Whenever a DC movie comes out, Warner Bros revises its slate. Years ago, Man of Steel was expected to be followed by Man of Steel 2, when suddenly Comic-Con rolled around in San Diego, and Zack Snyder dropped the bomb that Batman v Superman would be the follow-up. And despite rumors cropping up every few months, there’s still not a Man of Steel 2 officially announced, though Warner Bros chief Kevin Tsujihara hinted back in 2014 that of course it would happen. He also laid out five years’ worth of films before anybody had actually seen Batman v Superman.
At Comic-Con 2017, the slate was revised somewhat, because Wonder Woman did really well and somehow the studio just didn’t believe in much else. Finally this past weekend in Brazil at Comic Con Experience, Warner Bros gave a clearer look at their next couple of years (and that’s in the wake of a rumored internal shake-up). It’s interesting what remains and what they just seem to hope nobody will ask them about.
We know up next will be Jason Momoa in Aquaman. Directed by James Wan, this one offers hope because Wan is a kinetic director, Momoa is magnetic as Arthur Curry, and both Amber Heard and Willem Dafoe are wild cards (in a good way) in the supporting cast. It’s in post-production right now, scheduled for release in December 2018.
Apparently Wonder Woman 2 may not be called Wonder Woman 2, but otherwise, that’s on track with Patty Jenkins directing again and Gal Gadot starring. There’s still no information on whether or not it’s a period piece, but it’s set for release on November 1, 2019.
That’s a long time between movies, but it’s actually offset by Shazam! due in April, 2019. But since that’s being produced by Warner Bros sister studio New Line Cinema, it’s unclear if that’s supposed to fit in with the Justice League, or if it even needs to.
Warner Bros confirmed three team films: Flashpoint, Justice League Dark, and Green Lantern Corps for 2020 or thereabouts.
Though Flashpoint is Flash-centric, the original storyline involves Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) traveling back through time to prevent the murder of his mother. When he returns to the present, he doesn’t have his powers, and the world is falling apart — including with dark visions of his former teammates in the Justice League. Aquaman and Wonder Woman lead opposing armies of Atlanteans and Amazons, Batman isn’t Bruce Wayne but his father Thomas, and Superman has been hidden away from the sun since childhood by a corrupt government agency.
Justice League Dark, originally proposed by Guillermo Del Toro, features mystical heroes — likely John Constantine, Etrigan the Demon, Deadman, The Spectre, Swamp Thing, and Zatanna. I’ll hold out for an appearance by the Phantom Stranger, but not too hard. At this point, it’s gone through a couple of script revisions (as it seems all of the DC Films projects have), and Warner Bros had stopped talking about it. But here it is.
Green Lantern Corps played a tiny but crucial easter egg in Justice League. We saw a power ring leave the body of a lifeless Lantern, to seek a new Corps member for Sector 2814. It’s clearly a big enough deal that Warner Bros has faith in the concept (and should), but other than saying maybe 2020, there’s nothing else to say about it. It’s the Corps. It should be John Stewart, though if they really want to be bold they’ll throw in Kyle Rayner and Simon Baz on top of the usual alien suspects like Tomar Re, Kilowog, and Sinestro.
Allegedly we are still getting Suicide Squad 2 because there are so many unanswered questions from the first one, like “what happened?” So far, Joss Whedon still gets to make a Batgirl movie, and Matt Reeves at least gets the first The Batman of his planned trilogy. But just because previously announced movies didn’t get teased in Brazil doesn’t mean they don’t still exist. With DC Films and Warner Bros, plans can turn on a two-headed coin.
