Why Batman Is a Huge Problem For the New DC Universe

Three years after “The Batman” hit theaters, it remains uncertain when a follow-up to Robert Pattinson’s Batman film will grace our screens. Additionally, it’s unclear whether or how this movie might tie into the new DC Universe led by James Gunn, which hadn’t even been established yet at the time “The Batman” debuted. Previously, Gunn announced a different Batman and Robin project called “The Brave and the Bold,” but progress on that film has also been sluggish.

To put it simply: We have two prospective Batman series but no standalone Batman films yet. This poses a significant challenge for Gunn, who is co-CEO of DC Studios. The concerns include the possibility of both Robert Pattinson’s Batman and another franchise existing simultaneously in cinemas. In our recent DC video, we delve into these questions and attempt to predict when a new Batman movie might be released. Essentially, we’re eagerly waiting for updates on whether we’ll see The Batman – Part II and if the DCU will have two concurrent Batman franchises.

Watch our full Batman breakdown below:

If you enjoyed the video about James Gunn and the DC movie dilemma involving Batman, don’t forget to explore more of our videos down below! For instance, we delve into the Easter eggs hidden within the trailer for James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film, analyze the previous Superman trailer breakdown, and share a heartwarming (yes, real tears!) response to the premiere trailer for the same movie. You can find even more content over at ScreenCrush’s YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe so you won’t miss our upcoming episodes! James Gunn’s Superman is set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.

’80s Foods We Wish They Still Made

Bonkers

In the 1980s, this sticky, fruity confection was a common sight in stores. It gained notoriety for its peculiar advertisements, where a frumpily dressed, spectacled woman debunked myths about Bonkers (it’s not gum!), while giant fruits would rain down on her unsuspecting family members. This show was quite odd — and so is the fact that despite this, Bonkers remained popular throughout the decade, only to suddenly lose a significant portion of its market share, leading to complete production cessation just a few years later. The most commonly available flavors were grape, strawberry, and my personal favorite, watermelon, which creatively utilized the candy’s two-tone design, with a green exterior and a chewy red interior.

C-3PO’s

If you’re a first-generation fan of ‘Star Wars’, there’s a good chance you recognize this breakfast cereal. C-3PO characters were part of the merchandise tied to ‘Return of the Jedi’, and they were quite popular in the mid-1980s. The cereal itself wasn’t particularly exciting – the oat, wheat, and corn pieces resembled two squished Cheerios, with no connection to ‘Star Wars’ – but the boxes were fantastic. The focus of ’80s kids was on the cut-out masks of popular characters on the backside of the box. They loved wearing the masks rather than eating the cereal, which often remained untouched in pantries across the galaxy for months.

Disney Pops

At Disney Parks and retailers worldwide, Mickey Mouse Ice Cream bars continue to be a timeless delight. However, during the 1980s, Disney also offered ice pops in stores, which unfortunately are no longer available. These fruit-flavored popsicles came in grape, cherry, and orange, and were shaped like Mickey, Donald, or Goofy. I can’t explain why they disappeared, but the demand for Disney-themed popsicles remains high. If I could have a grape Donald popsicle today, I’d be ecstatic!

Ecto Cooler

In the world of movie-related food products, Ecto Cooler stands out as a classic, with nothing else quite measuring up. This citrus-flavored, neon green drink resembling juice was launched in the late ’80s to cash in on the success of the animated Ghostbusters series. Despite the show’s cancellation and a hiatus in Ghostbusters films, Hi-C continued producing Ecto Cooler into the early 2000s. In more recent times, it has resurfaced as a special edition product around new Ghostbusters releases. The demand for Ecto Cooler is so high that when it’s back on shelves, bottles of this sweet drink can fetch prices ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars. That’s something truly frightening!

Five Alive

Regarding citrus-based drinks: If a Ghostbusters association isn’t your thing, consider trying out Five Alive instead. The name derived from the five juices present in the drink – orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, and lime. Unfortunately, Five Alive was taken off the shelves in America during the 1990s, but it’s still available in Canada. (In case you happen to visit our northern neighbors, could you pick up a carton for me? I’d love to have a Five Alive right now.)

