For a decent chunk of movie-going humans, one daunting aspect of getting all wrapped up in a studio's cinematic universe is keeping tabs on all the overlapping stories and related interconnectedness. Hell, that stuff is also apparently kind of a chore for certain studios. For followers of DC Entertainment's recent output, a common complaint has been that certain attempts at keeping the cinematic universe vibes thriving felt anything but natural.
While Patty Jenkins' (excellent) Wonder Woman was able to nail its nods with well-executed acts of subtlety, other entries from the comic brand have gone the more traditional route. In a new interview with Vulture, DC Entertainment revealed that their plan following this year's Justice League is to opt for more Wonder Woman-esque universe nods in the future.
"Our intention, certainly, moving forward, is using the continuity to help make sure nothing is diverging in a way that doesn't make sense," DC Entertainment boss Diane Nelson said, citing Wonder Woman as an example of a "great" stand-alone. "But there's no insistence upon an overall story line or interconnectivity in that universe." Nelson added that Aquaman, due in 2018, will not be connected to "every movie."
Though these comments by no means indicate that DC Entertainment is ditching its cinematic universe entirely, they certainly mark what will be a noticeable shift for future films. In the same interview, DC Comics CCO and president Geoff Johns confirmed that a Todd Phillips-helmed Joker standalone is currently on the table. As expected, this take on the iconic villain will have no connection with other DC entries.
"We'll be announcing the name of it soon-ish, but those films and the approach to those films is going to be a very different approach," Johns toldVulture. "The Joker is the only picture to date that is under the banner—it's a very different take on the character, it's a very different type of movie, and it's unconstrained by continuity." In other words:
Justice League, directed by the always controversial Zack Snyder, hits theaters Nov. 17.
