Fans of DC Comics certainly had an interesting first week of August, 2022. The studio made the unprecedented decision to shelve Batgirl, a nearly completed film that the studio had already spent about $90 million to film. The news came with a wave of speculation regarding other DC projects, as it appeared series like Strange Adventures was officially canceled, while rumors regarding the status of the Supergirl movie starring Sasha Calle and the Green Lantern HBO Max series remained up in the air.

On August 4, 2022, during the Warner Bros. Discovery Investor Call, the studio CEO David Zaslav explained the decision to cancel Batgirl by saying that it did not fit the new vision of the DCEU and mentioned that the studio was developing a 10-year plan, similar to that of Marvel Studios. Zaslav name-checked former Disney CEO Bob Iger, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, and Alan Horn, who has recently been hired by Warner Bros. Discovery as a consultant after having worked as the Chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 2012 to 2022. Horn previously worked as President of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2011 and helped usher in some of the studio's biggest franchises, like Harry Potter and The Dark Knight trilogy, so it was a welcome return.

No details were given about Warner Bros. Discovery's 10-year DC plan, who would be in charge, or what types of films the studio was looking to make. The news has many split, as some hope it will lead to a more interconnected universe that could rival the MCU. Others however feel like it would take away from the recent elements that have made the DC films so unique in recent years, all in the hopes to chase the success of the MCU.

While it certainly makes sense from a business standpoint, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most successful film franchise in history and its recent expansion into television has shown the strength of the brand name, the decision to do this around DC feels like the studio in charge is one again taking all the wrong notes from their past history, why Marvel Studios has been a hit, and also losing sight of how DC has had its own form of success over the past ten years. This is why DC should not copy Marvel's business strategy.

Warner Bros. Already Made a Plan Before

Justice League
Warner Bros. Pictures

In 2014, just one year after the DCEU launched with Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. unveiled a slate of DCEU films they had mapped out, and like the announcement of the new 10-year plan, it was made during an investor call. The studio had Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad set for 2016, Wonder Woman and Justice League Part 1 in 2017, The Flash and Aquaman in 2018, Shazam! and Justice League Part 2 in 2019, and finally Green Lantern Corps and Cyborg in 2020.

Related: The Flash: Every Release Date the Movie's Had and Why It’s Been Delayed So Much

While the first four did all make it to theaters, the negative reaction to Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad in 2016 sent ripples through the schedule. Justice League was turned into one movie, Aquaman missed its July release date in 2018 and was released in December, The Flash has been delayed for over four years due to changes in creative directions. Justice League Part. 2, Cyborg, and Green Lantern Corps. were all canceled. Interestingly Shazam!, despite being dated so far ahead actually did manage to make its planned April 5, 2019, release date.

Warner Bros. Put All its Eggs in Zack Snyder's Basket

Justice League Snyder Cut
Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. and DC bet hard on Zack Snyder's vision for the DCEU, and he had even mapped out later Justice League sequels. Yet that plan didn't work, and the studio has essentially been course correcting and paying for these creative choices since 2016. This was clearly the studio's fault, putting all its eggs in one basket, and never stopping to rethink their creative approach, because they had a plan and once the architect of that plan was forced out, the studio had to quickly try to make up for lost time.

Much of the discussion around films like Wonder Woman 1984, Aquaman, and Shazam! was how different they were in tone from what came before during the original plans. The studio added films like Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad, and Black Adam which were not part of that initial plan and yet have added to the universe in many interesting ways. While DC has done a pretty good job adapting to the plan, also those early films' poor reaction from critics and audiences put them facing an uphill battle where great films like Shazam! and The Suicide Squad had to pay for the price of their predecessors that came before and win audiences over.

Now they have all their bets on The Flash, as that film is supposedly the key to their new future moving forward, and putting all the faith on that one project has once again put them in trouble as the accusations surrounding star Ezra Miller continue to pile up.

Marvel's Plan Is Greatly Exaggerated

Thanos holds the infinity gauntlet in Avengers Infinity War
Marvel Studios
Disney

Everyone points to the MCU for how to lay out a successful cinematic universe, as they have had a plan since the beginning, yet this is sort of a myth that Marvel Studios has helped sell. Yes, Marvel Studios Phase 1 films were building up to The Avengers, but when they made the first Iron Man the studio was just trying to make one hero work and hope their gamble would pay off, with the Nick Fury after credit scenes added later in production as a possible tease of what could be.

