4 Best DC Movies According to Kevin Feige

Thou shalt not love your enemy! It appears Kevin Feige didn’t get the memo. Or maybe he just doesn’t care. The Marvel Studios boss has never said terrible things about DC, even when he could have been excused for doing so. Maybe he sees the battle between the two franchises as ‘friendly competition.’ Or maybe he doesn’t see DC as competition at all. After all, he built a franchise that has grossed $31 billion so far (making him the highest-grossing producer of all time), whereas the other side is still figuring out how to make things work.

Perhaps Feige recognizes the fact that situations can change very quickly when the business side of things is being considered in Hollywood. One minute, he might be the boss of Marvel Studios; the next minute, he might be at Warner Bros. after being given an offer he cannot refuse. After all, did anyone ever imagine that the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy would one day make the best Superman movie of all time (sorry Snyder Bros.)?

Feige thus gives a view on DC movies from time to time, and here are 4 he has openly confessed to loving.

4

‘Wonder Woman’ (2017)

Wonder Woman was a rare diamond in a muddy era for DC. At a time when all DCEU movies were getting panned by critics, Patty Jenkins made something that gave everyone hope. The film follows Diana (Gal Gadot), an Amazonian princess, who leaves her home island of Themyscira after American pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash-lands and informs her about an ongoing conflict (World War I). Believing Ares, the god of war, is responsible, she sets out to stop him. Along the way, she embraces her identity as Wonder Woman.

Development of a live-action Wonder Woman film began as early as 1996, only for the ghosts of development hell to stall things. Directors like Todd Alcott, Jon Cohen, and Joss Whedon were all attached at various points, but it would take until the 2010s for Warner Bros. to give a green light. For the movie, Jenkins and her team drew inspiration from George Pérez’s 1980s comics, William Moulton Marston’s 1940s Wonder Woman stories, and the New 52 version of the character.

Back to Form? Not Really

In a sit-down with editor Umberto Gonzalez of Heroic Hollywood, Kevin Feige was asked to give some advice to the people at DC. He wisely avoided playing Mr. Know-It-All, instead praising Wonder Woman and expressing optimism.

“I don’t know. I’m not one to bestow advice onto others. I think you can look at what they did with ‘Wonder Woman’ and they’ve figured that out. I’ve got great confidence in Geoff Johns over there and now Joss Whedon helping them out that just makes me excited as a fan to see what’s next.”

Oops! Feige was very wrong in his assessment. Joss Whedon might have done great things at Marvel, but his presence is now considered one of the worst things to happen to DC. The DCEU ship never really stabilized either, despite Feige concluding that they had “figured that out.” Still, things looked very promising at that point, so we totally understand where he was coming from.

Feige wasn’t alone in his adoration for the feminist-themed film. Everyone loved it. Rotten Tomatoes scored it at 93%, making it one of the highest-rated superhero movies of all time. Most commentators channeled their praise towards the cinematography, action sequences, and the beguiling chemistry between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. Fans also matched to theaters in droves, resulting in a $824 million worldwide box office gross that made the fourth DCEU installment the highest-grossing film by a solo female filmmaker until it was surpassed by Hi, Mom in 2021.

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3

‘Superman: The Movie’ (1978)

Superman

5
/5

Release Date

December 15, 1978

Runtime

143 Minutes

Producer Alexander Salkind spared no coin with Superman: The Movie, hiring the talented Richard Donner as director and casting big names like Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman in key roles. Additionally, The Godfather author Mario Puzo, was brought in for script duties. Consequently, the budget ballooned to $55 million, making it the most expensive film ever made (at the time). But who can complain?

The superhero origin film covers Clark Kent’s infancy as Kal-El of Krypton, son of Jor-El (Brando), and his teen years in the rural town of Smallville. He then takes up a job as a reporter in Metropolis and develops a giddy romance with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Soon, he finds his ideals of adulthood bliss shattered as he increasingly becomes embroiled in disputes. Then comes Lex Luthor (Hackman). Wily, manipulative, and remorseless in his unquenchable desire to advance his wealth via numerous shady schemes, the villain now stoops to chasing a real estate fortune by planning to destroy part of California’s coastline using missiles. What will Superman do?

The Beginning of an Era

The book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios offers key insights about Marvel and features numerous interviews with notable figures, including Kevin Feige. In it, he admits that he and his team use Donner’s movie as a template.

