What famous pop star is poised to play a DC Comics icon?
Which sidekick is waiting to star in his own film?
And is Henry Cavill still Superman?
Here's everything we know about all the upcoming DC films we can't wait to see.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been keen to play Shazam nemesis Black Adam on the big
screen for years.
But ever since a solo flick featuring the anti-hero was officially confirmed in January
2017, details have been slight.
That changed at the 2020 FanDome, when Mr. Rock presented some short video clips featuring
concept art for the film.
The first clip revealed the film will stick to the character's comic origins, from his
beginnings as a slave to his rise as a powerful and feared despot.
But it was the second clip that got fans buzzing with the revelation that the movie will introduce
the Justice Society of America to the DCEU.
The team, which includes Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher, seem intent on
helping Adam achieve his goals, but does the anti-hero even want their help?
Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan will be playing Doctor Fate while Noah Centineo,
best known for starring in To All the Boys I've Loved Before, will portray Atom Smasher.
Aldis Hodge of One Night in Miami will be Hawkman and Quintessa Swindell of Trinkets
will appear as Cyclone.
13-year-old Bodhi Sabongui will also show up in an unknown role while Uli Latukefu of
Young Rock will also play an important part.
After becoming a superhero in his 2019 film, young Billy Batson will be taking on some
new bad guys in the sequel, Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
This time, though, he'll get a little help from his foster family whom he transformed
into Shazam-like heroes in the first movie to defeat the evil Doctor Sivana.
That movie's mid-credits scene revealed Sivana is considering a team-up with Mister Mind,
a space worm from the planet Venus.
We also know that actress Helen Mirren is joining the cast as a villainous character
named Hespera, the daughter of Atlas.
Lucy Liu will also be showing up as Hespera's sister, Kalypso.
In addition, Rachel Zegler will be menacing the Shazam Family as yet another daughter
of Atlas.
Shazam!
was a lot of fun, but we all know superhero sequels tend to go darker.
It stands to reason, then, that whatever Hespera's evil plan is, young Billy is going to have
some growing up to do in Shazam 2.
Aquaman has been the butt of jokes for decades thanks to his seemingly lame power set.
The very idea of an Aquaman movie used to be played for laughs.
"You treat me like I'm not even on the team!
Every day it's 'Aqua-loser this' and 'Aqua-pus that'!"
But then a funny thing happened.
James Wan's Aquaman raked in over a billion dollars worldwide and became the highest-grossing
DCEU film, causing Warner Bros to greenlight a sequel.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will see Wan returning as producer and director.
Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Randall Park, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen
II will also all be back.
New characters will be played by Pilou Asbæk, Jani Zhao, and Vincent Regan, along with Indya
Moore who will be portraying a telepathic shark.
Interestingly, the Lost Kingdom in the title may refer to Necrus, a teleporting underwater
city from the comics that's ruled by the tyrant king Mongo.
Could that be who Asbæk is playing?
We'll find out when the film splashes down in theaters on December 25, 2023.
The long-awaited solo film for Ezra Miller's Flash has been cooking since long before the
character's cameo appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
While Miller's multiple legal problems have placed the film in jeopardy, test screenings
have been positive.
In fact, The Flash may end up accomplishing the seemingly impossible feat of uniting every
DC property into a single multiverse.
Taking narrative cues from DC's iconic Flashpoint storyline, Miller's Scarlet Speedster will
be racing through different realities, sparking crazy crossovers.
Ben Affleck will reprise his role as Batman, but Michael Keaton will also reprise his version
of the Dark Knight we saw in 1989's Batman.
One of those Waynes will even design a brand new streamlined suit for the Flash.
The first teaser showed what appears to be Keaton's Batmobile and a look at two Barry
Allens one of whom could be the Reverse Flash.
Sasha Calle, who's set to star in a standalone Supergirl film, also appeared in the teaser,
standing alongside the two Barrys in her full suit.
We've also learned actor Ron Livingston will replace Billy Crudup as Henry Allen due to
scheduling conflicts.
The Blue Beetle name has been taken up by a few different characters in the comics,
but the upcoming Blue Beetle film will focus on the most recent: Jaime Reyes.
In the comics, Reyes discovers the Blue Beetle Scarab by accident and takes it home.
The artifact swiftly bonds with him and grants him an extraterrestrial suit of armor and
a slew of powers to go with it.
