DC FanDome has gone live as one of the largest virtually coordinated comic book events in the history of man-kind. It will have several heavy hitters from the DC Comic Book Pantheon coming to the event that would be filled with all kinds of DC Goodness. If you like superheroes, you would want to tune into the online event which also promises to rake in some of the biggest celebrities of Hollywood. One major aspect of the DC Universe is surprisingly missing. The DC Animated Universe has an astonishingly low presence in the comic book mega event.
Are we missing something here or is DC Comics trying to signal a change in direction? From what we know so far, things might not be going as planned for the acclaimed DCAU universe. Apart from the fact that the DC FanDome event will not even be including any panel member from the new animated Batman film that has been announced, the under-development ventures have also been neglected. Some of the fans are disgruntled. The fans that grew up watching Batman The Animated Series and the Justice League show in Cartoon Network will never be satisfied with such low attention to the DCAU.
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There are some sad and sweet new pieces of information that we need to share with you. If you are a DC Fan, things might get ugly if you go down under. So we suggest you enter at your own risk.
Superman: Man of Tomorrow – Surprising New Details Revealed
After the DC FanDome event went a scheduling overhaul, the animated Superman movie faced a delay in its premier screening date. The screening date, which was slated for the DC FanDome event, remains cancelled until further notice as of now. DC FanDome’s show runners released an updated schedule for the event before the panels went online today. The Man of Tomorrow panel was literally the only DC Animated Movie for the event. The rescheduling raised a lot of questions. And we now finally haven answer.
Many believed that Barry Allen’s time travel jumps within the DCAU’a Apokolips War was what led to the creation of the Man of Tomorrow’s version of the DC Animated Universe. That has been proven to be false now. Rumors were rife that Man of Tomorrow will be a standalone venture that will have nothing to do with the actual DCAU continuity. DC’s Justice League: Apokolips War was supposed to give the DCAU a way out and become the universe’s second Flashpoint like movie. The clean slate philosophy has been wiped and thrown out of the window. From the looks of it, the DCAU will remain as it is. Even though clogged and extremely dysfunctional, there is not much to expect from the DCAU.
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DC Animation will now focus on standalone projects. Movies like Batman: Hush and the as of yet untitled new Batman animated movies are examples that DC would rather just start afresh without rewriting the timeline. Man of Tomorrow, which was supposedly the part of the new Post Apokolips War timeline, is no longer even part of the panel. The Director of Superman: Man of Tomorrow, Gail Palmer, claimed that the move to just random start the DCAU with a fresh tone without any prior notice was a well-calculated movie. He states and we quote:
“This film is obviously a lighter take — Apokolips War is pretty dark, obviously — Superman in blue skies in a shiny, new Metropolis,” claimed Palmer. “Even visually, there’s that feel of a new beginning, starting with a younger Clark, as well. Starting with his first year on the job rather than a well-established Superman already in the suit helps with that.”
The other upcoming animated movie venture for the DCAU is Batman: Soul of the Dragon. The movie that is to be directed by Sam Liu, and executive produced by Bruce Timm of Batman The Animated Series fame. The movie will take Batman to an episode from his past where he will face an enemy that is deeply connected to Bruce Wayne before he became the Batman. Many prominent Batman villains like Lady Shiva are coming to the animated feature. Bronze Tiger and Richard Dragon along with O-Sensei and Jeffrey Burr are returning to the DCAU. This movie is also devoid of a FanDome panel. Things are confusing us now. What does Warner Brothers Animation have in mind for the DCAU? Are they even considering it for future expansion??
With the limited amount of online presence and little to no marketing effort, the DCAU might have been side-lined for now. Resources are limited and the ability to allocate some to each project is scarce. DC Animation and WB Studios are probably deciding to let go of the DCAU for now and focus on the big dollar projects of the DC Extended Universe. For now, all resources have been diverted to Wonder Woman 1984, The Batman, Aquaman 2, the Shazam sequel, Black Adam 2, and the Snyder Cut Justice league. The DCAU is the least of their concern.
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For now, that is going to be the case.
In an interview, Chris Palmer declared that the DCAU as we know it is over. DC is currently considering restarting the universe with a more refreshed setting. The DC Animated Universe’s dark and gritty undertones and themes have to be let go. The new DCAU will be more ‘optimistic’ in nature. Those were his words, not ours. In the last decade, Warner Brothers Animation had been doing things one way. Now they intend to remake the DCAU in an image that is better suited for the new generation. It is for this purpose that they chose Superman to be the new torchbearer of the DCAU. Man of Tomorrow will be the first movie in a line of new age DC Animated movies targeted at a newer niche segment.
This is what he said:
“The films were winding down from the previous arcs, the stories being for the past ten years for Warner Animation,” Palmer said. “In searching for [a way to] launch the first film [in a new direction], Superman seemed like the big character to go with.”
Looks like the new direction for the DC Animated Universe will be the Big Blue Boy Scout that is Superman, not Batman. The days of the bleak, graphic and gritty tales of the Dark Knight are over. The new DCAU will tell stories of hope, harmony, and peace.
Source: CBR
