We've watched the Justice League come together, but that's only the beginning of Warner Brothers'
plans for the DCEU. What do fans have to look forward to over the next half decade or so?
Let's take a look at the upcoming DC movies that are going to blow everyone away.
The upcoming solo vehicle The Flash has undergone a lot of changes on the road to the screen,
with only one constant: Ezra Miller, who originated the role of the big-screen Scarlet Speedster
in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
"I've never done battle. I've just pushed some people and run away."
The movie, thought to be based on the Flashpoint storyline, was announced way back in 2013.
Since then, a laundry list of filmmakers have come and gone from the project. In 2019, Miller
even attempted to head off the potential expiration of his contract by taking a crack at the screenplay.
Then, after a revolving door of creators spent years with it, production appeared to finally
get on track with the hiring of It director Andy Muschietti. The flick is currently slated
for release on June 3, 2022, although the recent scandal, in which Miller was videotaped
choking a female fan in Iceland, may lead to further delays or restructuring.
Having gained plenty of superhero-ing experience during the events of his 2019 solo vehicle,
young Billy Batson will be ready to hopefully take on Black Adam in Shazam 2. Of course,
he may have a little help. You may recall that at the conclusion of Shazam!, Batson
was able to defeat Doctor Sivana by sharing his powers with his foster family. The new
Shazam family of heroes will presumably have a significant role to play in the sequel.
"Shazam!"
The movie's mid-credits stinger revealed that Sivana, while currently imprisoned, is still
a threat. He also may be keen to team up with that scene's cute little talking caterpillar,
Mister Mind, a space worm from Venus who is a heck of a lot more dangerous than he might
sound. Batson will need all the help he can get with Black Adam in the picture. That said,
there's always the possibility that Adam, played by Dwayne Johnson, will lean toward
the "hero" side of his typical antihero depiction, and end up assisting Batson and family against
the forces of evil. Shazam! was a heck of a lot of fun, but we all know that superhero
sequels tend to go darker. It stands to reason, then, that whatever the nature of Adam's involvement,
young Billy is going to have some growing up to do in Shazam 2.
This long-developing project may have been headed off at the pass by DC Universe. The
streamer premiered Titans, featuring Dick Grayson aka Robin in a lead role, in 2018.
Of course, the comics incarnation of Grayson eventually goes on to take up the mantle of
Nightwing, giving him an identity independent of Batman. It's this version of the character
which 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 the project. Since then, there has been complete radio silence from
Warner Brothers on the project. McKay offered a glimmer of hope for Nightwing in late 2018,
when he was asked directly whether the feature was dead on Twitter.
"No. You're going to have to wait tho. Keep hope alive. To paraphrase Dick Grayson: Nightwing
lives. Always."
We'll be waiting with bated breath to see whether Dick Grayson's solo vehicle actually
makes it to production.
The saga of the standalone Batgirl movie may reveal the most visible shift in course of
the post-Justice League DCEU. Avengers director Joss Whedon was announced to be in talks to
write and direct the picture in 2017, based on the Barbara Gordon version of the character.
Whedon later stepped down when he realized he, quote "didn't really have a story." The
film appeared to be on the far back burner until Birds of Prey emerged, leading to speculation
that one of the potential spinoff characters that film could be introducing might be the
Cassandra Cain version of Batgirl. That notion gained more credence when Warner Brothers
tapped Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson to resurrect the project. In an interview
with the Los Angeles Times in 2018, Hodson confirmed she's working on the film, but wouldn't
reveal exactly what path the character will take, or when audiences might see Batgirl
take flight.
Oscar nominee Ava DuVernay is set to blow everyone away with DC's The New Gods. DuVernay,
best known for Selma and A Wrinkle in Time, will direct the film, based on the comics
from legendary creator Jack Kirby. The New Gods first arrived as part of Kirby's Fourth
World Saga, which he created after leaving Marvel for DC in the early 1970s.
The New Gods tells the story of a war between two alien planets, the picturesque New Genesis
and the ghastly Apokolips. The war spills over to the earth when Darkseid, who rules
Apokolips, learns that humans are the key to solving the Anti-Life Equation, which would
allow him to control every living thing in the universe. It's unclear at this point which
characters will be included in the film. That said, DuVernay has previously noted that Big
Barda, who plays a key role in the comics, is her favorite superhero of all time for,
quote "many reasons."
"Oh, one last thing."
Director James Wan built his reputation as a master of horror cinema. He's the driving
force behind the Conjuring Universe, not to mention the Saw and Insidious series. But
in 2018 he proved he can do superheroes as well with Aquaman.
"Permission to come aboard."
Though the movie had all the trappings of a light superhero adventure, one scene in
particular showed off Wan's horror roots. Arthur and Mera's detour through the Kingdom
of the Trench, where they came under attack by carnivorous beasts, felt straight out of
one of the director's blood-soaked fright flicks. Interestingly, the terrifying world
depicted in this scene will be expanded to feature length in The Trench, a spin-off being
scripted by freshman screenwriters Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald.
Wan will executive produce the film with Peter Safran, who revealed to The Hollywood Reporter
that he was hoping for a Trench movie even before Aquaman proved to be a huge hit. If
and when it finally gets released, The Trench could prove to be a welcome departure from
other superhero blockbuster fare.
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