January has the potential to be a very big month in the world of DC Comics. Aside from the beginning of a universe altering new event in Dawn of DC, the company is expected to usher in a new era of multimedia storytelling.
You’d have to have been living under a rock to have missed the news that Warner Bros. has been bought by Discovery. Under the management of David Zaslav the company cancelled Batgirl and set about creating a brand new dedicated team, now known as DC Studios. In November, writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran took up their posts as co-chairs of the studio and work began on overhauling DC’s movie slate.
Gunn, a prolific user of social media, has hinted that DC Studios plans to announce the start of its ten year plan later this month. Whilst it’s unlikely a studio with this much baggage announces all its plans, we can certainly expect the next couple of years of DC to become public knowledge. But with four films already releasing in 2023, what does this mean for the future?
Impact on 2023 Films?
With a new era of DC storytelling about to be launched, what does that mean for the films which are already in post-production. At present there are four movies set for release in 2023:
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17, 2023)
- The Flash (June 23, 2023)
- Blue Beetle (August 18, 2023)
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25, 2023)
The Flash offers Gunn and Safran an opportunity to make changes to the current film universe. Given Barry Allen’s penchant for altering the past, all it would take is Ezra Miller’s version of the character taking a wrong turn in the Speed Force and he could write all the prior DCEU-era movies out of existence. But given its early placement in the year it seems the responsibility for closing the current era falls to James Wan and his sequel to 2018’s Aquaman.
Responding to a fan on Instagram, Gunn stated that he and Safran had input on the films releasing this year:
“Peter and I will help to guide the already filmed projects for the next year, but the new slate won’t start until after Aquaman 2.”
In a further reply he mentioned that the pair had “given notes” on the films releasing this year. Though no specifics were given, it makes sense to think that the pair are preparing to transition from this Earth to another. But what could those preparations look like?
A likely option is restructuring those upcoming releases to step away from current continuity. There has long been rumours that cameos from other Snyder-casted heroes were being stripped out from upcoming films. Unsubstantiated stories suggest that both Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot have been removed from The Flash, whilst a recent Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom test screening appeared to feature a cut without Ben Affleck who recently shot scenes for the film.
It has been long-rumoured that Gadot would also be appearing in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. But with the future of all the current actors unclear, could Wonder Woman be about to disappear from that movie?
A Multiverse of Casting…
Comic book fans are no strangers to the idea of multiple versions of characters existing simultaneously. Whilst fans of TV and movies are used to seeing actors change over time, the idea of these multiple variants interacting on the big screen is more alien. Thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home, it seems that both Marvel Studios and the previous DC management team were both looking to capitalise on this nostalgia to stimulate the box office. We know that The Flash is set to introduce a Multiverse of ideas to DC’s films. With both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck appearing as Batman, The Flash was about to open the door to plenty of potential crossovers and twists for the future.
Many have theorised that Warner Bros. previous management was planning to use the Andy Muschietti directed film as a way to softly reboot the DCEU with Affleck stepping away and Keaton returning full time. A theory which was backed up by Keaton’s planned appearance in the now cancelled Batgirl.
Neither Gunn nor Safran has spoken to confirm any news on future casting. Whilst Henry Cavill has confirmed that he is no-longer Superman, no other actor has spoken to confirm their status. Many of the actors currently in place in the DCEU are well respected. Margot Robbie, for instance, has won huge praise for her portrayal of Harley Quinn. Likewise, fans still regularly cry out to see more of Ben Affleck’s Batman. But with the spectre of Zack Snyder’s tenure as director of three DC films still looming, it makes sense that DC Studios want to move away from this tonally dark era before starting something newer and more hopeful.
Gunn, once again replying to a fan on social media, confirmed that he wasn’t going to be playing favourites with casting.
What remains to be seen is whether this means a completely clean slate, or a mix of casts moving forwards. That, of course, could all depend on the story…
Crisis On Infinite Trans-Media?
Something which we do know is that DC Studios is planning for a decade of storytelling which won’t solely play out on the big screen. Whatever the studio has planned, it will unfold across a multitude of trans-media projects. Speaking in November 2022, Gunn mentioned that plans would include film, TV and animated projects. Subsequently, it has also been mentioned that games are included in their grand plan.
But what kind of story could connect DC across so many different mediums? An obvious choice would be some kind of Crisis level event. Something which fans of the comics are also intimately aware of and familiar with. Whilst The CW played out a version of the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, could Gunn and Safran be planning something on a massive scale across trans-media?
As yet, neither co-chair has given any real hints towards the overarching story they have planned. In fact, aside from suggesting that there will be a connection, neither has even suggested a level of connectivity along the lines of a huge cinematic event.
Whilst many fans want to see DC Studios succeed to the same level as Marvel, others would prefer to see DC steer away from simply re-creating the MCU formula. The Multiverse theory could allow DC the best of both worlds in the run up to a Crisis level finale.
