Not too long ago, Seth Grahame-Smith was announced as the director for Warner Bros/DC’s The Flash. Now…not so much. Not only has he left that project, but there’s a rumor going around that director James Wan might also be leaving Aquaman. What’s up with DC Entertainment not being able to hold onto their directors?
According to Birth. Death. Movies, Seth Grahame-Smith left The Flash due to “creative differences.” It’s unclear what those differences were, but BDM’s sources told them that a lot of this has to do with the studio’s push-back against Zack Snyder’s vision of Justice League after the release of Batman v Superman. Now, James Wan may be feeling some pressure and not want to go to the trouble of dealing with Warner Bros on this. BDM also makes an excellent point that WB needs Wan more than Wan needs them at this point:
James Wan doesn’t really need Aquaman. With The Conjuring 2 and Lights Out (which he produced), Wan will be owning WB’s summer slate, bringing in a lot of money with movies that cost a fraction of Aquaman. Aquaman needs Wan, and right now Wan is trying to decide if he needs that hassle.
Again, this news about Wan is based on unnamed sources, so this is all still firmly in rumor territory. However, it’s disappointing that DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. seem to be having such a difficult time creatively with their slate of films based on their awesome comics properties. What’s even more strange is that they don’t have this problem in their animated films. Somehow, with those, they manage to get the tone, the characters, and the spirit of the source material just right.
Is it because the animated films need to be kid-friendly? I dunno. Some of the DC Universe animated films still manage to be gritty for a “kids’ movie.” Is it that the animated films cost less to produce, so the producers and creators are willing to take more chances? Or is it that the DC films seems so wholly disconnected from their own current comics?
When I watch a Marvel movie, I know that save for a certain number of tiny things, that the films fit into the TV shows fit into the comic books. Their architects are doing an amazing job at keeping everything cohesive, whereas the DC films, TV shows, and comics have very little to do with each other, which makes me as a viewer unsure how to feel about any of it.
What do you think can help the DC Cinematic Universe?
(via /Film)
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