Details released surrounding the DC Universe’s first movie suggest it is mirroring the MCU – and thus avoiding a mistake made with the Justice League.
The DC Universe’s Blue Beetle copies the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s approach to developing a superhero franchise, and in doing so, avoids a mistake made with Justice League. As the first movie officially in the new DC Universe under James Gunn and Peter Safran, Blue Beetle has something of a high-pressure place in the current superhero landscape. One of the most pressing reasons for this is that comparisons will inevitably be made to the MCU’s first movie, Iron Man, which was initially well-received, and has only become more highly regarded the further the franchise it spawned has continued.
However, the DC Universe’s first movie also has an advantage because of this, as it can mirror aspects of Iron Man that played a role in the success of the movie itself, and the success of the Iron Man movie series and larger Marvel franchise. In fact, one statement by the movie’s director suggest this is the exact approach Blue Beetle will be taking, which sets a promising precedent for the new era of the franchise, and its future going forward.
Blue Beetle Is Copying Iron Man & That’s Good
In an interview with Empire Magazine in August 2023, director Angel Manuel Soto stated, “The idea was, for this first movie, we wanted to keep it as grounded as possible. We wanted the dangers to be more one-to-one. We wanted him first to be the hero of his family and his area and community, before he becomes the hero of the world. Before he becomes the hero of the universe. We didn’t want to him to save the planet from alien destruction on the first one.” This bares strikingly similarities to the MCU’s origins with the first Iron Man movie, which had far lower stakes than the universal and then multiversal stakes now currently at risk in Marvel’s movie franchise.
This is especially important for Blue Beetle, as broader audiences need time to become acquainted with the character, since the DC hero is less universally well known than the likes of Iron Man or Captain America. By letting people get to know Jamie Reyes and his less world-threatening initial setup, the DC Universe can steadily scale up his story and the danger level of the overall franchise, much as is the case when watching through the MCU and its respective Iron Man movies. While there are concerns about how well the Blue Beetle movie itself will be received, even if the film proves unsuccessful, it will still set the bar for the DC Universe in a way that helps future movies down the line.
Blue Beetle’s Smaller Scale Avoids The Justice League’s Big Problem
The smaller scale of Blue Beetle ensures that the DC Universe has time to build its world, characters, and stakes before beginning to amp its threats and storylines. This prevents repeating a big problem with Justice League, as the limited time and installments before the DCEU’s big ensemble movie gave audiences a restricted window to get to know this iteration of DC’s iconic roster before putting them in the thick of things. By giving viewers more time to connect with the heroes on a smaller scale – as the MCU itself initially did before The Avengers – the DC Universe allows for more connection with the characters, which makes people care more when the bigger stakes emerge.
Source: screenrant.com