“Superman: The Movie is still to this day the archetype of the perfect superhero film origin story. We watch it before we make any of our films.”

It’s easy to see why the film is used as an outline by the people at Marvel Studios. It is not only visually pleasing but also presents its hero as an emblem of ethics, strength, sacrifice, and duty. Feige strongly believes that this is how superheroes need to be, and by sticking to a similar approach. He has found a lot of success.

Today, the film’s legacy lives on. James Gunn copied a few things from it, including the iconic John Williams score, for his newest project. On top of that, Christopher Reeve is still regarded as the greatest Superman actor. At the Oscars, the movie was nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Music (Original Score), and Best Sound. The general view is that, without it, superhero movies might never have achieved mainstream popularity.

2

‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

In The Dark Knight, Batman lore is updated for the modern world, at the expert hands of director Christopher Nolan. Here, the revered vigilante (portrayed by Christian Bale) teams up with police lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City. But the job proves hard because of the Joker (Heath Ledger), a deranged criminal mastermind who is eager to see how far the Caped Crusader will go to save his beloved city. Things get even worse when a tragedy causes Dent to switch to the dark side.

As is the case with other Nolan films, this was a technical marvel. It was the first blockbuster to be filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras. The filmmaker also shunned CGI for most scenes, opting for major practical stunts such as flipping an 18-wheeler and blowing up a real factory for the Gotham General Hospital explosion scene.

Greatest Superhero Movie

Kevin Feige appreciates what The Dark Knight did for the superhero landscape. Together with Iron Man, it helped make 2008 a magical year, and since then, things have never been the same. During a conversation with Wired, he stated:

“Chris Nolan’s Batman is the greatest thing that happened because it bolstered everything. Imagine the one-two punch in 2008 of Iron Man and Dark Knight? It was great. Six years earlier I was having conversations with studio execs where they’d say, “Why don’t you come work for us? These comic book movies can’t last forever. It’s probably towards the tail end.” And I, being with big bright-eyed naiveté would go, “I don’t know, I think we can do more. I think there’s more fun to be had.”

The Dark Knight and Iron Man weren’t competing with each other, but thanks to them, everyone began taking the genre a lot more seriously. Many superhero films have been made since the former was released, but it’s still considered the best of its kind, thanks to great performances, outstanding action sequences, and timeless quotes. There still hasn’t been a better villain than Heath Ledger’s Joker.

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1

‘Superman’ (2025)

Superman

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Runtime

130 minutes

Director

James Gunn

Producers

Peter Safran

James Gunn’s Superman is the inaugural installment of “Gods & Monsters,” the first chapter of the new DC Universe. Once again, we have Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) trying to corrupt everyone with his nihilistic worldview. He claims Superman (David Corenswet) was sent to Earth to rule humans, and he has evidence from the Fortress of Solitude to prove it. Teaming up with the Justice Gang and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), the Man of Steel sets out to clear his name and also stop a war orchestrated by Luthor and his allies.

Warner Bros. had approached James Gunn to write and direct a Superman film as early as 2018, but he declined because he did not have a clear vision for such a well-known character. He thus chose to make The Suicide Squad. But as they say, what’ meant for you will eventually come to you.

The Kryptonian’s Back!

When James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as new co-chairs, everyone strongly felt that DC was now going to mount a strong challenge against Marvel. All eyes (including those of Feige) were thus on the first movie in the franchise. Like everyone else, the Marvel Studios boss ended up being impressed, commending the new Superman movie for getting right into business. Speaking at a media roundtable, he also used the movie as an example to prove that the recent “superhero fatigue” argument, which has been blamed for the MCU’s failings, is false.

“Look at Superman… it’s clearly not superhero fatigue, right? I liked it a lot. I love how you just jump right into it. You don’t know who Mr. Terrific is? Tough. You’ll figure it out. You don’t know what this is? Just go, go. This is a fully fleshed-out world.”

The DC movie’s success ought to have made Feige a little jealous, but it hasn’t. Instead, it gave him hope because there were suggestions that people were losing interest in superhero movies, and such talk was bad for business. The cake still exists, and it’s big enough for everyone to eat.

When it comes to superhero movies, James Gunn has never missed the mark. He understands how to create something that will appeal to everyone by infusing humor and stitching the stories around relatable characters. That’s what Superman’s all about. Hopefully, we’ll be treated to more awesomeness down the line.