It’s no secret that cinematically, Marvel has had the upper hand over DC for quite some time with it’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) being prominent over DC’s Extended Universe (DCEU). However, there is a service coming out soon that might equalize the playing field just a little bit for not only DC, but the entirety of superhero entertainment, and entertainment as a whole. Today we’re going to dive deep into the DC Universe streaming service that is going to be implemented by DC later this year and continuing into next year.
So What is It?
DC Universe is going to be a streaming service similar to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and the like, but focusing on strictly DC content, and for the most part, content that is created originally for this streaming service. The service already has a few confirmed 
titles to be coming in the near future, such as “Titans”, “Young Justice: Outsiders”, “Swamp-Thing”, “Doom Patrol”, and “Harley Quinn”. Some of these titles, like “Titans” will be live action, while others, like “Young Justice: Outsiders” will be animated. So what does this mean for DC, what does this mean for Marvel, and what does this mean for the entertainment industry? Well at this point, its a little hard to tell, but if this service is successful, it could potentially change the game for how studios create content for their audience.
The only other mainstream entertainment companies to attempt anything similar to this is the main companies you can find in the sports industry (MLB, NFL, WWE, NJPW, etc.) creating their own online streaming networks to find all of their content, as well as, in some cases, original content (WWE’s utilization of Camp WWE, WWE 365, WWE Legends House, etc.) In the majority of cases, these streaming services are extremely successful, and bode well with what DC is trying to do with their properties.
How Does it Look So Far?
As I mentioned before, DC Universe already has a couple of confirmed series slated for release on the platform. While we don’t have much of an idea of what the overlay of the DC Universe streaming service will be (the current website is more of an advertisement for the service as well as current DC products) we can probably safely assume that it will be something like we’ve seen from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or the sports streaming services I mentioned earlier.
The content is also in the same boat, as we haven’t seen many sneak peaks or looks into the new series that has been confirmed for the streaming service. However, the small bit of information we do have does not bode very well at all. One of the only looks into the content of DC Universe comes in the form of a picture from the set of ‘Titans’, one of the 
new series slated to appear on the platform. This image has not been received well at all by fans, as the looks of the characters generally seem off to many viewers. Having this as the first piece of information of your streaming service is not exactly what DC wanted, as first impressions often speak volumes of the product. With that in mind, the release of DC Universe may have been tainted and has potentially made fans less eager to try the product.
I’m a Marvel fanboy through and through, but despite all of this news, I desperately want this streaming service to succeed. Not only would the service give us more content centered around characters from the DC Universe, but it would be a great leap in the entertainment industry, and here’s why I think so.
Revolution
If the DC Universe streaming service does well, and even if it doesn’t, that will leave the door open to other companies in the entertainment industry like Marvel or even Disney, Sony, and others to jump on the bandwagon to bring us content that we want for a lower price point to them. Take a moment to think about the current state of the industry. Studios like Marvel, Sony, and DC itself have to rely on television and movie deals with networks to get their creative content out to the public. Because of this, they have to shell out a bunch of money to not only get the content made, but to pay the studio to show it on their network. If the network isn’t satisfied with the current state of the product, they can reject to renew the work for another season/movie and pretty much end the run at any time that they want.
By going through their own channels and creating their own network, Marvel and Sony can have complete control over whatever they want to publish. Series such as ‘Agents of Shield’, ‘Agent Carter’, ‘The Flash’, ‘Arrow’, and ‘Supergirl’ wouldn’t have to fight networks for renewal or creative control and can just publish on a Marvel or DC network. Sony could have the power to create a ‘God of War’ series instead of shooting for a movie, and even current products available on streaming services such as Marvel’s ‘The Punisher’, ‘Daredevil’, and ‘Iron Fist’ wouldn’t have to go through the third-party (Netflix) that they are currently streaming on – they could just be hosted on their own network.
So not only would they be able to host on their own network and cut out the middle-man, but they would also have full creative control over their content. When publishing a film for instance, the studio in charge of distributing the film (20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., etc.) gets final say in what gets to be in the film and what has to be cut. In my opinion, this has played a large part in the DCEU’s general sense of failure among fans. DC wants to do right by the fans, but the studio (in their case, Warner Bros.) often wants to compare the DCEU to the success of the MCU, and wants DC to attempt to mimic that success. By having their own streaming service, we can potentially see an end to the current state of the DCEU, but having a substitute for it and having a better outlet for the content that we want to see rather than watch as DC attempts to mimic the current state of the MCU, which is definitely hurting them and, in my opinion, is no fault of their own.
Giving Us What We Want
Say what you want about geeks, but we always want to be given what we want. Wouldn’t it be amazing if, for once, we were given exactly what we wanted? All of our heroes that we grew up loving having the screentime and transformation in front of us that they deserve? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a plethora of entertainment content that we could watch starring heroes we love, as well as heroes we don’t and have that experience of seeing them for the first time that we could go to and get immersed with? And most of all, wouldn’t it be awesome to finally get indisputable satisfying content from DC that isn’t being manipulated by a studio who wants to ride the success of superheroes in the industry? I think that this would be an ideal step in the right direction for the entertainment industry, and a further showing that television isn’t really needed anymore.
With the first steps toward this goal in the form of DC Universe, I honestly really hope it does well and cannot wait to see the content that they produce with it, as well as where this venture takes the entire entertainment industry.
What are your thoughts on the DC Universe streaming service? Is it a good idea? A bad one? What do you think it will do for the entertainment industry? Sound off in the comments below and don’t forget to like and share The Bandicoot Banter on Facebook and your E-mail! Thanks for reading!
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