Each Phase 1 entry was about making sure audiences cared about each individual hero leading into The Avengers. Even the Thanos tease at the end credits of The Avengers was something Joss Whedon came up with while they were filming that film. Marvel Studios didn't come up with a plan for what Thanos' goal was in Avengers: Infinity War until they began writing that script, as neither his appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy or Avengers: Age of Ultron really give any insight into his plan other than acquiring Infinity Stones, which is his basis in the comics. The studio had to go back and retcon the Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's treasure room in Thor: Ragnarok, because back in 2011 when they made the first Thor it was just a fun easter egg, and they didn't know they would be building up to it.

Marvel Studios makes each solo film stand on its own the best that they can, and it's not vital to view the previous or next film, but the small little details in the background and character references that create a cinematic universe are icing on the cake. Every attempt to overly plan this stuff out in detail, from Universal's Dark Universe to the original DCEU plan, has failed because they become so committed to the idea of some 'master plan' they believe that Marvel Studios has shown to such success. In reality, Marvel Studios just uses the improv rule of 'yes and...' which builds off what has already come before, and that method is one that has served them well, yet many don't quite recognize it.

Batgirl is Exactly the Type of Movie Marvel Studios Would Make

Avengers: Age of Ultron International Banner Reunites the Team
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Canceling Batgirl shows that DC is attempting to copy Marvel Studios' methods in business practice only but not on a creative endeavor. During the earnings call, the studio hyped up having access to characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, which are without a doubt not only the three biggest DC heroes but some of the most famous superheroes in the world. They are an easy sell for audiences.

Yet when Marvel Studios started, they didn't have that. They didn't have access to their most popular characters like The X-Men, Spider-Man, and The Fantastic Four. Before 2008, characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor were considered B-list heroes and far from household names. However, Marvel Studios worked with what they had and focused on getting great filmmakers, a talented cast, and crafting worthwhile stories; now, 10 years later these characters are some of the most recognizable superheroes in the world. Marvel Studios has managed to turn characters like Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Shang-Chi into massive films, and the heroes are household names. Nobody in 2010 could have guessed that Black Panther and Captain Marvel could gross $1 billion.

Related: The Discontinued and Canceled Extended Universe (DCEU) and Where it's Going

Warner Brothers' cancelation of Batgirl, as well as niche properties like Wonder Twins and Supergirl, put other potentially exciting characters like Zatanna, Static, and Blue Beetle all on the chopping block. While none of these titles, save for Static due to the popularity of his animated series in the 2000s, seem like instant hits, they have the potential to be if the studio would believe in them. Just because these properties might be more niche in terms of comic book audience, they may have untapped mainstream pop culture appeal.

It's telling that the directors of Batgirl, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, also directed two episodes of Ms. Marvel, and while that series may not have been the rating juggernaut that Loki or WandaVision were, Marvel Studios recognizes and sees the long-term profitability of the character and already have her set to appear in The Marvels, and the positive reaction to the series from critics and audiences indicates she will be around for years to come.

Not Having A Plan Has Led To Some Exciting DC Films

The Batman and Joker
Warner Bros. Pictures

Arguably one of the best things that DC has done and should do is not to compete with Marvel Studios, to offer something unique that the competition can't. DC understood that, for all the strengths of the interconnected universe that the MCU had, it also had a few drawbacks. Films like The Batman and Joker were not connected to a wider universe and offered unique artistic interpretations of classic characters that did not need to fit a mold and both films proved to be major hits.

While Marvel's blockbuster films and interconnected universe make it seem like the dominating form of superhero discourse, the 2010s have been an incredibly great time for DC fans who now have more adaptations than at any point. They have had a successful shared universe on the CW in the form of the Arrowverse, which will come to an end in 2023. They have adaptations of popular critically acclaimed comics like Sandman, Watchmen, Lucifer, and iZombie that have aired on various networks. Series like Doom Patrol and Stargirl showcase very different approaches to iconic heroes, and while they aren't connected, they tell great stories anyway (probably greater as a result of that freedom), which should always be the focus.

Whatever the future holds for DC on film and television, there is a chance many will look back on these few years as an exciting expansion. Where multiple different creative teams got to tell unique stories that would not exist if they had to be connected together.