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Five years ago , Warner Bros. andMarvel Studioslaid out their motion picture slate for theDCEUandMCUrespectively around the same time , but to very different results . So why didMarvel ’s Phase 3 plansrun smoother in execution than DC ’s ?
Comic book moving-picture show have dominated the boxwood government agency in the last few years , thanks chiefly to Marvel , who have released 13 motion-picture show since that Phase 3 announcement back in 2014 ( 11 of which made up Phase 3 itself ) , all of which have been at least somewhat commercially successful . In that same time , DC has released seven movies , include the non - DCEUJoker , although fortunes there have been a little more assorted .
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The two biggest players in the superhero flick sandpit have a string of unexampled releases plotted for the next few years , with no signal of thing slack down . But before we look into their futures , we examine how they executed their previously - laid - out plans , and why Marvel was able to nail most of its confirmed schedule whilethe DCEU had a variety of stumble and stumble .
Marvel & DC’s Phase 3 Announcements Were Very Similar
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol . 2
In mid - October of 2014 , Warner Bros. announced their DCEU slating for the next few years consist of 10 film such asBatman V Superman : Dawn of Justice(May 2016),Suicide Squad(August 2016),Wonder Woman(June 2017),Justice League Part One(November 2017),The Flash(March 2018),Aquaman(July 2018),Shazam!(April 2019),Justice League Part Two(June 2019),Cyborg(April 2020 ) andGreen Lantern(June 2020 ) . At that point , they only had Zack Snyder’sMan of Steelstarring Henry Cavill in their budding franchise , but the line - up wait substantial - full of familiar characters headlining their own movies . Given this , DC fans all over the globe rejoiced especially with the potential that ensemble picture such asBvSand theJustice Leagueposed .
Two weeks after Warner Bros. ' declaration , Marvel Studios followed suit by confirming their Phase 3 slating - MCU ’s bad and longest phase angle thus far . The batting order consisted of eight movies : Captain America : Civil War(May 2016),Doctor Strange(November 2016),Guardians of the Galaxy Vol . 2(May 2017),Thor : Ragnarok(July 2017),Black Panther(November 2017),Captain Marvel(July 2018),Inhumans(November 2018 ) andAvengers : Infinity War Parts 1and2(May 2018 and 2019 ) - which finally becameAvengers : Infinity WarandAvengers : Endgame . During that time , Marvel Studios was on the brink of releasing the much - anticipatedAvengers : Age of Ultron , as well asAnt - Man .
While the studio basically did the same thing here , the big difference was how they made their respective announcement . Warner Bros. opted to uncover their slate during its big shareholder meeting which was close - door and without any press coverage . contingent for their future plans just started to make their fashion online through reports from various outlets . Marvel Studios , on the other bridge player , made such a bountiful splash with an organised event at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles where press the great unwashed were invited . Kevin Feige film the point , and while they scantily let out anything significant other than the release dates , they design thePhase 3 dismission eventthat it was both fun and exciting to watch , drumming up hype for what ’s to come in the MCU . Feige even pulled a ruse aboutCivil WarbeingCaptain America : Serpent Society . There was understandably some theatrics involved as they used anAge of Ultronclip to set up the reveal and had Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans come out on leg to aid denote Chadwick Boseman ’s casting as T’Challa / Black Panther .
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The DCEU Plan Relied Too Heavily On Justice League
Warner Bros. annunciate a four - year docket ( from 2016 - 2020 ) for the DCEU after only releasingMan of Steelon adept faith thatBatman V SupermanandJustice Leaguewould be resounding successes . The studio apartment expected their ensemble films to work like 2012’sThe Avengers . By then , Marvel Studios had already released five standalone picture star their gist Cuban sandwich , all relating to each other one elbow room or another . It ’s worth noting , however , that not all of them were hits . AfterIron Man , The Incredible HulkandIron Man 2were big let down . Fortunately , hazardous projects such asThorandCaptain America : The First Avengerturned out to be solid movies . Despite an fallible Phase 1 , Feige stuck with their plans leading to the Joss Whedon blockbuster . It was only then that it became unclouded how the MCU ’s format can actually work sustainably moving frontwards .
Sadly , as fans know , this was n’t the example for the DCEU . Despite being a loge position hit , BvSwas touch with divisive reviews , which in bit negatively affectedJustice League ’s production . Due to a strictly reactionary move , Warner Bros. meddled with Snyder ’s vision for the film , which involve multiple script re - writes , a mandatory two - hour runtime , and ultimately a last - minute of arc director switch ( ironically , with Whedon replacing Snyder ) . give the behind - the - panorama turmoil , it ’s not surprising that the closing result was n’t well - received by both critics and fans alike , as evidenced byJustice League ’s assorted t0 negative reviews and disappointing box office .
Much of Warner Bros. original DC plan hinged onJustice League . WhileAquamanandShazam!eventually moved forward , The Flash ’s solo adventure was halted that until now , it ’s still in oblivion . The ensemble movie was supposed to set - up a right continuation where the franchise ’s reliable overall villainDarkseid will make his debut . Justice League Part Twowould then lead toCyborgandGreen Lanternmovies . But with the follow - up no longer in the DCEU cards , the movies that would ’ve followed it have also been efficaciously scrap .
Marvel (Mostly) Stuck To The Phase 3 Plan
Things are a bit unlike when it comes to how Marvel Studios executed its Phase 3 pattern . While there were a couple of deviation , they mostly stuck with their plan . Civil War , Doctor Strangeand followed through with their initial agenda . It was only when they had to make room forSpider - Man : Homecomingafter their partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment that their timetable adjusted . rather ofRagnarokrolling out on July 2017 , it moved a few months back to November . In conjunction to this , Black PantherandCaptain Marvelwere pushed back to February 2018 and March 2019 respectively . The plannedInhumansfilm was turned into a television serial instead ( unfortunately , to dissatisfactory results ) butAnt - Man and the Waspfilled the void it left . last , Marvel Studios added inSpider - Man : Far From Homeas its closing Phase 3 plastic film which was n’t in the beginning in their slate .
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Amidstall the change to Phase 3 , cornerstone picture show such asInfinity WarandEndgamekept their release dates . And almost everything that Marvel Studios added in their slate was still in the Robert William Service of those two culminate motion picture . Homecomingfurther evolve Tony Stark / Iron Man and Peter Parker ’s ( Tom Holland ) human relationship , which play a great function in bothAvengerssequels . Far From Homedid a similar thing as it prove how Stark ’s death affected his mentee ’s perspective on valiance , at the same clock time , it leave fans to see the primer - level effects of Thanos ' ( Josh Brolin ) comer and eventual licking . Ant - Man and the Wasp , on the other mitt , place the groundworks for the habit of the Quantum Realm that made meter - travelling possible inEndgame . These movies were all additions to the slate , rather than replacements .
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Right now , both Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios have a train of photographic film ( and even tie - in TV shows ) line - up in their pipelines . But whileMarvelonce again made a grown plash about it , taking their form 4 promulgation to SDCC Hall H this yr , Warner Bros. opted to incrementally announce their DC slate . It ’s unmanageable gauge how thenext few years will fare for the MCUandDCEU , but one thing is for certain : there wo n’t be any scarceness of mirthful book motion picture in the foreseeable time to come .
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