15 Changes the DCEU Needs To Make For Its Upcoming Movies

Suicide Squad Trailer. Image via YouTube

Representation Matters

Before Suicide Squad was released, there was a common refrain on the internet: “There are more women and people of colour in Suicide Squad than there is in the entire MCU.”

It’s true. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has more movies led by white guys named Chris than movies led by women and PoC combined. Meanwhile, Suicide Squad had Black, Latino, Asian and Indigenous actors on the roster. The one thing DC had going for it, it seemed, was a commitment to diversity.

Aside from the Suicide Squad’s multicultural cast, there is the Justice League featuring an Israeli woman as Wonder Woman, a black man as Cyborg, a Polynesian man as Aquaman and a queer man as The Flash.

But what you do with the cast matters. Suicide Squad was far from great representation: the Indigenous character dies within seconds, the Asian woman barely has any lines, and the Latino man was a violent gang member stereotype.

DC has the cast and seemingly is committed to continuing the tradition of diverse, inclusive casting, regardless of how the original characters looked. That wins a lot of goodwill, but there’s a lot more they could be doing.

DC Comics has a huge roster of female heroes, and there are rumours that Gotham City Sirens and the Birds of Prey are coming soon. You might have lost some viewers after the last few lacklustre DCEU films, but having a talented, diverse cast of lady heroes and villains is definitely going to get a lot of butts back in those seats.

Also, I’m not one for fancasting, but Red haired Rihanna as Poison Ivy, please.