Calling All Superman Fans! Henry Cavill as Ultraman - A Fan Theory - Part-1
Fan-Fic Friday
X is buzzing!
There's always something going on, and it offers a ton to explore. One of those things? Rumors!
The other day I was scrolling through X, when I came across a post claiming that James Gunn’s new Superman movie, will have Ultraman as a villain. It is coming next year and will be the fresh start for DC movies under the banner of DC Universe (DCU).
Now, James Gunn himself shut down this rumor on Thread (see screenshot below), but it sparked an idea. The idea which is a Fan-Theory, ran through my mind for multiple days, and finally I am sharing it with everyone.
It’s a bit long, just like Zack Snyder’s movies, so I am sharing the first part of it today and will share the second on the next Fan-Fic Friday!
The Foundation:
It all started with the DC Extended Universe, i.e. the DCEU. Helmed by Zack Snyder, it began with Henry Cavill’s Superman in “Man of Steel”. The movie was a bit divisive but remained profitable, hence the production house went ahead with the expansion.
Although the movie wasn’t as big a hit as everyone expected, but Henry Cavill’s Superman was admired by the most. Gradually, his portrayal of Superman grew on the masses, and they started to like him in the role.
And in 2015 Comic-Con, DC broke the internet with the announcement "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". It seemed that DC has finally arrived and now, like in the comics publication, Marvel has got the competition in the cinematic universe as well.
And finally, BvS was released on 03/25/2016.
It opened with a mixed response from both critics and audiences, and it was deemed unimpressive despite being profitable at the box office. The fact that Marvel Studios had released highly-praised "Captain America: Civil War" further overshadowed "Batman vs Superman”.
It was disappointing for the Studio and Fans as well as a movie featuring Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, DC's holy trinity, deserved to be a billion-dollar movie, not something that will be “just profitable”.
The Downfall:
Everything went downhill from there.
The next movies had too much interference from Studio executives resulting in the DCEU going in a different direction than first envisioned by Zack Snyder. Projects were cancelled, reworked, or significantly altered.
The Justice League was one of those movies.
We all know what happened, following a personal tragedy, Zack Snyder had to leave the project and the studio brought Joss Whedon as a new director. The direction was to lighten the dark and serious tone, which he did, and the result was a mess.
The Justice League – A movie with the greatest Superheroes from DC bombed at the box office. It was unexpected and a final nail in the coffin. While a few later films performed decently, they failed to meet studio expectations.
The Death of DCEU:
And finally, DCEU was dismantled.
Fans were not happy though. They had lobbied hard for Zack Snyder’s version of “The Justice League”, and in 2020 we got it as well called “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”. It was 4-hours long and a vast improvement over Joss Weadon’s version. Yet, it couldn’t revive the DCEU. And in 2023, with Aquaman marking the franchise's final film, the studio pulled the plug. The DCEU was declared dead, replaced by James Gunn's DC Universe (DCU).
Although we all are excited for DCU as the plan that was shared by James Gunn looked promising, no one can deny that we still feel a pinch about how DCEU ended. It was so abrupt, and while I agree that the DCEU was not perfect, but it deserved a better goodbye.
This is where my Fan Theory takes center stage as it aims to bridge the gap between DCEU and DCU, and it would be a better way of ending DCEU than what we got.
In my theory, the DCEU will be the foundation for DCU.
How?
Read the second part of the theory next week to find out.
Stay Tuned!
Eagerly waiting for Part 2!!