Really pumped for this movie but what’s going to happen moving forward. Might be hard to be invested knowing we might not see Mamoa as Aquaman again of DC reboots it all.
I think he'll still be Aquaman. I think the smart and easy thing for them to do would be use Flashpoint as a semi-reboot, keep the stuff that works (i.e. Gal as WW, Cavill as Supes, etc.) and change the stuff that doesn't (i.e. recast Batman, nail down a consistent tone, etc.)
I feel like the tone shift that a lot of people want is already there at the end of JL. I would rather them just recast Batman if Ben wants to leave and just move on. Save Flashpoint for later down the line so it actually means something. It'd be like if Civil War was the first Captain America movie. We need to see these characters more IMO before going into something like that.
I agree that the tone at the end of JL is one they should continue with, but as far as the other points go, I would agree with you if the DC Cinematic Universe was sitting on a solid base thus far, but that's objectively not the case. As much as fans may have loved all of the movies to this point, they just haven't been the financial or critical successes that they need to be for the studio to continue without some sort of shift. Flashpoint gives them that opportunity. Even though it means sacrificing the solid story that Flashpoint is.
I honestly don't think you need another movie before Flashpoint if you do it right. At its best, a Flashpoint movie should be a character-driven story centered on Barry Allen and his emotional journey. It's about his relationship to his family and his fight against Reverse Flash. In a movie context, all the alternate reality stuff should just be a fun backdrop to that. Honestly, in a way, that story is probably the best place to start with solo Flash (if you're going with an established character and not telling his origin), since it organically brings in his backstory, his motivations for being a hero, and a compelling character arc. Within the context of a single movie, you're not going to go too far down the rabbit trail of examining all the nuances of how this world looks. Outside of Barry Allen, all audiences should have an understanding of going into the film are Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, and even then, a pretty loose understanding is good enough. Batman was addressed in BvS and JL, Wonder Woman in her movie and JL, and Aquaman in JL and his upcoming film. By the way, I know I've said this before, but I still think it'd be a decent choice to use Ben Affleck one last time in his tiny role in Flashpoint. His first appearance leaned pretty heavy-handedly into his hangup with his parents. I'm happy to pretend that movie never happened, lol, but letting Affleck be the actor to read a note from his alternate reality father feels like a nice character moment that'd work for both Snyder/Batfleck fans and DC fans who hated or passed on it. Also, using Flashpoint as a reboot is still a stupid idea in regards to general audiences. People want good movies, not exact continuity. Don't waste time and effort explaining the timeline and "fixing" a problem people would rather just ignore. No one cared how Logan related to past X-Men films. Soft, unaddressed retconning/contradictions and recasting will work if a movie is good. Convoluted explanations and hard, in-universe reboots won't if a movie isn't good. And, while I personally love comic-book-y nonsense, convoluted explanations generally don't make good movies for the average viewer.
It’s a bummer to me about the DCEU because I love how the League interacts with each other. Keep Batfleck pleeeease.
Flashpoint soft reboot should keep Margot but lose Leto lol. Well, actually, I honestly think his Joker aesthetic would work if the dialogue wasn't just terrible. I've enjoyed every DCEU film to some extent so far, it's just that while they all have the makings for great movies, something always falls flat every time, with WW being the sole exception. I'm looking forward to more Momoa as Aquaman, but not the film itself, if that makes sense.
I think I'm more looking forward to the Aquaman story than I am for Momoa. I thought he was okay in Justice League, but they made him seem like this asshole who made it hard to empathize with his character. I keep forgetting that Nicole Kidman and Willem Dafoe are in this. I think James Wan can make it work.
If they do the story right he should seem like an ass in JL and the beginning arc of Aquaman. I’m hoping he falls into his birthright and his character grows with it.
Apparently a lot of stuff they showed isn't ready for the public yet, but people at CinemaCon seemed to be excited.