The head publisher of DC Comics, Jim Lee, referred to the Warner Bros. DC movie franchise as the DCEU - an unofficial title bestowed on the franchise by fans. The Warner Bros. DC movie universe has sat in the long shadow cast by Marvel Studios from its inception. Warner Bros. was late to the cinematic universe party, launching Man of Steel in 2013, giving Marvel a five-year head start to build out its interconnected narrative, officially called the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Initially, it seemed like DC was going to follow in Marvel’s footsteps and build a cohesive shared universe between all its feature films. They started with Man of Steel, and have loosely continued through to their most recent release, Birds of Prey. But the DCEU’s connections are tenuous at best. The movies all appear to take place in a shared universe, but there’s a disconnect that Marvel films don’t have. The best example of this comes from the way the two companies refer to their franchises. Marvel has always referred to their film universe as the MCU, insisting from the beginning that everything’s connected. Warner Bros., however, has been less committed to the idea of a shared universe. Although some of the DC films share characters and appear to take place in the same universe, DC’s never officially embraced the concept of a single, cohesive universe for all their movies. They’ve never even officially acknowledged the DCEU moniker bestowed to the franchise by hopeful fans, until now.

DC Comics publisher Jim Lee referred to the Warner Bros. DC movie franchise as the DCEU at a recent convention appearance, perhaps signaling a shift in the way DC approaches its shared universe going forward. The publisher held a panel at C2E2, a Chicago-based comic convention, where he spoke to a sold-out crowd of fans about all things DC. After responding to a fan’s question about the legendary “Snyder Cut” of Justice League, Lee turned his attention to promoting the upcoming slate of DC films. Lee wrapped up his answer, saying, “We’re very positive and hopeful for the future of the DC Extended Universe.”

Lee, who up until recently shared publishing duties with Dan Didio, started as a comic artist before launching Image Comics in the 90s. He eventually landed his current position at DC in 2010. Prior to that, he sold his stake in Image and returned to being a full-time comics artist for DC Comics. Lee’s the defacto figurehead of the company, so referring to the DC movie franchise as the “DC extended universe” makes this the first time that moniker has been officially recognized.

Does this mean DCEU is an officially used label, or was Lee just using it as shorthand? Will Warner Bros. and DC put more effort into making the DCEU a shared universe? Is there an official rebrand coming soon? Sadly, none of these questions have an official answer. Most likely, Lee was speaking colloquially to the fans using their own commonly used terminology. No matter how many times DC hints they would rather not have a shared universe, the fans are persistent. Maybe that persistence is finally paying off.

More: All 27 Upcoming & In-Development DC Films

Source: The Promise Possee via YouTube

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