Black Canary Proves The DCEU's Problem Isn't Its Characters

[Animous]

After making her debut in 2019's bombastic Birds of Prey, Jurnee Smollett's Black Canary will be starring in her own movie on HBO Max, proving once and for all that casting hasn't really been a major issue for the DCEU. Despite having several hits under its belt, the brand name of the DCEU seems irreparably damaged by several scandals and poor decision-making. Back in 2013, Warner Bros. picked Zack Snyder to essentially spearhead the DCEU with Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman, but after the initial reaction to BvS and Suicide Squad, the company panicked - making the decision to slowly phase out Snyder's influence and move in a more formalist, less rigorously connected continuity.

Now, several movies after the rock bottom experience that was the theatrical release of Justice League, the DC Extended Universe seems to be regaining some sort of footing. Aquaman, Shazam, Birds of Prey, and most recently, The Suicide Squad have all been critical darlings, even if the box office returns vary wildly between them all. And on top of these new successes, Warner Bros. ownership of HBO Max means that a host of new DC content is coming to the streaming service, including a Green Lantern television series, Justice League Dark, and also a Batgirl film.

RELATED:Why The Suicide Squad Was Right To Abandon DCEU Continuity

Even though many of these projects will be completely original stories dealing with new characters, a fair amount of the films that DC is working on at the moment feature returning versions of characters they've already introduced. Done in Birds of Prey and now The Suicide Squad, reimagining these castings in different contexts proves once and for all that casting decisions were never the problem in the DCEU.

 

 

While Birds of Prey was a critical darling that garnered plenty of positive reviews due to its stellar fight choreography and rejection of the male gaze on its main characters, it wasn't a huge commercial success for many reasons, including maligned marketing and a deliberate push-back by a minority of the internet who perceived the movie as "anti-men." Despite this, however, it's obvious that Warner Bros. doesn't view the movie as a complete failure, considering that Jurnee's Black Canary will undoubtedly explore the character's history. It's clear that even with Warner's history of studio interference and attempts at course correcting, they recognize the innate talent and ability many of their actors have to bring these characters to life.

Two very frequently used examples are Ayer's casting of Margot Robbie and Jared Leto as Harley Quinn and The Joker, respectively. Despite the movie being critically panned upon release (with fans now rallying to get a director's cut released of Ayer's original vision), Suicide Squad was the first film to give us Margot Robbie's version of Harley Quinn, who has gone on to star in two much more appreciated movies and has essentially become as irreplaceable in the role as RDJ's Iron Man. And although his version of The Joker has never been outright beloved, Jared Leto's Joker was redeemed in Snyder's Justice League, once again proving that this has never been an issue of actors being miscast.

Black Canary has a chance to be another home run for DC, and also prove the merits of the HBO Max service as an outlet for exciting new superhero-related content. Jurnee Smollett's return is undoubtedly a win for fans of the DCEU who want to keep seeing actors bring nuance to these characters, and hopefully, Warner Bros. begins to understand that the problem with their brand doesn't boil down to directors or actors, but instead their own interference.

After making her debut in 2019's bombastic Birds of Prey, Jurnee Smollett's Black Canary will be starring in her own movie on HBO Max, proving once and for all that casting hasn't really been a major issue for the DCEU. Despite having several hits under its belt, the brand name of the DCEU seems irreparably damaged by several scandals and poor decision-making. Back in 2013, Warner Bros. picked Zack Snyder to essentially spearhead the DCEU with Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman, but after the initial reaction to BvS and Suicide Squad, the company panicked - making the decision to slowly phase out Snyder's influence and move in a more formalist, less rigorously connected continuity.

Now, several movies after the rock bottom experience that was the theatrical release of Justice League, the DC Extended Universe seems to be regaining some sort of footing. Aquaman, Shazam, Birds of Prey, and most recently, The Suicide Squad have all been critical darlings, even if the box office returns vary wildly between them all. And on top of these new successes, Warner Bros. ownership of HBO Max means that a host of new DC content is coming to the streaming service, including a Green Lantern television series, Justice League Dark, and also a Batgirl film.

RELATED:Why The Suicide Squad Was Right To Abandon DCEU Continuity

Even though many of these projects will be completely original stories dealing with new characters, a fair amount of the films that DC is working on at the moment feature returning versions of characters they've already introduced. Done in Birds of Prey and now The Suicide Squad, reimagining these castings in different contexts proves once and for all that casting decisions were never the problem in the DCEU.

While Birds of Prey was a critical darling that garnered plenty of positive reviews due to its stellar fight choreography and rejection of the male gaze on its main characters, it wasn't a huge commercial success for many reasons, including maligned marketing and a deliberate push-back by a minority of the internet who perceived the movie as "anti-men." Despite this, however, it's obvious that Warner Bros. doesn't view the movie as a complete failure, considering that Jurnee's Black Canary will undoubtedly explore the character's history. It's clear that even with Warner's history of studio interference and attempts at course correcting, they recognize the innate talent and ability many of their actors have to bring these characters to life.

Two very frequently used examples are Ayer's casting of Margot Robbie and Jared Leto as Harley Quinn and The Joker, respectively. Despite the movie being critically panned upon release (with fans now rallying to get a director's cut released of Ayer's original vision), Suicide Squad was the first film to give us Margot Robbie's version of Harley Quinn, who has gone on to star in two much more appreciated movies and has essentially become as irreplaceable in the role as RDJ's Iron Man. And although his version of The Joker has never been outright beloved, Jared Leto's Joker was redeemed in Snyder's Justice League, once again proving that this has never been an issue of actors being miscast.

Black Canary has a chance to be another home run for DC, and also prove the merits of the HBO Max service as an outlet for exciting new superhero-related content. Jurnee Smollett's return is undoubtedly a win for fans of the DCEU who want to keep seeing actors bring nuance to these characters, and hopefully, Warner Bros. begins to understand that the problem with their brand doesn't boil down to directors or actors, but instead their own interference.

[Silent Watcher]

Avoid unnecessary posts such as 'Thank you', 'Welcome', etc. Such posts will be deleted and user will be warned if it happens again. If caught spamming, the following actions are applicable -

• First time - Warning
• Second time - 5000 Points will be deducted
• Third time - Ban for 7 days
• Fourth time - Permanent Ban

If the post helped you, reward the user by reacting to the post like this -