'Joker 2': Why Warner Bros. Cannot Afford Another DC Cinematic Universe

DC Films' ups and downs undercut and overshadowed a decade of Warner Bros.' non-superhero box office successes, and DC Studios will most likely do the same.

The core talking points of this morning’s Variety article — framing the Joker: Folie a Deux situation almost entirely in terms of the film’s association with the DC Comics brand — affirms why Warner Bros. Discovery might want to reconsider trying (again) to build an MCU-style universe out of DC properties. They could score massive commercial and critical successes next year from Sinners, A Minecraft Movie, Mortal Kombat 2 and Apple’s F1 while (haha?) Mickey 17 or Alto Kings wins Best Picture at the 2026 Academy Awards. All that will still be rendered culturally irrelevant if James Gunn’s Superman fails to either make unholy amounts of money or (while still earning at least modest theatrical profits) be so damn good that it creates top-tier excitement for Supergirl and whatever comes next. DC Films wrecked a decade’s worth of Warner Bros. theatrical success stories. They can’t afford a repeat with DC Studios.