DCEU Directors Ranked

DCEU Directors Ranked

For the first time ever I’m going to be ranking all of the DCEU directors (I feel like I’m making sound a lot more exciting then it actually is). And with the release of Black Adam we have a new director to add to the list, so here we go! 

9. Joss Whedon (Justice League): For the obvious reasons I did debate not including him on this list. But as he did shoot over half of a movie so I think it is right to include him. And the changes he made to Zack Snyder’s Justice League I don’t think helped the movie out what so ever. And I think he actually hurt the movie, with adding in more jokes that just don’t work. Maybe the joke where Aquaman sits on Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth and confesses his feelings is amusing. But it also doesn’t help that Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher have come out and spoke about their experience on this movie, and it’s just gross what has been said. So while I think he was an asset for the MCU, he was a downgrade for the DCEU. 

8. David Ayer (Suicide Squad): Now I think if he was given more time to do things, then he might have been a great pick to direct this movie. But similar to what WB did with Zack Snyder just micromanaged his movie. So the original vision for this movie wasn’t at all what was put on in theaters. After Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice got mostly negative reviews claiming it was too dark and long. But the MCU and Deadpool were hitting it off with critics, they changed the movie to be more light and fun. Plus David Ayer was only given 6 weeks to write the script for it and therefore he wasn’t given a proper amount of time to write the script. So while he was pretty good when directing characters, the acting and characterization was pretty good. The script and story weren’t. 

7. Cathy Yan (Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn): Now I really do like this, I think it’s a great addition to the DCEU. And I think what Cathy Yan did best when directing this movie was craft a very street level and grounded movie. Where the Black Mask’s plan involves the criminal underworld it takes place on just a few streets of Gotham City. And it has a nice distinct spot inside of the DCEU because of it. And since the movie wasn’t an all CGI fest I think the action here is very good, as it’s much more grounded and it’s practical action. Margot Robbie is actually doing spin kicks and taking guys out. And honestly, I don’t really have a good reason as to why she’s this low on the list; she just didn't have as big of an impact as the top 5 did. 

6. James Wan (Aquaman): James Wan probably crafted the most fun and dumbest movie inside of the DCEU. And I think because of that, it just helps make a movie that has a distinct place within the DCEU. Where it is big, bombastic, and dumb it’s trying to entertainin you and it’s trying to live up the goofinest of the Aquaman character. Plus I think James Wan shoots some really good action that has long takes, and extended shots where you can see everything that is happening. And honestly, I don’t really have a good reason as to why he’s not higher on the list. And in a lot of ways he’s just the director that is just kind of there for me. 

5. Jaume Collet-Serra (Black Adam): The latest director to join the DCEU directing squad. And what I think he does best is just create a very fun and kind of goofy movie. He created a movie that kept me entertained from beginning to end. And probably a large portion of that was Dwayne Johnson since he was a producer on the movie. But I also think a large portion of that came down to Serra who staged some cool action scenes that were entertaining to watch. Now what holds him back, is that that’s all he did. He created a really fun movie that was very entertaining, but nothing really beyond that. Plus some of the story structure was a bit off in the movie that also holds him back. But in general, I wouldn’t be mad if they announced him as the director for Black Adam 2. 

4. Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman Franchise): There are several things about Patty Jenkins that I actually do enjoy. I think she does make philosophical films that explore ideas about humanity that are quite impactful. In both movies she filmed and staged some great action that is super memorable. I think that the original Wonder Woman has some great action and “No Man’s Land” is a great and somewhat emotional moment. In both movies Gal Gadot and Chris Pine have great chemistry and feel and act like a couple. I think most of her weaknesses come with Wonder Woman 1984, which I still like. I still think that’s a good movie. But I think when it comes to the story and logic that’s where that movie falls apart for me. But in general, I think she is a very good director within this franchise. 

3. David F. Sandberg (Shazam!): The second director on this list that was an alumni from The Conjuring universe. And what I thought he did great was bring out plenty of emotions and make a great superhero about family and the adoption system. And that was one of the big surprises for me going into this movie, I wasn’t expecting to be enticed by the family dynamic as much as I was. While he also made a movie that had plenty of emotions he also made one of the funniest DCEU movies, and I think part of the reason for that is casting Zachary Levi as Shazam! which I just find to be perfect casting. Levi is so good at playing this man child. What holds him back is I think he didn’t quite nail the tone for the movie. I think parts of the movie are overly dark while other parts of the movie are overly goofy at points in time. 

2. Zack Snyder (Various DCEU Movies): Now I gotta be honest I wasn’t quite sure where to rank Mr. Snyder. And in the original version of the list he was a few spots lower. But I did put him at this spot and I feel comfortable doing so. He’s directed three movies in this franchise, two of them are top tier films in the franchise with Man of Steel and Zack Snyder’s Justice League and they are movies that have great action and great visuals. And that’s really what Zack Snyder is great at, shooting some great action and the visuals for his movies are just fantastic. I think that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is his weakest film in the franchise. It tries to do a few too many things and I think it kind of fumbles in the process. But in general, I think that what he was able to do with his Justice League movie was really something special and epic in scale. 

1. James Gunn (The Suicide Squad): Really the only reason why we got a Suicide Squad film directed by James Gunn is because he was fired as the director for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And the property of Suicide Squad mixed with James Gunn’s humor and style is like a match made in heaven. James Gunn has a dark sense of humor and a distinct style that given full creative control he can craft something really special and that’s what he did. This is a James Gunn movie with James Gunn humor, if you don’t like that sort of thing then you won’t like this movie. He’s great at crafting characters that you actually care about, one of the best characters in the movie is King Shark…I shouldn’t like a talking shark as much as I do. But he also makes movies that have a big heart at the center of it. And then this isn’t a movie but Peacemaker is my favorite DCEU project right behind The Suicide Squad. So my two favorite DCEU projects are with James Gunn at the forefront. So easily, he’s my number 1 on this list. 

There you have it, my ranking of the 9 DCEU directors. Also since we do have a new DCEU movie, I’ve done a lot of DCEU rankings. I’ve already done my favorite moment from every DCEU movie and ranked the final battles. Tomorrow I plan on sharing my 10 favorite Dwayne Johnson movies. So a lot of Black Adam related content is happening this week. Thanks for reading!