4 things Walter Hamada can do to save the DCEU
1. DC heroes should exist in a world of their own
One thing we should expect from Hamada’s vision is understanding that each hero should standalone. No, it doesn’t mean that they won’t be part of the DCEU, but it should mean that each movie will feel like a standalone movie like with Matt Reeves’ Batman. There were some misconstrued reports about Reeves’ approach to his Batman film when he said that it would not be part of the DCEU https://www.gq.com/story/the-batman-matt-reeves-standalone. While he may have been misunderstood, the premise of a hero only dealing with their immediate threats should be something all DCEU movies feature. Hamada should look to focus on more character-driven movies like Man of Steel and Wonder Woman opposed to forcing outside elements together like Suicide Squad or Justice League.
Having heroes being defended by their own world without the shackles of one huge plot is something that will make DC feel different — that difference that makes the DC heroes special. Gotham is nothing like Metropolis which is nothing like Atlantis and neither have the feel of Fawcett City. Nor is Aquaman like Batman or Superman like Shazam and none of them are like Wonder Woman. There can and will always be some sort of linear connection like Wonder Woman did with Batman, but it never felt like Wonder Woman was trying to force a larger plot of the DCEU.
That had a lot to do with WB allowing Patty Jenkins to create her own movie using her vision. And it’s that type of freedom WB should all Hamada to give his directors to allow director-driven films. According to LEGO Batman director Chris McKay it appears that WB plans on allowing such liberty — it’s one of the reasons he signed on to direct Nightwing.
"” Warner Bros is a director-driven studio, and that’s exactly how they are operating these movies… these movies are not trying to follow the Marvel model, they’re trying to do their own thing with filmmakers that they like, and produce things that are wholly original and wholly unique.”"
If what McKay says is true then Hamada is the man now and should pilot this new direction of the DCEU into success. With James Wan’s Aquaman and David Sandberg’s Shazam!, both of whom worked with Hadama before, you can imagine they’ll be the two movies to usher in this new wave of DCEU films.
The question is… What will Walter Hamada do to save the convoluted world of the DCEU? While we have no idea what the answer to that question is, one can only hope he’d have the freedom to do what he deems necessary to ensure the DCEU succeeds. Hamada has the keys to a franchise with a ton of potential — all he has to do is make the right moves.