So far, what we’ve seen from the DC Films universe has been a strong, stylistic lean toward the serious. “Man Of Steel,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” and “Suicide Squad” — which was supposed to the lighter corrective to its dour predecessors — have all traded in furrowed-brow dramatics to varying degrees. And while Warner Bros., DC and co. are trying to let fans know that there will be fun in these movies, they often wind up countering that message by releasing stuff like the quite serious first look at Mera in “Justice League.” So where does this leave the DC Films 2017 slate? Well, it’s a bit of question mark, but according to Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment and president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, the mandate for the DC movies has always been to serve the character first.
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“There’s a misconception that DC or [parent studio] Warner Bros. has made a conscious decision for all our movies to be darker or edgier,” she told Variety. “That’s not the case. Fans of the DC universe know that there are characters, like Batman, who are darker, but there are others like Wonder Woman, who are hopeful, optimistic leaders, and the tone of this film represents that.”
And with “Wonder Woman” in mind, Nelson promises that the movie from Patty Jenkins will be tinged with hope.
“Patty brought a beauty and a sense of lightness or humor, and a little romance to it. It’s a very aspirational movie,” she said, noting that how Wonder Woman engages in battle also affects how her character is portrayed.
“Her armor, the shield, the lasso, and so forth are what you could describe as defensive weapons as opposed to offensive weapons,” Nelson added. “That’s a pretty good way to think about the way she fights. She’s not choosing to fight for the thrill of battle. She’s fighting because she believes in something and she’s quick to put down that sword when the opportunity is there.”
Well, we’ll see if that’s actually the case when “Wonder Woman” opens on June 2, 2017.