He's been part of several superhero groups in the DC Universe, so a Blue Beetle film
could play into several different IPs.
Xolo Mariduena — Miguel Diaz on Cobra Kai — will star as the titular superhero.
He'll be joined by Bruna Marquezine as Jaime's girlfriend Penny and Belissa Escobedo as his sister.
George Lopez will star as Uncle Rudy while Susan Sarandon will play Victoria Kord, a
character created specifically for the film.
Harvey Guillén has an undisclosed role while Raoul Max Trujillo will play Carapax the Indestructible
Man, a villain housed in a robotic body.
Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, who wrote the crime thriller Miss Bala, will pen the screenplay,
and Angel Manuel Soto will direct, following his work on Charm City Kings.
Blue Beetle is currently set to hit theaters on August 18, 2023.
Inspired by the history of Batman's greatest foe, director and co-writer Todd Phillips
reimagined the Joker as Arthur Fleck, a struggling comedian suffering an emotional breakdown.
As Joker earned multiple Academy Award nominations and generated more than $1 billion in ticket
sales, a sequel was bound to happen.
Days after Joker opened, Phillips discussed future DC Comics-based films with Warner Bros.
chairman Toby Emmerich.
In June 2022, Phillips posted a photo of a script cover page on his Instagram account,
bearing the title Joker: Folie à Deux.
We can also expect to see Joaquin Phoenix back in the title role when the film comes
out on October 4, 2024.
But he won't be alone, as the one and only Lady Gaga will be playing Harley Quinn.
Apparently, she'll get to sing too, as the film is reportedly going to be a musical.
The Green Lantern Corps movie has been a long time coming, and there may still be a long
road ahead.
Both The Dark Knight screenwriter David Goyer and Terminator: Dark Fate's Justin Rhodes
have been attached to the project.
Comics legend Geoff Johns has been rewriting the script since 2019, and while his work
continues, there may be a slight complication.
Johns is also slated to contribute to showrunner Greg Berlanti's Green Lantern series, which
is in the works for the HBO Max streaming service.
While there's no word on whether the show will connect to the Green Lantern Corps movie
in any way, it sure seems like that would make sense.
At the moment, no character or plot details have been made available for either the series
or movie.
Johns was to have delivered the first draft of his script to Warner Bros. by the end of
2019, so there may be some forward movement on it soon.
It's even been posited that J.J.
Abrams and his Bad Robot production company might get involved with the film.
It's worth noting, though, that no Green Lantern projects were announced in the initial unveiling
of the partnership.
For the time being, we'll just have to wait to see how the long-awaited project shapes up.
Perhaps no piece of superhero news has rocked the world of cinema like the rumors that Henry
Cavill will be stepping down as Superman.
In September 2018, news leaked that negotiations between Cavill and Warner Bros. had broken
down over a cameo in Shazam!, leading to the actor removing himself from the role.
Since then, Warner Bros. and Cavill's own rep have insisted Cavill is still employed,
though the star himself has played it coy, with a bizarre Instagram video being his only
public response to the situation.
While a script for Man of Steel 2 has been confirmed to be in the works, there's no telling
how this potentially massive shakeup will affect the film's progress.
Finding the perfect Superman is no small feat, and it's hard to imagine the studio moving
forward with this one if Cavill really needs replacing.
"I WILL FIND HIM!"
If Henry Cavill does get replaced as the Man of Steel, stories surrounding a new Superman
film suggest DC is taking the superhero in a vastly different direction.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, known for his social journalism and runs on the Black Panther and Captain
America comics, is penning the script.
J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot are attached to the film, but Abrams isn't
in the running to direct.
Instead, DC and Warner Bros. are looking for a Black director and a Black lead actor.
Rumored directors include Shaka King, Stephen Caple Jr., J.D.
Dillard, Regina King, Ryan Coogler, and more.
Actor Michael B. Jordan has already responded to rumors that he'll be donning the cape,
saying he'd be flattered but was "just watching on this one."
As far as the film's plot, The Hollywood Reporter reports that it might be a "20th-century period
piece," and that Coates' version of Superman is "a Kal-El in the vein of the original Superman comics."
Finally, it's reported that this film will be its own thing and not part of the existing
Obviously, these are early days, and there's a lot of speculation at this point, but keep
your eyes peeled for more on this new version of Supes.
