Does Warner Bros. Have a No Jokes Rule for DC Movies?

"Why so serious?" Is the popular refrain floating
around as the rumor about Warner Bros.' 'No
Joke' rule rapidly spreads across the Internet.
According to a report at Hit Fix , The studio
doesn't want any funny business in its
impending slate of DC Comics superhero
movies, a mandate that began with Man of Steel
in 2013 and will continue on as WB sets up
Justice League.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be a
completely serious affair according to this new
report, so don't expect to see Jesse Eisenberg
hamming it up as Lex Luthor. It won't be
anywhere close to what Gene Hackman did in
the 1978 Superman . This has struck some as
ludicrous, due to the sometimes colorful and
humorous tone of the comic books. And this
comes just as Marvel is making a name for
itself with its equal measure of laughs and
action in most of its movies. Guardians of the
Galaxy was a very funny affair, but it also
managed to bring in a lot of heart and
character. It had a very emotional opening
prologue, and proved to be the perfect mix of
genre elements.
Warner Bros. doesn't want that, is the claim.
They tried their hand at bringing humor into
Green Lantern and it didn't work out for the
studio, which many believe is the reason for this
new 'no jokes' ruling. While Christopher Nolan 's
The Dark Knight set up some good jokes and
delivered a few very funny punchlines, they did
nothing to distract from the overall dark tone of
the trilogy. You could hardly call it a 'comedy'.
Man of Steel , on the other hand, decided to play
it completely straight, and while there are a few
precious moments of levity throughout, there are
no true jokes. And it did not illicit many laughs
from the audience. That's the way Warner Bros.
apparently likes it, so don't expect Zack Snyder
to change the tone for Batman v Superman:
Dawn of Justice.
This next DC Comics movie will pave the way
for Justice League and it's spin-off movies. All
of the superhero solo adventures will stay within
these serious barometers, which is said to be
causing some difficulty in locking down a
director.
Most believe it wasn't the jokes that caused
Green Lantern to bomb at the box office, and
that Warner Bros. and DC are pointing their
concerns in the wrong direction. Fans and critics
alike not only felt the punchlines fell flat, but
that it had a bad storyline, unlikable characters,
and one truly horrible villain. It was a hard
movie to connect with on a lot of levels, the
humor being the least of it's problems. Some
have complained that Man of Steel was just too
darn serious; that it needed a couple of good
jokes to bringing it up to classic status. While
fans have called the movie serviceable, it fails
on some levels because of its 'no joke' stance.
If this latest rumor is true, it only further proves
that Warner Bros. and DC are at a loss for how
to move forward with their impending superhero
slate, which has a number of movies lined up
throughout 2020.
Do you think Warner and DC should distance
themselves from Marvel by continuing to go
down this dark and edgy path? Or do you think
it would be smart for them to bring in some
humor? These are Gods among men, after all..