Stick with me for a moment… in 2024 the new DC Universe begins with a younger Superman (more on that in a minute) exploring a bright, new version of Earth Prime. He interacts with a plethora of well known and criminally underused characters from the DC Universe in a series of blockbuster movies across the next few years. There are joint adventures featuring one of two of this burgeoning new Justice League, showing how they can all work together towards a common goal.
Meanwhile other versions of Superman, Wonder Woman et al appear on TV, in games and in animated movies. These franchises all work as standalone stories featuring different takes on legendary characters, each with their own spin. The standalone nature meaning that audience can follow the characters however they wish, either on all fronts or individually through film, tv etc.
Over the course of the next decade, all of these characters pick up an awareness of the Multiverse, learning of each others existence and leading in the aforementioned Crisis. The culmination being an event tying together all facets of DC Studios storytelling in one huge event.
This is all just guesswork on my part but it certainly sounds exciting! But let’s bring ourselves back down to Earth and check in with what we know for sure…
It All Starts With Superman… Maybe?
What do we know for sure about future projects? As mentioned, James Gunn has confirmed their new era of storytelling won’t begin until after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, so it will at least be 2024 before any Gunn/Safran produced project hits our screens.
In December, Gunn tweeted to confirm that the studio would be confirmed “some exciting information” on upcoming projects would be shared early this year. In the same Twitter thread, Gunn confirmed that a film focussing on an earlier part of Superman’s life was in development and that he was writing the project himself.
What we don’t know for sure is whether this will be the first project to release under the new slate. It could simply be the first project they’re willing to discuss. Gunn would later confirm that no director has been attached to the project though that may have changed over the course of the last month.
We also know that despite featuring a younger Superman, this project won’t be an origin story. Perhaps even more interestingly, this Superman won’t be meeting major characters for the first time either. What Gunn doesn’t tell us here is if other characters already exist or whether this film simply won’t focus on those meetings.
So, for now, all we know for sure is that a younger Superman is on the way.
But What About Batman?
For a time, rumours suggested that Matt Reeves brilliant version of Batman, played by Robert Pattinson, would be folded in to this new universe. That news was, of course, debunked by both Gunn and Reeves. For now the version of Gotham introduced in last year’s The Batman will remain its own Elseworlds project. The same can probably be said of Todd Phillips’ upcoming sequel to Joker.
Gunn has confirmed that Elseworlds projects are absolutely happening, confirming long held rumours that Warner Bros. was looking to keep producing standalone projects outside of its prime continuity.
But what does this mean for Batman in the newly minted DCU? Well elsewhere Gunn has confirmed that the Dark Knight is still an important part of the studios plans, obviously, and likely means that for the foreseeable future there will be multiple Batmen on the big screen.
This does stand at odds with an earlier statement by David Zaslav that Warner Bros. Discovery was planning to not have multiple Batmen running around their cohesive universe. But given Gunn’s statements on Elseworlds projects and trans-media, its safe to assume well see these multiple versions for various characters in the future.
What About Everyone Else?
But what about Wonder Woman? The Flash? And every other character who has recently been established. For now we simply don’t know. Until the studio decides to make its plans clear we can do nothing but speculate about the futures of Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa. One character who has been suspiciously absent from all goings on is Cyborg, played by Ray Fisher in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Fisher’s well documented war with the studio continues. The actor recently took to social media to fire shots at Gunn over a prior spat the pair had over comments on social media around Joss Whedon. Whilst Gunn apologised at the time and reiterated those apologies again recently, Fisher has as yet had nothing more to say on the subject.
Though he was once said to be a part of plans for The Flash and even had a solo movie in the pipeline at one stage, it seems Cyborg remains in flux until will know about the future DCU.
Another actor who is likely not to return in the near future is Dwayne Johnson. Despite a warm response from fans, Johnson has confirmed that Black Adam isn’t part of the studio’s planned first chapter of storytelling. Whilst it doesn’t rule out an Elseworlds appearance or a return down the line, it seems that for now Teth-Adam isn’t a priority as the studio gets its DCU off the ground.
One name who is still connected to the studio is Ben Affleck. Though his time as Batman has potentially come to an end, Gunn and Safran have met with him to discuss potentially directing a future project. Whether that is a Bat-family project or something elsewhere in the DCU remains to be seen. But it at least confirms the new studio heads are meeting with all the current talent to discuss their futures.
Brightest Day Follows Blackest Night
“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight…”
Whilst the internet will continue to debate the merits of rebooting the DC Universe, it’s fair to say that the future looks bright. With a dedicated creative team finally overseeing the futures of these characters, it is an exciting time to be a DC fan.
Whilst we hope that many of our favourite series like Titans and Doom Patrol survive the new regime, it’s clear there may be some tough changes ahead. For now we keep our ears to the ground and await the official announcements from the studio.
What are you excited for most in the future? What story would you like to see the new DCU leading up to? Let us know in the comments below!
