"The Flash" is a flop. "Black Adam" was a bust. And does anyone remember "Shazam: Fury of the Gods"?

DC Studios needs more than a hero, it needs a new strategy – something different than even its recently established reboot plan.

DC and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery , have Marvel Cinematic Universe envy. It's easy to see why. The MCU's movies, including ones that haven't been released by Disney , have grossed about $30 billion worldwide since 2008. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has directed DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran to create their own shared universe involving iconic characters like Batman and Superman.

The problem is, Warner Bros. and DC are already working through the tail end of a previous – and failed – attempt to tie their characters together through multiple films and shows. At the movies, DC's Justice League just can't measure up against Marvel's Avengers.

The likely answer to Warner Bros. and DC's issues is right in front of them, though: Character-specific franchises that adhere to one filmmaker's vision, not a TV-style writers room. Basically, let your heroes fly solo.

It's worked for DC properties before, even recently.

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Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, which wrapped in 2012, was a well-reviewed box office juggernaut. And even though they were both connected to the prior attempt at creating a DC movie universe, 2017's "Wonder Woman" and 2018's "Aquaman" focused mainly on their title characters and racked up big bucks and accolades in the process.

To put an even finer point on it, look no further than the financial and critical success of Todd Phillips' "Joker" and Matt Reeves' "The Batman." Neither movie is connected to an extended universe.

"Joker," released in 2019, grossed more than $1 billion worldwide despite being rated R, while racking up a best actor Oscar for star Joaquin Phoenix. Last year's "The Batman," starring Robert Pattinson as an early-career Caped Crusader, garnered around $750 million globally. Sequels to both movies are in the works.

But so is "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," from "Flash" director Andy Muschietti. It will not star Pattinson and will instead serve as "the introduction of the DCU Batman," according to Gunn. How many different Batmen does an already-superhero-saturated moviegoing audience need? Especially after "The Flash," which featured four different Dark Knights from previous movies and shows.