The HBO Max series Titans has already shown the transformation of Batman's former sidekick
Robin, played by Brenton Thwaites, into the hero known as Nightwing.
And it's this version of the character who has long been rumored to be getting the feature
film treatment.
The project was first announced in early 2017, with The Lego Batman Movie director Chris
McKay slated to helm from a script by Bill Dubuque.
Since then, however, there has been complete radio silence from Warner Bros. McKay offered
a glimmer of hope for Nightwing in late 2018, when he was asked directly whether the feature
was dead and replied on Twitter:
"No.
You're going to have to wait tho.
Keep hope alive.
To paraphrase Dick Grayson: Nightwing lives.
Always."
McKay continues to express hope that the film will make it to production.
He hinted that Nightwing could be set in an alternate universe or that it might see release
outside of a standard theatrical one —maybe going directly to HBO Max.
Warner Bros. has already shelved its completed Batgirl movie, but we'll be waiting with bated
breath to see whether Dick Grayson's solo vehicle actually makes it to production.
"You've trained me well, Batman.
But from now on, I make my own decisions.
Call my own shots!"
The idea of a feature film based on the alien bounty hunter Lobo has been kicking around
since before the DCEU with a canceled Guy Ritchie-directed version discussed as far
back as 2009.
The project was revived as part of the DCEU slate in 2016, with San Andreas director Brad
Peyton set to helm with a script by Jason Fuchs.
In early 2018, none other than Michael Bay was rumored to be taking the reins, with Fuchs
still reported to be working on the script.
As is becoming a theme with the DCEU, however, the television side of things has threatened
to intervene.
The second season of the Syfy series Krypton features Irish actor Emmett J. Scanlan as
Lobo, leading some to speculate the character's feature film prospects had dimmed.
Still, there's been no official word from Warner Bros., so a starring vehicle for the
ultra-violent baddie could still be in the cards.
Once again, the name of the game is "wait and see," but if there's one thing we know
about Lobo, it's that he never quits.
"It might take me a week.
It might take me 10 years.
But I'm gonna bust out."
DC nabbed an Oscar winner for their planned Blackhawk film.
Steven Spielberg, who has taken home three Academy Awards, will produce and likely direct
a film based on Blackhawk, the leader of an international squadron of pilots who take
on the Nazis during World War II.
The Blackhawk character debuted in 1941's "Military Comics" #1 and was originally published
by Quality Comics before DC acquired it in 1956.
The character, who was co-created by Will Eisner, Bob Powell, and Chuck Cuidera, headlined
a number of best-selling comics in the 1940s.
His World War II background makes him a great fit for Spielberg, who earned an Oscar for
directing the World War II drama Saving Private Ryan.
Spielberg is bringing on Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull and Jurassic Park writer
David Koepp to pen the script.
In 2022, four years after the project got underway, Koepp told Collider that while a
script is written, Warner Bros. has yet to give the Blackhawk production a green light.
According to the screenwriter:
"There were a lot of management changes at Warner Bros., so I think we've just been kind
of waiting for that to settle down and for them to decide what they want to do with their
DC Universe."
The DCEU's current version of Superman may be up in the air, but one project Warner Bros.
is reportedly high on is a starring cinematic vehicle for his cousin Supergirl.
The character is already enjoying a high profile thanks to the success of her CW TV series,
and the time seems right for the DCEU to introduce another powerful female lead.
Actress Sasha Calle, who beat out hundreds of other auditioners, will be DCEU's Supergirl.
Calle's only major role to date is on The Young and the Restless, but she'll make her
debut as Kara Zor-El in The Flash before taking to the skies in Supergirl.
Little is known about this in-development project other than its screenwriter, Oren
Uziel, who penned The Cloverfield Paradox.
The rumor mill has suggested the project could be set in the 1970s, in an alternate timeline
where Kara arrives on Earth before her cousin.
This would set the film version of the character apart from her TV incarnation.
Uziel has been at work on the script since August 2018, so more details are sure to surface.
DC is looking to bring a little magic into its cinematic universe.
The studio is aiming to put Zatanna Zatara, a powerful magic-user, into her own feature film.
Considering some of the other projects being floated around the DC Universe, such as Justice
League Dark, Zatanna's debut fits perfectly into DC's current plans.
The project is very early in development, but one important detail has been confirmed.