Fruit Corners Fruit Bars

In the 1980s, the launch of Fruit Roll-Ups ignited a fruit snack craze that lasted throughout the decade. Manufacturers like Fruit Corners and their rivals were all eager to profit from the seemingly healthy market for children’s junk food, as the name “fruit” made it hard to believe they could be unhealthy. Among the many imitators, I found Fruit Corners Fruit Bars to be the best, offering a blend of the Roll-Up concept with a granola bar shape. The original flavors were strawberry, cherry, grape, and orange-pineapple, and I’ve been on a quest for decades to find a substitute for the cherries flavor. While not an exact match, “That’s It” Apple and Cherry bars come pretty close.

Fruit Roll-Ups started a fruit snack trend in the 80s. Among the many copycats, I loved Fruit Corners Fruit Bars best because they combined a Roll-Up-like texture with a granola bar shape. The original flavors were strawberry, cherry, grape, and orange-pineapple, but it’s been hard to find a good replacement for the cherries flavor. “That’s It” Apple and Cherry bars are close, though not identical.

Fruit Wrinkles

If Roll-Ups were overly flat and Fruit Bars too geometric in shape, there was also an alternative called Fruit Wrinkles, resembling jelly beans. Advertisements highlighted these snacks contained more fruit and less sugar compared to similar products, along with having a wrinkled texture. However, as more complex fruit snack shapes emerged, often based on popular kids’ media, the basic Wrinkles lost appeal and were eventually phased out.

Giggles

Nowadays, Oreos dominate the sandwich cookie market with an almost monopolistic control, occupying a considerable portion of the snack aisle filled with numerous variations. Frankly, the introduction of Sour Patch Kids Oreos was the tipping point for me. In contrast, the sandwich cookie market in the 1980s was more varied. One notable competitor was Giggles, which were essentially Oreos with both chocolate and vanilla cream filling, and a smiley face cookie (available in vanilla or chocolate flavors). Interestingly, given that Oreos release around 60 new flavors each week, it’s surprising they haven’t introduced one featuring both vanilla and chocolate filling yet. The concept is quite appealing.

Hostess Pudding Pies

Hostess continues to dominate the snack food market, famous for their variety of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, and other single-serving cakes and desserts. Despite this, their fruit pies remain available, though it’s challenging to find the pudding pies that were extremely popular in the ’80s, offering Vanilla or Chocolate versions.

The decline of these pudding pies might be due to their high fat content and questionable ingredients. Even the healthier apple pies they offer today aren’t exactly nutritious; a single serving of their cherry pie contains eight grams of saturated fat and 25 grams of added sugars, which is half of the recommended daily allowance. However, some argue that these tasted so delicious, health concerns were secondary.

Jell-O Pudding Pops

In the 80s, I found myself captivated by the pudding craze. It seemed like everyone was talking about it, or rather, eating it! From cups to pies, even in pop form as Jell-O’s Pudding Pops, pudding was a ubiquitous treat. The advertising for these sweet treats was immense, with Jell-O investing millions into their line of Pudding Pops. They came in vanilla, chocolate, or swirl flavors, and Bill Cosby was the charming face of countless commercials. (I must say, they’ve held up remarkably well over time.) According to my research, Jell-O managed to sell an astounding $100 million worth of Pudding Pops in a single year! However, like any fad, it eventually died down, and the line was discontinued.

Kudos

Do you recall the popular snack, Kudos? In the ’80s, these granola bars were a market sensation, with initial flavors including Chocolate Chip, Nutty Fudge, and Peanut Butter. Manufactured by Mars, they fell into a unique category between healthier granola bars and conventional candy bars. They were quite delicious – hats off to the ingenious creator! These treats continued production until the 2010s, when unfortunately, they were taken off the shelves for good.

Mr. T Cereal

In the 1980s, not many celebrities held as significant or puzzling a place in mainstream culture as Mr. T, primarily due to his appearances in “Rocky III” and “The A-Team,” and his distinctive look featuring a mohawk, denim, and an abundance of gold chains. This popular figure then found himself starring in a peculiar animated TV series, where he was portrayed as a gymnastics coach who collaborated with his students to solve various mysteries.

Later on, the character from this show became the face of a highly successful cereal produced by Quaker. Sold between 1984 and 1993, the cereal pieces were shaped like Ts and consisted of corn and oats. (Interestingly, these cereals played a pivotal role in the opening sequence of Tim Burton’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” ensuring its enduring popularity.)

