How does DC stay the course?

DC has not been able to find the success on the big screen that Marvel has. Of course they have had outliers but overall Marvel has been dominating the game. Black Adam may not be a perfect film but it may have finally given DC a pathway to a cohesive universe. What are the 5 things DC needs to do now in order to ensure they continue on the path to success?

5. Diverse characters- The JSA in Black Adam shows us that when DC dives into their vast roster they have a ton of cool stories that can be told. They need to figure out a way they can tell larger and smaller scale stories at the same time. The way this can be done is through television. You don't have to interweave a narrative but you can use TV to make a character who appears in a later film more relevant.

4. James Gunn- The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker proved that audiences want to eat up the unpredictability of it all. In Black Adam we see the events of Peacemaker are canon as Emilia Harcourt makes an appearance. Gunn is said to be working on two DC projects and it seems that is DCs smartest move. Use Gunn as much as possible.

3. World Building- Do not rush the crossovers as much. We now know Cavill is still the definitive Superman so allow that world to grow. Allow more characters to be introduced. Make something happen with the Teen Titans now that we have established other teams are floating around. We have the Justice League and JSA. It is time to dive deeper and bring in the Titans or Young Justice to diversify the age groups being covered.

2. Solo Adventures- Make movies where your key characters you want to showcase for the next 6-8 years get their own movie. Not all of them have to be direct origin stories. Make sure you are telling stories that make people believe in the bigger picture. Stop going right for the bigger picture with no payoff built up. It makes more sense to build to a thrilling finale as Marvel did with Endgame. It works as proven through many franchises over the last 3 to 4 decades.

1.Tone- One of the things DC has struggled with is tone. They come from Batshit crazy to toned down sequels. They go from hard R ratings to smaller scale PG-13 ratings. They go from everything being innaccurate and accepted to everything needing to be the books. It is time to accept that none of this can co-exist. I think it is time for DC to push the boundaries of the PG-13 and occasionally be okay if the MPAA wants it R Rated. Black Adam pushed the limits and has earned one of the highest audience scores among any DC project.

Black Adam seems to have set a new standard for the DC on what we can expect moving forward. DC has plenty of opportunities to create a universe that new and old fans can feel comfortable with. 140 Million dollar opening with generally favorable word of mouth is the biggest win possible for a brand that has been lacking an identity. What comes next will surely peak everyone's interest post Black Adam. The reason is because for the first time in almost a decade we have a working DC Universe that is flowing as one and we also have elseworlds stuff that is top notch. It's now or never for DC to do their own thing and not try and just replicate a successful formula.