Emerald Fennell, writer of the Academy Award-nominated film Promising Young Woman, has been tapped
to write the screenplay.
In an interview with Empire, Fennell said she's excited for the scale Zatanna gives
her to work with, and she can't wait to write something "quite dark" that's also "big and scary."
Since it's still so early, we don't have any casting information yet.
Serinda Swan played Zatanna in the CW show Smallville, but since that series wrapped
up over a decade ago, it seems unlikely she would be cast as the lead of the new film.
Birds of Prey introduced us to quite the crew of DC antiheroes.
Though it mainly gave Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn a chance to fly solo, it also introduced
us to updated takes on Black Mask, Huntress, Victor Zsasz, and Black Canary.
That last one apparently made a good impression as actor Jurnee Smollett has been tapped to
reprise the role in her own solo film.
"Wanna hear a secret?"
While still very early in development, we do have an idea who's going to help bring
a Black Canary movie to life.
Smollett will be reuniting with Lovecraft Country creator Misha Green, who's penning
the script.
Black Canary is also being produced by Sue Kroll of Kroll & Co.
Entertainment, who also produced Birds of Prey.
The film is in development for an HBO Max release, suggesting it'll be smaller in scale
than the "pillar" DCEU movies involving the Justice League.
Fans of early 2000s animation might remember the Static Shock series, which aired on Kids'
WB for four seasons.
Based on the Milestone Comics character, Virgil Hawkins is a 14-year-old boy who gains electrical
and magnetic powers after a freak accident and becomes the superhero Static.
During the 2021 FanDome event, a Static Shock movie was confirmed to be in development with
Randy McKinnon penning the script.
Reginald Hudlin, who's overseeing the relaunch of Milestone Comics, is also working behind
the scenes.
In addition, Michael B. Jordan's production company Outlier Society is helping to bring
the film to life.
In October 2020, Jordan told The Hollywood Reporter:
"I'm proud to be a part of building a new universe centered around black superheroes;
our community deserves that.
Outlier Society is committed to bringing to life diverse comic book content across all
platforms, and we are excited to partner with Reggie and Warner Bros on this initial step."
DC is starting to dig deeper into their bag of tricks for characters they want to build
films around, and their latest offbeat choice is Hourman.
There have been multiple characters who've taken up that mantle, but they all center
around a chemical formula that grants the user incredible abilities for one hour.
We've actually seen several versions of Hourman in the CW's Arrowverse.
Patrick J. Adams played Rex Tyler, the original Hourman, on Legends of Tomorrow while Lou
Ferrigno Jr. played the character on Stargirl.
Cameron Gellman played Rex's son Rick Tyler on Stargirl and took on the Hourman mantle himself.
However, it remains to be seen what direction DC will go with the Hourman film.
The screenplay is being tackled by Gavin James and Neil Widener.
Chernin Entertainment, which also developed the most recent Planet of the Apes franchise,
is producing the film alongside DC and Warner Bros.
Wonder Woman is regarded as one of the DCEU's best efforts and director Patty Jenkins says
there are plenty more stories to tell about Diana's Amazon sisters.
DC is currently working on a spinoff about these warrior women, and while the details
are scarce, Jenkins has said the spinoff will focus on events that occur after Diana leaves Themyscira.
She also said the story would help bridge the gap between Wonder Woman 1984 and Diana's
third film.
That seems to indicate that the spinoff will be released before the in-development Wonder
Woman 3.
Jenkins will not be directing this spinoff, but she is involved in the film's creative
development as a producer.
We expect other Amazons to reappear, but details remain tightly wrapped up at this point.
Unlike Wonder Woman 1984's HBO Max release, Wonder Woman 3 will have a traditional theatrical
release and is expected to be a concluding film to the trilogy.
During 2021's FanDome, writer-director Patty Jenkins also revealed that original Wonder
Woman Lynda Carter will be returning as Amazonian warrior Asteria.
That said, it could still be a long while before we get to finish the story of Diana Prince.
Jenkins and star Gal Gadot are working together on the historical drama Cleopatra, and Jenkins
has been tapped to direct Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, which is scheduled to come out in
Christmas 2023.
Gadot is attached to about a half-dozen other projects, as well.
In other words, it's going to be a while, but we'll eventually get to see another Wonder
Woman movie on the big screen.