O’Grady’s Chips

A victim from the 1980s potato chip rivalries: O’Grady’s, a brand known for its thicker cut potatoes compared to regular chips and a stronger cheese flavor (though the term “heartier” may have been subjective). Devotees still praise their Au Gratin chips, asserting they were significantly better and cheesier than any similar option currently available on the market.

Peanut Butter Boppers

This Reddit user succinctly captures the charm of this snack: “Boppers were like taking the best parts of granola bars without the hassle of granola. As a peanut butter enthusiast, I still yearn for Boppers today.” Agreed, fellow food lover. It’s high time these peanut butter-filled logs return to shelves — though Nature Valley, their original manufacturer, provides a recipe on their website for DIY Boppers if you can’t wait that long.

Product 19

In the ’80s and ’90s, a unique cereal named Product 19, characterized by its red packaging and unclear origin (though it’s rumored to be Kellogg’s 19th recipe), was a common sight on grocery store shelves. During this period, Kellogg’s marketed it as having more vitamin content than any other cereal, but consumers found that they couldn’t taste the health benefits. As dietary trends have changed over time, and if people once bought cereals for their perceived nutritional value, those days are now distant memories. Product 19 was ultimately discontinued permanently in 2016.

Quackers

For several decades, children have relished the crunchy, cheesy flavor of Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish crackers. In an attempt to rival this product in the 1980s, Nabisco introduced Quackers, shaped like ducks rather than fish and offering a similar cheese taste. (Interestingly, they also had a sour cream and onion variety that was surprisingly delicious.) However, by the late 1980s, Quackers had vanished, leaving Goldfish to swim unchallenged once more.

Slice

Occasionally, Pepsi launches a new lemon-lime soda to challenge Coke’s Sprite and other competitors. Currently, they market Starry; before that it was Sierra Mist, and previously it was Slice (which replaced Teem). A few years after its debut, Slice introduced additional flavors such as Mandarin Orange and Apple (a flavor I believe is underrepresented in the soda market).

Initially, Pepsi emphasized that Slice contained 10% fruit juice, positioning it as a more natural alternative to other lemon-lime sodas. This strategy was successful for a while, but then they altered the drink’s composition, reducing the amount of juice significantly. Despite this change and various attempts at rebranding with new packaging designs and slogans, Slice persisted through the 1990s before being replaced by Sierra Mist in Pepsi’s product lineup in the early 2000s.

Sunkist Fun Fruits

Surprise! You might have thought we’d moved on from reminiscing about forgotten fruit snack ideas, but here’s another one. Sunkist Fun Fruits were remarkably alike Wrinkles in terms of size and shape, and they offered flavors such as cherry, orange, strawberry, and grape. Despite the ‘Sunkist’ label, these treats weren’t actually manufactured by Sunkist themselves, but rather Leaf Confections, who secured the rights to use the Sunkist brand to lend an air of genuine juicy deliciousness to their product. Nowadays, Sunkist Fruit Snacks are produced by General Mills.

Tato Skins

In the 1980s, Keebler was the sole manufacturer of a unique potato chip product called Tato Skins. These chips were made from whole potatoes with skins on, replicating the taste of a baked potato. Flavors included Original, Sour Cream & Chives, Cheddar & Bacon, and Bar-B-Que. Although there’s a product today that shares a similar name (TGI Fridays Potato Skins Snacks), devotees of the original Tato Skins claim they can’t match the taste of the classic version.

WWF Superstars of Wrestling Bars

In the 80s, when Hulk Hogan and his fellow WWF wrestlers dominated Saturday morning TV, it was an opportune moment to cash in on children’s fascination with wrestling by introducing a branded food product – WWF Superstars Ice Cream Bars. These frozen delights consisted of vanilla ice cream sandwiched between a vanilla cookie and a chocolate layer, with the cookie bearing the image of popular wrestlers such as “Macho Man” Randy Savage and the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase.

Although these treats were initially created to capitalize on wrestling’s temporary craze, they remained tasty even after the WWF’s popularity waned in the early 90s. Nostalgia for these bars sparked a brief revival in 2020, when Good Humor reintroduced a similar concept called “WWE Super Stars,” featuring new wrestlers like John Cena and Roman Reigns on vanilla ice cream sandwiches (unfortunately, not popsicles). While they were enjoyable, they didn’t last in stores as long as the original WWF bars.

2025-06-19 17:26