Rumor: Warner Bros. Imposes "No Jokes" Rule On DC Comics Movies

[RJ Dalton]

They would just get too exhausting to watch.

You mean they weren't already?

Substantively, while I don't mind a more serious tone overall, you can't do 100% super serious all the time. It just gets boring. You need smaller, lighter, even funny moments from time to time just to make a story work. It's all a question of timing. When, how, and how often you drop a joke matters more than whether or not a joke is there.

 

[i4njw]

1) This is most likely not true.

2) Even if it is, they're not going to send a script back for having a bit of levity. They just don't want jokes being cracked a la The Avengers, which is a great idea, in my opinion.

Hopefully they don't make non-dark characters (read: Flash, GL, Cyborg, Shazam) dark and gritty. If they do, there'll be hell to pay.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

...Really, DC? I understand you don't want to try competing with Marvel's movies, but a series of grim, serious movies with no levity whatsoever is gonna get real dull real fast...

 

[Flammablezeus]

I'm sure there will be jokes. Even the most serious of DC stories have jokes in them. I'll never forget Flash's reaction to discovering Batman's lack of powers in the recent Justice League comics.

Now for some strange reason, the bit that sticks out most to me from this article is referring to Aquaman as kid-friendly. He's one of the few heroes who is a warrior at heart and will kill without hesitation if need be, along with Wonder Woman. Seriously, the most kid-friendly hero in DC would easily be The Flash. He's the goody-goody of the bunch (which is not a negative thing at all in my opinion.)

 

[Triality]

A no joke rule?

More like no personality rule.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

You know what this thread needs?

A big honking animated gif of Edna Mode saying "No Capes!" But instead, the caption reads "No Jokes!" And the whole thing is preceded by a plain text stating "DC's strategy for competing with the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

If someone wants to make that gif and post it, I will owe you a cookie. ^^

 

[Azuaron]

What was the best and, arguably, the most mature of the recent (highly successful) Batman films? What was it? The Dark Knight? With the villain of, wait for it, the Joker?

Oh, yes, DC, this is going to go so well.

Considering that version of The Joker didn't so much as make an amusing quip, I don't think he really works as a counter argument. He wasn't the Joker anymore than Ra's Al Ghul, Bane, or anyone else for the most part was to their comic book counter parts.

I think the closest we got to humorous from him was the "I'm going to make this pencil disappear" scene. I laughed at that.

Everything the Joker did was a joke. They just weren't jokes that many people find funny.

 

[Souplex]

Sounds great in theory but I some part of me doubts that they will pull it off properly. Expect a lot of grey and a lot of brooding from DC in the near future, kids.

So pretty much everything they produced from 08 onward?
This displeases me.

 

[sageoftruth]

Careful. The last time people tried to break away from the Silver Age, we ended up in the Dark Age. This no-jokes restriction sounds like just that. Too much bleakness and seriousness just leads to people feeling too nihilistic to care about the characters.

 

[Racecarlock]

The problem with this approach is that when everything is serious and important, nothing is serious and important. Because there's nothing lighter to provide any contrast. It's literally 50 shades of gray.

Justice League Unlimited was a great show, why not adapt that into a movie? Hell, just edit a season together and release that. Do the second season for a sequel. Seriously, it was like a 30 minute avengers episode every week and it was awesome.

 

[yankeefan19]

"You know that thing that the #1 movie of the year is doing? Don't do that."
They don't want anything funny to happen at all? Hell, even The Dark Night Trilogy had funny moments in it!

 

[Something Amyss]

If there can't be any jokes....how is Alfred going to be the best thing about the Batman movies?

Spoiler

I like the second one. It's just a shame he had no microphone to drop.