DC Studios Should Avoid Sony’s Mistakes with its Bane/Deathstroke Movie

Last month, it was revealed that DC Studios had hired writer Matthew Orton to write a Bane and Deathstroke movie for DC Studios. The movie, featuring two of DC Comics’ most iconic villains, is still very much in the early stages. No director or talent has been announced, but that hasn’t kept fans from getting excited about the prospects of what could be. However, if recent comic book adaptations are a hint of what is to come, DC Studios will need to find a way to successfully craft a villain team-up movie without featuring any of its iconic heroes.

With Spider-Man busy within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony has opted to craft its own Spider-Verse using some of the web-slinger’s biggest villains from his rogues’ gallery. Thus far, the studio has made a Venom trilogy, a Morbius film, a Madame Web movie, and it’s currently readying to release Kraven the Hunter later this year. Unfortunately, though, outside of the first Venom film, Sony has stumbled to craft a proper Spider-Verse with its villains. So, if a Bane and Deathstroke movie does eventually get the greenlight from DC Studios, the studio will need to avoid making the same mistakes Sony has made.

The project was first announced at the end of September with reports confirming Captain America: Brave New World writer, Matthew Orton, had signed on to pen a screenplay for the project. As part of the announcement, it was revealed that the project is still in the very early stages of development and has not actually been given the greenlight by DC Studio chiefs, James Gunn and Peter Safran. In fact, the movie will not get the official greenlight until a screenplay is turned in and Gunn and Safran approve it. Only then will the studio begin its search for a director before beginning the casting process. Details regarding the plot or comic book inspiration are currently unknown, as the screenplay is still being written. With that said, Bane and Deathstroke are two iconic DC villains who have already made their debut on the big screen. Tom Hardy, who portrays Venom in Sony’s Spider-Verse, played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. While Deathstroke was most recently seen on the big screen with actor Joe Manganiello, who made a cameo as the character in the short-lived DC Extended Universe. Should the project come to fruition, it’s unclear if the studio intends to feature any other iconic comic book characters.

Bane is a newer Batman villain, having debuted in the 90s from creators Chuck Dixon and artist Graham Nolan. He made his first appearance in DC Comics with Batman: Knightfall. In the comic, Bane famously ends up breaking the back of the caped crusader. In the comics, Bane was born and raised in a prison that was located on a fictional Caribbean isle. The character was already a skilled fighter when he became the victim of a steroid experiment that left him addicted to the serum. As for Deathstroke, the character debuted in 1980’s The New Teen Titans #2 and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Originally designed as a villain for the Teen Titans, Deathstroke eventually became one of DC’s most popular villains, eventually facing off against Batman and the Justice League.

How DC Studios Can Avoid Repeating the Mistakes of Sony’s Spider-Verse

While making villain-centric films isn’t necessarily new, as The Suicide Squad has already received two films from Warner Bros., it has become quite the craze in the comic book business lately. Unlike DC and Warner Bros., though, Sony had no choice but to make use of Spider-Man’s characters because the character is being shared with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The studio had to make due with Spider-Man’s villains and comic characters because Peter Parker was tied up with Marvel Studios. This led to Sony exploring numerous options, which at one point in time was also rumored to include an Aunt May film. After finding success with the first Venom movie, which surprised everyone and pulled in $856.08 million at the worldwide box office, Sony thought it had found the perfect way to still play within its Spider-Man chest and still make a profit. Sadly, each new film released within Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has only gotten worse in quality. Box office returns have continued to diminish, and fans have had few positive things to say regarding the most recent releases within Sony’s Spider-Man villain universe. Thankfully, though, while Sony doesn’t have a clear-cut plan or a creative committee to oversee the quality of its films, DC Studios looks eager to focus on quality over quantity.

Thus far, only one film from DC Studios has entered production, and that’s Superman. The project recently wrapped filming and is now in post-production for release next year. DC Studios is now busy working on its Supergirl movie, as well as filming the second season of Peacemaker for Max. While the studio continues to develop projects, it isn’t rushing them out simply for the sake of releasing something like Sony is – more importantly, though, DC Studios seems to have an idea of where its universe is going with these characters. While there’s still a chance the Bane and Deathstroke movie could fail, as we haven’t yet seen a finished product from DC Studios, the film looks like it has the potential to avoid the mistakes of Sony’s Spider-Verse. And that’s a very, very good thing.

Sony’s Kraven the Hunter will hit theaters on December 13, 2024.