quinn the pressure of wanting to be lighthearted should go out the window. In fact, you might say the DCEU will have a couple of R rated films coming to the big screen.