Written By Kieran Bugg • U.K. Editor
DCEU fans are set to be disappointed again as the franchise’s upcoming 4K box set includes director Joss Whedon’s theatrical version of Justice League but not Zack Snyder‘s.
After ten years of ups and downs, the DCEU will officially end with the upcoming release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. More specifically, the DCEU no longer moves forward at Warner Bros. Discovery. If The Flash had succeeded, it could’ve stayed as an Elseworlds project at the company.
Instead, DCEU followers remain focused on Netflix picking up the tab.
2013’s Man of Steel served as the launch point for the franchise which would eventually introduce other iconic DC characters. Director Zack Snyder later announced that both Batman and Wonder Woman would appear in the follow-up.
Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice was the first time that the three superheroes would finally unite on-screen in live action.
In addition, other Justice League members were also revealed to have brief appearances in the film. These cameos set the stage for Snyder’s Justice League, which was scheduled to premiere the following year. Unfortunately, Batman v Superman didn’t achieve the Avengers-level profits WB executives were expecting.
DCEU 4K Box Set Won’t Include Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Image: Twitter
Warner Bros. hoped that the DCEU’s first major crossover adventure would cross the $1 billion dollar mark at the worldwide box office. Instead, Batman v Superman managed to gross a still impressive $873.6 million globally.
Nonetheless, this wasn’t what the studio hoped for after seeing the success Marvel Studios had reached with the MCU. As a result. Warner Bros. began interfering with the original plan for the DCEU which unsurprisingly ended with disaster.
Whedon’s panned Justice League sent the DCEU on a downward spiral that saw more failures than successes.
Moreover, serious accusations of behind-the-scenes bullying and unprofessional behavior on the set started to circulating online. This only expanded the already large dark cloud over the DCEU.
Since then, each Warner Bros. regime has been scrambling to figure out a way to climb out of the hole. For the past few years, they’ve mostly been throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Some movies like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the initial Shazam! were financially successful. Aquaman even netted that elusive $1 billion worldwide. But the other entries that followed ultimately failed either critically or with audiences.
Only recently have Warner Bros. decided to reboot the DCEU following their merger with Discovery. CEO David Zaslav’s first order of business was to restructure DC Films into DC Studios.
Furthermore, he then hired director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as the new leaders for the franchise. Gunn directed The Suicide Squad which was a soft reboot of the 2016 original and garnered critical acclaim. Alas, moviegoers didn’t share their enthusiasm. It only acquired a B+ on CinemaScore. Many blame the pandemic and simultaneous HBO Max release for its failure, but a B+ is just slightly higher than The Flash.
DCEU 4K Box Set Won’t Include Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery
However, due to the pandemic, the movie flopped at the box office. Nevertheless, this didn’t waver the studio’s faith in Gunn, who went on to create a TV series for John Cena’s Peacemaker. Meanwhile Safran had previously worked on various DC films including Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
Gunn announced that the DCEU would soon become the DCU (DC Cinematic Universe). The upcoming Blue Beetle movie will be set in this new continuity but the first entry will be Superman: Legacy.
Out of nowhere, a new 10-movie DCEU 4K Ultra-HD Blu-Ray box set has been revealed online.
The films included will be:
Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Wonder Woman 1984, Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash.
However, multiple films set in this universe are missing from this huge box set.
In addition to The Snyder Cut, Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, and The Suicide Squad. The reason for The Snyder Cut’s exclusion is baffling considering Snyder’s version is rightfully considered the superior movie. Also, The Flash directly references The Snyder Cut, which will add to the confusion. On the other hand, perhaps Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t want any R-rated fare alongside the PG-13 superhero pics.
Regardless, this is another bad decision from to add to the pile.
