The DC Cinematic Universe needs a strategy, any strategy, that could possibly help pull together their extremely messy film series. With public opinion still swinging towards the competition, every little bit helps the folks at Warner Bros stay in the game. This news might help, as one of the producers in the DC camp has confirmed that all films after Wonder Woman will continue to operate within the confines of using both flashbacks and flash-forwards to tell the stories of their character's origins.
ComicBook.com recently grabbed this scoop from producer Charles Roven, who has served for quite some time with Warner Bros, and their DC Cinematic Universe. His particular insight into how this strategy of non-linear world building would work was described in the following words:
When we're dealing with either The Flash or Aquaman, since they will take place in a universe that has happened after Justice League, the characters and the world will be informed by the movies that preceded them, except that there's flashbacks or whatever within those particular movies, [and] flash-forwards within those particular movies.
This almost sounds like DC Comics is employing the Marvel tactic of introducing a character in a current film, only to give their origin a bit of a flashback element to it. From what we understand, this same sort of approach is going to make its way into next year's Black Panther, only there seems to be the addition of flash-forwards into the mix. This makes sense because between Bruce Wayne's "dream" / The Flash coming back to warn him that Lois is the key in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DC seems to have already established this storytelling strategy in their camp. Which means both good and bad news for fans of the DC Cinematic Universe.
Starting with the better side of the coin, a pre-established pattern of flashbacks and flash-forwards could set the stage for any Flashpoint / Injustice storylines they decide to incorporate into the DC Cinematic Universe. While it would probably serve as a better segue into Flashpoint's altered timeline plot, having the Injustice universe both brought about and wiped out thanks to a time-travel incident would well be set up with the fractured viewpoint the audience will be given.
Unfortunately, that fractured viewpoint is just the problem, as those sequences in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice felt more like random set-pieces and sequel bait than any actual connective tissue. It was so bold faced in its attempt to tie everything together, but at the same time it did very little to hold the narrative together. While Roven reassures the world that Wonder Woman is mostly a flashback, with some modern sequences thrown in, the same sort of storytelling isn't guaranteed for either The Flash or Aquaman. Meaning we'll get more of the slightly disjointed / mildly confused vibe that Zack Snyder gave us during Batman v. Superman.
Obviously this is a lot to think about, but we do have a chance to see it all at work when Wonder Woman aims to triumph over adversity in theaters on June 2nd, with Justice League debuting on November 17th. In the meantime, all we can do is watch, and hope.
