Fans have reported widespread issues while attempting to watch DC FanDome: Explore the Multiverse, with Warner Bros. apologizing for the problems. The event is day 2 of the DC Fandome experience, following the incredibly successful and well-run first version that took place in late August. That virtual convention included a number of huge movie news items, including the unveiling of the trailers for The Batman and the Snyder Cut of Justice League. As a result, many fans and pundits commended DC for the way the event was run, comparing it favorably to other virtual conventions that have taken place during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Comic-Con@Home, for example, was turgid and stale by comparison, and left many fans cold. By comparison day 1 of DC Fandome managed to attract over 22 million views. Today, the FanDome experience is happening again, and this time all panels were made available at the same time, as opposed to being released at different times. This was a decision made so that fans are able to watch all the panels at their leisure over a period of 24 hours, as opposed to having to tune in at a specific time, like before. It was also seen as a way to eliminate any potential technical issues. But unfortunately that didn’t turn out to be the case.
Fans all over the world reported difficulties in viewing the panels as soon as the event went live at 1pm ET, with many reporting they were getting a “504 Bad Bateway” or “Gateway Timeout” error when they clicked on a number of the panels. The issue seemed to be random at first, but eventually started affecting everything on the site. Warner Bros. TV was forced to put up a Tweet at one point, apologizing for the problems and saying that the entire event was down. You can view the tweet below:
The proceedings seemed to return to normal fairly soon after that, but for many fans the initial experience was terrible, with many posting screenshots of their struggles. It’s a pity, given the fact that the first day of DC Fandome was such a big success, revealing a number of surprising new things about fans’ favorite DC shows and movies.
Hopefully day 2 can bounce back from the bad start and restore their reputation by providing some great content for viewers. If the website does go down again, however, it could ruin the entire experience of DC Fandome for a number of people, many of whom are tuning in late at night from various corners of the globe.
