An opinion piece about The Worlds of DC – will it bring about brand confusion?
There’s no doubt that Warner Bros/DC has been lagging behind Marvel Studios in bringing successful adaptations of their properties to the big screen.
I would suggest this dominance of Marvel over DC will continue as long as Warner Bros allow their properties to be diluted resulting in brand confusion.
What do I mean by brand confusion?
Simple. There are two Flashes out there. A popular TV version played by Grant Gustin and of course, the movie version with Ezra Miller.
Inevitably, fans will compare and the result is that the Flash character is diminished.
Considering how well-received the light-hearted comedic Arrowverse has been, it would be difficult to introduce a movie version of Green Arrow without fans comparing the character to Stephen Amell’s interpretation.
Same logic would apply to a Supergirl movie, which I understand is in development at Warner Bros. Brand confusion.
The recently launched DC Universe portal with its dark and gritty Titans series is already confusing fans of the animated Teen Titans Go!
With different versions of Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven (etc), it is easy for casual fans to become confused. Just imagine watching the first episode of Titans and hearing Robin say, “Fuck Batman!”.
Even worse when you consider the current situation of the Joker. Fans will remember Jared Leto in Suicide Squad hamming it up as Batman’s arch villain and that Warner Bros are developing a movie with Leto’s version of the character.
BUT that movie is not going to see release before a different Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role (!) How confusing is that?
Compare and contrast this state of affairs with how Marvel handle their characters. There is a clear line between Marvel Television and Marvel Studios about ‘sharing’ characters and that line has never been crossed so far.
Even the recent news that Marvel Studios are developing new series for the upcoming Disney streaming platform with Loki and Scarlet Witch – starring the original actors i.e. Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen – demonstrates their commitment to protecting the brands and characters and thus avoid confusion or dilution of any form.
This is why Marvel are #1 and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The Worlds of DC is an idea doomed to fail.
… still there’s more …