Listen, I might be a newbie to DC and DCEU mythos, but I like to think I’m fairly in tune with what Twitter wants from these films. Some people want more Superman, or a Justice League Two, or the Snyder Cut. I’m really rooting for a Wonder Woman spin-off centered on Etta, Sameer, Charlie, and Chief. But apparently, the DC executives have heard our pleas and decided to greenlight a spin-off centered on the trench monsters from Aquaman.
Yes, you read that right. We’re getting a Trench Monster Spin-Off, at least according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will be centered on the Kingdom of the Trench, which was cut off from Atlantis when it sank and the inhabitants evolved into ravenous monsters that tried to eat our heroes. The film is not supposed to feature any characters from Aquaman, save the trench monsters, so, unfortunately, it won’t be about Nicole Kidman’s Atlanna fighting off monsters and surviving on her own.
If you’re reading this and wondering “why the trench monsters” then you’re out of luck. I cannot explain DC’s current line of thinking. I understand wanting to capitalize on Aquaman‘s success, but the trench monsters seem to be a weird way to do so. Why not a film centered on Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II)? He was one of the strongest parts of the film, and Abdul-Mateen was stellar in the role. Let him have a chance to shine, and use that as a way to set up Kaldur’s introduction to the DCEU.
If you want a non-present day set Aqua-film, why not more about Atlantis’s actual fall? Or something involving the Atlanteans’ war with the Amazons? Connecting DC’s two biggest names might be a great way to get butts in seats, and it would feature Connie Nielson and Robin Wright as Hippolyta and Antiope, which is always a plus.
DC has multiple projects in development, but many of them seem lost in production limbo even though they have a director, writer, or in some cases a cast. Rather than announcing that they’re developing a project, it might work better if they focused on getting some of those to the production stage, instead of announcing everything from the New Gods to Black Adam and then having them linger in a weird limbo.
I understand that DC might want more spin-offs that are self-contained, but I also fail to see how good this would be for the DCEU as a whole. Rather than righting the ship with an excellent Man of Steel 2, or working on The Flash or Cyborg solo films, they are focusing on perhaps the most bizarre spin-off they could do. Maybe there is some method here, but right now it just feels like they’re focusing on the weirdest part of the film in favor of trying to just capitalize on Aquaman’s success.
There is no word yet on when the film would drop in DC’s schedule. I want to believe that the franchise can right itself, but this decision makes me question if DC actually has a plan or an idea of what they want to do, or if they’re just throwing things at a wall to see what sticks.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, image: Warner Bros)
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