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I’m sincerely curious what sort of discussions and confusion are going on over at Warner Bros. right now. You have films like Aquaman that were a commercial success and therefore indicate chasing the Marvel tone might be a good idea. At the same time, though I’m uncertain of its numbers, I don’t know many people that were as warm to Wonder Woman ‘84 as they had been to the original. Aside from some cross-promotional advertising on television, I’ve not really seen or heard much of the film at all since it released. At the same time, the Snyder Cut of The Justice League was received largely positively.

What I find most curious is that both Joker and The Batman are not only darker in tone, but are also heavily inspired by older and iconic films that had come before. Steve clarified that “Art House” was a bad term to use, but Joker is clearly paying homage to films such as Taxi Driver and King of Comedy while The Batman is heavily drawing influence from David Fincher’s Se7en and Zodiac. Is this the secret to DC’s success? Or is it more that Batman and his rogue’s gallery are far more fitting to draw from these classic thriller inspirations?

I must confess that there, while it is refreshing to see such filming being done in modern Hollywood on the big screen, it would also be nice to see these directors branch out and explore more. I know Matt Reeves is capable given the surprising direction he had taken Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, but is it simply too risky to take an original angle with a high profile superhero film?

Regardless, we know DC is thus far invested in their sillier universe, though who knows what direction The Flash will go, and how it will compare to Spider-Man: No Way Home. Both will feature multiverse shenanigans that pull together a variety of cameos from across their respective properties’ film history, and word is No Way Home had managed to do such a thing with some real heart rather than relying on a gimmick. Hopefully I’ll be able to see for myself soon, and we’ll be able to podcast about it.

Did you get a chance to see The Batman yet? What did you think? Feel free to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail with your opinions.

Opening theme music by Fallen Prophecy.