Kevin Smith offers his opinion on the latest plans for the DCEU

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

It's a given that many Hollywood directors grew up reading and loving comic books. Among them, indie-ish filmmaker Kevin Smith is by far and away one of the most recognizable for his passion toward superheroes and stories of a surreal nature. Recently, there's been a lot of confusion and talk among fans in regard to where Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment's wonky cinematic universe is headed. While some are content to simply enjoy the ride, others are concerned that the on-again-off-again rumors concerning Affleck's turn as Batman and the potential of there being two Joker-related movies is a sign that the studio is confused about how to construct a rock-solid extended filmverse. With that being said, there's one man who's not worries about any of that stuff, and that man is Kevin Smith.

In an interview with Screen Rant, Smith was asked if he could share his thoughts on the prospect of Warner Bros. releasing DC-related films that are not a part of the same cinematic universe. Smith responded by saying “All of ‘em are good,” he replied. “There’s no such thing as a bad comic book movie. Even the ones that people say are quote-unquote bad are better than no comic book movies. I’m a forty-seven-year-old man, so I grew up in an era where there were no comic book movies. And then every once in awhile you’d get one, and it was like water in a desert. You’d get Batman in 1989, or Blade or something like that. So now, we live in an era where they’re like, ‘hey, we’re not even gonna do an interconnected DC universe. We’re just gonna let Martin Scorsese produce a flick where Leonardo DiCaprio might play the Joker.’ That’s exciting. So, to me, I’m like, the more the merrier.”

While not everyone shares in Smith's enthusiasm, I think it's nice to know that there is someone with boots on the ground who's proud to offer a positive spin on Warner Bros. chosen direction for their comic book-style blockbusters. In talking with Screen Rant, the conversation eventually turned toward the Marvel end of the spectrum, where the "eyes-open-wide-in-damn-near-every-photo" filmmaker was happy to share his take as well. “I know they’re deviating from the Marvel template of, like, ‘we’ll make a bunch of characters, and then a reunion movie. Buncha characters, reunion movie,'” he explained. “Instead, Warner Bros. seems to be going with, ‘well, we tried that, and we’re gonna keep doing it on the side, but we’re not gonna limit ourselves. We’re gonna do a bunch of other interesting things.’ They’re trying to forge their way in the superhero space. So I think it’s interesting, I’m not against that at all,” said Smith.

Obviously, Kevin Smith is no stranger to the concept of creating an interconnected cinematic universe, with several of his films each contributing to the lore and circumstances of another. Smith then went on to talk about inter-connectivity, and how it's not always the most important thing when crafting a film universe. “I’m a purist, so I love when things are interconnected, as well, but I grew up in an era where there was a Batman movie, there was a Superman movie, and they didn’t really reference each other,” he said. “So now we live in a world where these movies can cross over and stuff, I’m happy to get the ones that can, but if they don’t cross ‘em over that’s totally okay with me. As long as they’re good, as long as they try."

“And think about—some people get kinda crappy, like, ‘come on, man, these cats, they don’t know comic books,'” Smith continued. “Comic books and characters have been handed to so many creators over the years. You never know what you’re gonna get in the hands of any particular person. I still get crap for making Batman pee his pants in a Batman book once, which is, you know, kind of reducing it to something it wasn’t, but still, regardless, you gotta respect the fact that a creator can come on, maybe take that character [to] a place that you’ve never seen that character be taken. And I gotta imagine, if Martin Scorsese jumps onto a Batman movie, we’re gonna see some shit. Not bad shit, the good shit that we all dream about. Goodfellas in a DC Universe movie? I’m there, take all my money.”

I must admit that I think Smith poses a sound argument for the idea of there being some "experimental variety" when making comic book films. I particularly like the part where he mentions the fact that different creators have different takes on characters, each time the mantle in passed from one creative to another. Sometimes, it all works out and we get something really special. Other times, well … yeah. Regardless, the comic book film genre doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon, and like Les Claypool of the band Primus says, "They can't all be zingers."

It won't be long now until JUSTICE LEAGUE, a collaborative film featuring Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Raymond Fisher) will explode onto the silver screen, making both dreams and nightmares come true for comic book fans the world over. Steel yourselves for when November 17th rolls around, folks, because things are bound to get interesting.