While the most recent additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars franchise have had no trouble being lavished with critical praise, the DCEU has been feeding off of scraps.
“Justice League” was the latest installment to be met with mediocre reviews, which followed on from the poor response to “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” and “Suicide Squad,” and the just about above average consensus on “Man Of Steel.” Only “Wonder Woman” has been met with sterling reviews.
But despite these issues there is one member of the DCEU that is still very excited about its future. That somebody is Patrick Wilson, who previously voiced the President Of The United States in “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” but will feature much more prominently in “Aquaman” as its villain Orm/Ocean Master.
Over the weekend I sat down to talk to Wilson about his turn in the Liam Neeson led thriller “The Commuter,” but our conversation soon turned to “Aquaman” and Warner Bros’ approach to the DCEU.
This is when I asked Wilson whether he thought the DCEU is judged too harshly by critics, and deserves more respect for backing such distinctive and stylized directors like Zack Snyder and James Wan.
“As they say, there are a lot of different ways to skin a cat. Or to make a movie and a franchise. I can only speak on behalf of being an actor and having a relationship with the directors.”
“As a fan, I sit back and see the choices that they make for directors and they are very strong, focused, individual directors and that takes confidence. It easy to hire someone that is just a yes man. And they’re certainly not, which is very exciting.”
“Justice League’s” slightly underwhelming box office performance, which was significantly lower than the opening weekend haul for “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” has led many to suggest that the DCEU is now in crisis.
That means there’s a lot of pressure on “Aquaman” to try and put the franchise back on the right track. We’ve got an awful long time to wait and see if it can do just that, too, as “Aquaman” won’t actually be released until December 21, 2018.
Meanwhile, you can see Patrick Wilson in “The Commuter” when it is released at the start of next year on January 12, 2018.
