The DC Extended Universe is a film franchise composed of three films thus far: “Man of Steel” (2013), “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) and “Suicide Squad” (2016).  Though the franchise is still young, its three films have been topics of long discussions. They’ve caused a great divide between fans, resulting in polar opposite opinions from many.

“Man of Steel” told the origins of Kal-el, known as Superman, in a more modern and realistic version. Featuring Henry Cavill as the titular Man of Steel himself, this movie had fans biting their nails in anticipation of its release; however, when it premiered in June 2013, MoS was greeted with a heavily mixed response.

Critics accused the movie of having a paper-thin plot, while fans of the character rejoiced at seeing bombastic action scenes they previously only dreamed of. After MoS didn’t knock out audiences as hoped, DC decided to add a fan favorite character to their next feature – the Batman.  

Following the backlash regarding “Man of Steel,” DC decided to scrap the original plan of a Superman trilogy and instead replaced it with a Batman-Superman pairing. The new project, “Batman v Superman,” began with the climax of MoS, except this time from the perspective of Bruce Wayne (Batman).

As Wayne witnesses the outcome of the climactic battle, he blames Superman for the destruction and develops a strong distrust of him, which sets up their fight later. Once again, DC was shocked by a hoard of mixed reviews from audiences. BvS did even worse than MoS critically — and financially. Once again, the franchise was failing.

DC released their third film in the connected universe in August 2016, and they hoped this one would be the charm. “Suicide Squad” put superheroes in the background and brought some supervillains to center stage, in hopes that some change of pace would benefit the franchise. Not surprisingly, even more mixed reactions came after the film’s release.

After striking out with three films in a row, something must be done in order to save the series. There needs to be major change in their films before the fans and critics give up on them completely.

First off, they need to have a clear vision of what tone they’re going for. “Man of Steel” went for a more realistic and grounded version of Superman’s story, filled with hope and awe.

Then BvS took all hope out of the picture and replaced it with darkness and gloominess. By the time “Suicide Squad” rolled around, audiences didn’t know what to expect. SS released with a funnier and more comic book tone than the previous two, making each movie vastly different from each other. If DC wants these films to feel connected, they need to stick with one tone and stand by it.

Another thing that should be addressed is that there isn’t much of a forerunner for these DC movies. Zack Snyder directed MoS and BvS, yes, but he had little to no involvement in SS, and that showed.

Without someone overseeing each project, continuity errors arise, and the movies don’t flow like a connected universe should.

All hope is not lost, however, for the DCEU. With the trailers for 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League” gaining popularity and receiving mostly positive responses, it seems DC might finally be learning from their mistakes.

Both trailers look to be similar in tone and are brighter and more colorful than before. Plus, with the addition of comic book writer Geoff Johns to work on the next four DC films as a writer and producer, it seems like DC finally has their overseer.

Now that DC is listening to audiences and fixing their mistakes, it seems their future looks brighter.