DC and Warner Brothers decided to pull the plug on SnyderVerse after the poor reception of Justice League in 2017. Maybe even before that, since the theatrical cut of Justice League was barely Snyder’s vision. Thanks to the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, more commonly known as the Snyder Cut, we now know for sure that the original plan for JL paved the way for sequels where Wheadon’s theatrical cut left no room for further continuation. This forced fans and critics to think SnyderVerse is about to be a history. Even though ‘Restore The SnyderVerse’ is all the rage now, the future of SnyderVerse and DC movies, in general, has never been more uncertain.
But there is one thing both fans and execs at WB are certain about—DC movies are best when they are focused on solo characters. The success of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Joker, Wonder Woman 1984 and Man of Steel grounds the fact.
So maybe, just maybe, DC is better off doing standalone movies instead of connecting underdeveloped characters in an action mashup. In that hope, here are three DC characters who deserve live-action adaptations that can still save the DC Extended Universe or whatever you want to call today’s complicated DC movie lineup.
Red Hood — The Bat Protégé That Kills
Despite being in comics for decades, Jason Todd, the second Robin to Gotham’s caped crusader, has only gotten his fair share of popularity in recent years with his second alter-ego Red Hood. The animated Batman: Under the Red Hood movie and recent storylines on DC boards have caused a stir among the fans. After hating his Robin persona for years, Fans are loving Jason Todd as the antihero Red Hood who doesn’t hesitate to cross the boundaries set by Batman.
The second boy of wonder took on the mantle of Red Hood after Dark Knight’s archenemy Joker beat him to death and Ra’s Al Ghul brought him back to life using DC’s reincarnating Lazarus Pitt. Ironically, the name Red Hood was Joker’s alter ego before he fell into the vat of chemicals, only to rise as a pale-skinned psychopath.
It’s only logical for Jason to take up his killer’s alter ego as he seeks vengeance for his death. As explored in comics and 2010’s Batman: Under the Red Hood movie, his attempts to get revenge are walled by the Batman himself. And as for the live-action adaptation, who wouldn’t want to see Batman fight it out with his ward in an attempt to stop him from breaking the one rule, no killing.
Even though, a solo Red Hood movie in Robert Pattinson’s universe would not fit as this version of Batman is only in his second year of crime-fighting justice, it’ll definitely work with Ben Affleck’s Batman perfectly as fans have been wondering what happened to the Robin whose suit was seen in Affleck’s Bat Cave. Even though Joker confirmed killing the boy of wonder in a mid-credit scene of Snyder Cut, it’s arguably an alternate future or earth. So, we are yet to know what happened to Jason Todd and how. And again. Batman vs. his protégé, who wouldn’t buy a ticket for that?
It fits DC’s dark tone and people love Red Hood. So, a solo Red Hood is a win-win for both the studio and fans.
Booster Gold — The Hero From The Future
If there’s one thing DC movies are accused of, it’s their incompetence in producing light-toned movies with humorous characters. Both fans and critics are waiting for a DC movie that is comparable to Fox, Sony and Marvel’s Deadpool, Spider-Man Homecoming, Ant-Man or even Thor Ragnarok. Even though DC took a crack at it with Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad movies, it hardly sat well with fans and critics, grounding their incompetence theory even more. Well, a solo Booster Gold movie might be the perfect opportunity to prove everyone wrong.
A pseudo hero from the future comes to present days and uses his knowledge of history and 25th-century technology to save the day, all the while cracking jokes and getting into everyone’s nerves – a perfectly charming yet annoying character to put in a light-hearted story that takes a joke-cracking, fanboying hero poser and turns him into a true hero. If you are already a fan of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series from the early 2000s, you know what I’m talking about.
After the somewhat questionable reception of 2017’s Justice League, maybe a solo movie that doesn’t take itself seriously is what DC needs to bring back people’s faith in their films.
Although, just as I am writing this, the CWverse show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has announced a secret character for season 7 finale which sounds an awful lot like Booster Gold from the character description. So, it’s almost certain we’re getting a Booster Gold on our screens.
Spectre — The Wrath of God
DC’s New Gods movie got shelved and fans are disappointed, especially DC fans who would love to brag their New Gods movie ‘would have been better’ than Marvel’s The Eternals movie released last year. Even though we are not seeing new gods Orion, Metron, Highfather and others from New Genesis anytime soon, the list of cosmic entities in DC is not limited to new gods of the Fourth World. From 5th Dimensional imps to Biblical characters and actual Gods, DC has a rich list of cosmic-superpowered individuals. So, a solo movie with any of these characters is a good chance for DC to show how good they are in handling cosmic stories. And who better to star than the actual wrath of God, the Spectre.
Spectre, the literal embodiment of almighty’s wrath, had many hosts over the years. Among them, Jim Corrigan is undoubtedly the most popular and ‘just’ to the puny humans who did wrong by others. Portraying him as the all-powerful judge could be the perfect opportunity that DC and Warner Bros. need to keep loyal DC fans happy after they almost butchered the character in Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.
DC is yet to do any movie of cosmic scale, and a solo Spectre movie might open the door for other cosmic beings to appear in their future films. Since their grounded movies like Suicide Squad and Batman vs. Superman are not doing great, maybe multiversal cosmic stories are the way to go ahead. Maybe, just maybe, DC will be known for producing amazing live-action cosmic scripts that satisfy fans and critics alike.