DC Studios executive Peter Safran recently gave his unfiltered thoughts on Zack Snyder's DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and ultimately revealed why he thinks it didn't pan out. Fans are more optimistic about the DC brand than they have been in quite some time, largely thanks to Safran and James Gunn, the co-CEOs of DC Studios, who created a brand new interconnected universe called the DCU. So far, there have been some television entries released within the franchise, as well as a couple of feature films, with plenty more on the way.
In a recent interview with BBC while at Supergirl's London premiere, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran, who is tasked more with running the business side of the company, officially spoke out about the previous interconnected DC franchise that was largely helmed by Zack Snyder. Of course, Safran didn't come right out and drag Snyder through the mud, as it has been made clear in the past, both he and Gunn have respect for the filmmaker, but Safran didn't hold back in criticizing parts of Snyder's vision.
Specifically, the DC Studios executive stated that he hopes to "rebuild the trust of the audience" with the DCU, as "DC had lost" that trust with fans "over the years:"
"I want to rebuild the trust of the audience, which I think DC had lost over the years."
Safran was seemingly talking about how the DCEU didn't resonate with many fans, and he also added that his and Gunn's hope with the DCU is to make sure that all of the brand's heroes and stories are "under one creative vision," as opposed to them being tackled by different teams who can't quite tie everything together.
The DCU is still in its infant stage, as only a few projects have been released within it, but so far, many fans seem to be pleased with the direction it is going. Supergirl, the latest release in the franchise, hasn't been received as well as projects like Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 were, but, as Safran mentioned, no one can deny that it feels like it is coming from the same creative vision as the rest of the entries in the DCU.
According to the executive, the DC Studios team is also pleased with their work so far. They know it is "a big responsibility," but that they are "thrilled with how it's going:"
"We have a big responsibility on our shoulders but we're thrilled with how it's going so far."
Next up on DC Studios' slate is Clayface, a body horror flick written by Mike Flanagan. Before even introducing its version of Batman to fans, the DCU is going to use Clayface to build out Gotham City, giving even more credence to Safran's claims that the DCU will feel connected and built out, as, by the time the franchise's Batman film (which is currently titled The Brave and the Bold) is released, Gotham will have already been established and there will be some connective tissue for that film to build off of.
DC Studios' Past Gripes With Snyder's DCEU
Safran's quotes about previous DC regimes are not the first time he or Gunn have talked about what went wrong with that particular franchise. The DCEU had its fans, of course, but it objectively didn't perform well and, at the time, was living in Marvel's shadow
Safran and Gunn definitely understood that something about the DCU needed to be different in order for it to succeed, and Safran was able to pinpoint one specific reason Snyder's franchise wasn't working. In an interview with SlashFilm, Safran talked about how "the DC brand was being defined by different creative teams," which led to "each pursuing their own distinct vision."
This ultimately caused the DCEU to leave "very little room for coordination, collaboration, or crossover:"
"When we first took the reins a little over two years ago, the DC brand was being defined by different creative teams at the company and each was pursuing their own distinct vision of the characters and their stories, leaving very little room for coordination, collaboration, or crossover. And the result was not one DCU, but many. And ultimately this fracture proved very challenging to consumers and it chipped away at the very identity of our brand."
Essentially, Safran's previous quotes directly line up with what he said more recently about making sure the DCU stays connected and feels like it is all part of the same franchise. A good example of what the co-CEO is referencing is the difference in movies like Wonder Woman 1984 and Zack Snyder's Justice League. Wonder Woman doesn't even remotely feel like the same character in those movies, and they don't even seem as though they take place in the same universe.
Essentially, it is not unlike the way Thor has been portrayed in the MCU. Yes, Thor is a cornerstone of that franchise, but it seems as though his character is pulled in a different direction each time he is on-screen. It just hasn't felt as drastic in the MCU as it did in the DCEU because every character and story was like that in the DCEU instead of just one.
Gunn echoed this sentiment on Threads (as shared by Hypebeast) in the past. The other co-CEO of DC Studios simply stated that "one of the problems with DCEU content" was that "there was no real consistency:"
"One of the problems with DCEU content in the past was there was no real consistency within the universe itself."
It seems as though consistency is the top priority for Gunn and Safran at DC Studios. So far, they have been successful in keeping the universe tied together and making everything feel like it's all on the same playing field. If they can keep it up, there is no reason the DCU can't succeed.
