Oh, DC Extended Universe. Why do their movies always seem to fail? It’s a troubling thing that there have been three movies in this series, and the highest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes is Man of Steel…with 55%. Why is it that, while it has what is arguably the best comic book film, The Dark Knight, under its belt that they also have some of the worst comic book films? Yes, it could be because of the director changes and the cast changes, however, there is still a level of hope for each film to be better than the rest. But, alas, they keep getting worse.

There was so much hope for Suicide Squad. The trailers looked fantastic, it has an all-star cast, and the plot was mysterious yet promising. And yet, it was just one big mess. There’s no question that they tried, but, sadly, there were too many storylines converging into one movie, making shallow characters and a weak villain.

This seems to be a common occurrence for the DC Extended Universe: the trailer looks amazing, but the film doesn’t deliver. With this happening to three films in a row, there is a frightening aspect as to what is to come for the next movies. Wonder Woman, a film that had a spectacular trailer, might follow its predecessors’ lead, which would be utterly disappointing for the first woman superhero film.

So, what is going wrong? Why does this keep happening?

It could be the muddled plots. It could be the fact that they’re putting too much into the movie, making it way too long. It could be the bleak and dark nature of the films. It could be that they are, to put it blunt, trying too hard. For whatever the reason, it’s a trend that really needs to stop.

While it’s easy to appreciate something different in the genre, as compared to Marvel, which continues to take a lighter, more appropriate tone for all ages, the DC Extended Universe has somehow confused a dark tone with an overly-dramatic, pretentious, and outright confusing tone with a muddled plot. Because of this, it’s also easy to see that they are obviously trying to copy The Dark Knight in this way. And, while it’s okay to take inspiration from this spectacular film, they keep getting it wrong. Instead of making villains intelligent and complex, they make them shallow and confusing. They make each of these films like they are setting up for a film that will never come.

There is not a lot that the DC Extended Universe can do to fix these films, and that is terribly upsetting. With such a great foundation from the comics, it’s a strange thing to think that these films cannot live up to their groundwork.

It needs to be addressed that there needs to be a change in the way these DC films are being made. These screenwriters need to go back to the source material in order to get a sense of the characters, while also getting to know the world and how to make great and impactful stories.

Maybe the change is that they need to give themselves permission to go outside of their comfort zone and go for an R-rating. Deadpool succeeded in a huge way because of its decision to take the risk for an R-rating. Or, maybe they need to take a note from Christopher Nolan and use less CGI, and more practical effects. Or, maybe they need to completely start over in order to created brand new renditions of the fantastic characters from the comics.

No matter what they choose, there needs to be a change in order to allow the DC Extended Universe to be all that it hopes and dreams to be. They need to do better than what is currently happening, because, with what is currently going on, these films will be doing worse and worse as the series goes on, which is not a pretty sight. Let it be a goal to be the next Dark Knight, not the next Man of Steel or Batman v. Superman. Allow risks to be taken and changes to be made, because, it just might save this superhero series from crumbling.