Following the DC Universe‘s newest movie announcement, I’m convinced the new DC world could make a version of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe that actually works for audience and franchise alike. The DC Universe release roster has begun to unfold following Creature Commandos‘ debut in late 2024, and the road forward has become increasingly clear, with a selection of exciting movies and shows lined up for the franchise’s future. Though the focus is naturally on the upcoming Superman movie for the time being, it’s by no means the only release that could define DC’s on-screen future with its reception.
In fact, the DCU’s newest movie addition could well serve to expand the franchise in an important direction that’s been arguably overlooked in superhero universes and the genre more broadly speaking in its current history, despite its real potential. However, this approach would take it into notably similar territory to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, which presents a complicated picture given the Marvel movie series has not historically been regarded as the picture of success given the reception to the vast majority of its own releases.
DC Universe’s Path Forward Looks Like It Could Have More Than 1 Villain-Centered Movie On The Horizon
The DC Universe kicking off with a project starring a roster of villains via Creature Commandos immediately opened the potential for more follow-up projects centered around characters who are conventionally antagonists in DC lore. Indeed, there were initially plans that suggested the franchise would focus on villains – particularly Batman villains – early on, as the DC Universe was set to have an Arkham Asylum show that would have centered on the characters held there.
The series was reportedly canceled in 2024, but it’s by no means the DCU’s only villain-focused release, and the Variety report that revealed the project’s cancelation also noted that “a new project set within the infamous Gotham City asylum could be developed in the future” according to their source. Between Creature Commandos setting up the potential for a spinoff movie, a Waller show on the horizon set to explore her complicated moral alignment, reports that a Deathstroke and Bane movie is impending, and the newest confirmations that a Clayface movie is set to release in 2026, the potential for multiple villain-centered movies is very much set up for the franchise.
Naturally, the Clayface movie is the most promising of these prospects, since the film is set to come out soon, and offers a chance for the DC Universe to capitalize on Batman’s considerable and iconic rogues gallery by showing Gotham’s villains operating prior to the release of the DCU’s Batman movie The Brave & The Bold. James Gunn describing the project as “a DCU story” on social media appears to confirm that it is indeed part of the main DC Universe timeline, which also offers the opportunity to show more antagonists than merely Clayface himself, should the project be actively set in Gotham.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Tried To Make Movies Centered On Supervillains & Suffered For It
The landscape for villain-centered superhero movies has had an odd path in the past few years, in no small part because of the Sony Spider-Man Universe, which sought to create a cinematic world out of exploring the stories of several notable Spider-Man characters, centering primarily on the web-slinger’s antagonists. As a franchise, the Sony Spider-Man Universe fared arguably the worst of any recent superhero world in history, with initial complaints coming about the fact the “Spider-Man Universe” was without its own Spider-Man, and later complaints directed at the questionable quality of the films themselves.
While figures like Venom and Kraven the Hunter theoretically had enough prominence to generate audience interest in their respective stories, only the Venom trilogy served to have any solid critical or commercial success – and this alone was not enough to counter questions about how the franchise could work without its main hero, which were then reinforced by subpar reviews and troubling box offices. Though this certainly paints a concerning picture for any efforts to veer into the same territory, DC has already demonstrated its capacity to avoid repeating the same pitfalls.
DC Has Already Proved They Can Really Make Villain Movies Work (Though It’s Still A Risk)
Recent history has demonstrated just how catastrophic some supervillain-focused releases can be, but it’d be an outright lie to say that’s all that is shown by looking at the last few years of the superhero genre. Perhaps most importantly, 2019’s Joker proved to be one of the most successful movies in the genre, bringing in over a billion dollars in terms of its worldwide box office on a budget of $55 million. Looking at the success and popularity of this chapter of DC history, it’s clear there is immense and relatively untapped potential in this corner of the franchise.
Up until Deadpool & Wolverine‘s release, Joker was also the highest grossing R-rated film in history.
Ironically, though, the Joker movie series also serves to showcase that this kind of success is by no means inevitable, and that there are still very much risks to even those supervillain movies who don’t directly mirror the issues commonly cited with the Sony Spider-Man Universe. While the original Joker is one of the superhero genre’s biggest success stories, it’s sequel – 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux – essentially became the opposite, as its drastic changes from the original fell flat with audiences, which was reflected in its far lower $207 million results.
I’m Convinced The DC Universe Could Pull Off The Kind Of Villain-Focused Movies Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Couldn’t
Though focusing on DC’s antagonists evidently isn’t something that would guarantee the success of any DCU releases to do so, it does seem that releases like Joker and The Penguin demonstrate there can be real promise in handling these characters with the care and gravitas they deserve. The Sony Spider-Man Universe serves as a cautionary tale of sorts, but if Clayface and the reported Deathstroke and Bane project are in the mainline DCU, there’s nothing to stop the franchise at worst repeating Creature Commandos‘ tasteful Batman cameo to keep things tied to the hero, even as they focus on villains.
The DC Universe has already put a lot of stock into fleshing out its overall universe and trying to make the franchise feel actively lived-in, which – based on the cast lists of Creature Commandos and Superman alone – involves using a wide range of characters with an even wider range of moral alignments. As such, where the Sony Spider-Man Universe suffered from little to no connective tissue, the DCU has not only already built a backdrop, but also can use projects like Clayface to make what could well be Batman’s most expansive movie world to date if handled right.
Upcoming DC Movie Releases
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
