@Redhood.55520, Warner Brothers (and DC) took less risk and benefitted from the success of Marvel and their films. Now, they are doing better than their rival was at the same point in their progression.
@Dr.Doom, what is true is that Marvel has run out of ideas and has been copying DC since 2013 and has been copying from DC ever since. DC, in 2013 announced that they would do a Batman versus Superman film, and what does Marvel do? Why, they come up with a Captain America versus Iron Man storyline. DC does a Wonder Woman film and what does Marvel do? They offer a Captain Marvel film a couple of years later. Even the Avengers Infinity War and Endgame story lines seem to mimic what Zack Snyder had envisioned for his Justice League film (the villain, Darkseid, winds up ruling the Earth and the heroes have to travel back in time to change the present).
@Chad22, the reason why Warner Brothers/DC Entertainment are sticking to the solo films is because they can get away with smaller budgets (or at least that is what they want) while making a reasonable profit. The formula that Marvel has followed has lead to bigger and bigger productions with ensemble casts leading to larger production costs in order to make the money they want to see (and even then it is questionable if they are making a reasonable profit). The films that Marvel has made (in the MCU series) that have been highly successful have been films like Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and the Avengers series, which are films that have ensemble casts. Captain Marvel may be an exception, but if you listen to reports, Disney might have paid to pad the numbers on that film (and may be doing the same with Endgame). The more Marvel continues to make these major productions, the more they will have to put out in salaries to the actors (Robert Downey, Jr. may make over $100 million from his work on Infinity War and Endgame, and imagine what the other 60 - plus actors along with the extras were getting paid?). The Marvel formula may not be the way to go and that is why Toby Emmerich and the WB are going to do it a different way.
It is my devout hope that the days of dark, grim DC movies (SO 2009) will end, Superman will smile again, nobody will kill, and DC will get on a roll the way Marvel certainly did.
Also, considering DC’s superior animation, look at the Academy Award for best animated film, and consider what could be done with some alternative to Marvel’s ideas. An animated Superman feature might be something about which to think.
I want this company to succeed. The characters are beloved, introductions unnecessary (please), and there are better tales than the ones which have been used already.
People need to acknowledge that Marvel did almost everything right, and DC needs to start doing almost everything right.
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@oldrocker99.49549, the days of dark and grim are not over so long as there is a market for those types of films. What DC needs to do and is doing with their IP is packaging them for specific audiences. Justice League, though still somewhat dark, did have some brightness to it and was intended to attract a broader audience. Wonder Woman attracted femaleness of almost every age. Aquaman targeted a broad audience, but did focus a little on horror. Then you have Shazam, which is more family friendly. DC can do dark and please those fans who like that, but they are also attempting to capture those who like other tones.
I am not quite to confident that Marvel did almost everything right. The way they when about building their empire, they had quite a few shortfalls. They sold the license to film the IP’s for X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Iron Man, Hulk and Spider-Man. Sure, they were able to figure out crafty ways to get some of the Properties into the MCU, and they did make more than $20 billion with their films, but it cost them more than $52 billion to get back Fantastic Four, and X-Men, and they still don’t have the film rights to Spider-Man. Warner Brothers may not have made as much box office as Marvel, but at least they have the film rights all of their IP’s.
Whether you’re a Marvel fan or not, Endgame was/is a fantastic and wonderfully developed film. I can certainly understand it not being for everyone - nothing really is, is it? But people should give credit where credit is due.
What do I think Endgame means for DC? I think DC can always learn from Marvel and vice verse. This is friendly competition and competition really never hurt anyone in this case. I think it Marvel challenged DC with this one and that’s a great thing. It makes me very excited to see how DC answers 
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For a start, congratulations to the good people at Marvel and Disney for AVENGERS:ENDGAME; it was, IMO, and excellent final chapter to the original permutation of that particular superhero universe.
That having been said, my response to the original question of this discussion is: while I loved the movie, I see no reason why it should mean anything to the Warner DC movies. I would think that the success of WONDER WOMAN, AQUAMAN, and SHAZAM! would mean more.
I do hope that there will, eventually, be another JUSTICE LEAGUE movie. We’ll see.
I think this means that DC will definitely have to step up - quality, writing, directing - and continue to step up. In recent days I’ve heard many comic book movie fans express how they’re done with DC, that DC makes horrible movies and they’re not as reliable on delivering a good experience like Marvel. I think for in the future, DC is going to have to:
- Continue with the same actors and characters, and not reboot. It’s confusing to the audience and it shows a lack of trust in their decisions.
- Stay close to the source material - this includes their directors. Make a statement with the material but don’t turn the characters into something they are not.
- Choose strong and different writers and directors.
- Keep the stories and action interesting. Marvel really has similar stories, but they add some Marvel flair to it. In addition, mediocre story telling and action will not cut it. The action in JL was not engaging, visceral, or exciting (a few parts were fun), but audiences come to the theater to be shown a spectacle. Give them a spectacle. This does not mean over the top CGI, but exciting and emotion-inducing action like the fight scenes in Atomic Blonde.
- Listen to the fans. This does not mean provide fan-service at the cost of the story, but give us the characters we want to see - Man of Steel 2.
Somethings WB is doing really well - in my opinion:
- Incorporating diverse characters, directors, and writers. I also think it’s exciting that they are starting to look an actor’s talent rather than if they look exactly like the character. Unless a character’s ethnicity is important to their story then it seems that the role can be played by characters from other ethnicities as well.
- Going back to their original actors and not rebooting. At least I hope they do this.
- Starting to explore other characters.