After setting a series of mystery movies over the course of the next six years, their first strides to realizing a proper DC Cinematic Universe to compete with Marvel’s record-shattering Marvel Cinematic Universe, Warner Bros. CEO, Kevin Tsujihara has unveiled the entire DC Comics-inspired movie slate through to 2020 at the Time Warner Investor Meeting!
As a bonus, Tsujihara has also re-affirmed plans for the upcoming LEGO movies and Harry Potter spin-off/prequel trilogy, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The first Fantastic Beasts movie was previously given a release date of November 18th, 2016, and we now have confirmation that it’s got two planned follow-ups, with the second movie planned for 2018, and the third planned for 2020. Both will likely also release in November, given that Tsujihara mentioned that they will follow the DC releases of those years.
Most of the LEGO movie news isn’t new unfortunately, though we have now received the first official confirmation that The LEGO Movie 2 has indeed been delayed to 2018. It will now release on May 25th, 2018, with its former May 26th, 2017 date now being filled by the newly-announced spin-off, The LEGO Batman Movie. No details were given about the potential stories or content of either movie, unfortunately. Tsujihara also re-affirmed plans to release a feature LEGO Ninjago film on September 23rd, 2016.
Now, for the big reveal though! It turns out, some of our speculation was correct about the identities of the mystery DC movies, but a few of these dates have surprised us and others! Nonetheless, let’s break down DC’s movie plans:
In 2016, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a movie that’s already had plenty of news and announcements, is still set to open on March 25th. It will be followed not by Shazam however, but by Suicide Squad, a movie that was recently confirmed to have David Ayer set to direct. Dan Lin will produce, and Justin Marks will write the script. It’s believed that DC assassin, Deadshot will be the main character of the Suicide Squad movie, though this hasn’t been officially confirmed by Warner Bros. or DC, and nor has the claim that Harley Quinn will not be featured in the titular roster of government-endorsed super-villains. In any case, Suicide Squad is the movie holding the August 5th, 2016 date.
In 2017, Wonder Woman, a solo spin-off starring the titular Goddess of Truth, is indeed holding the June 23rd, 2017 date, with Gal Gadot making her debut as the character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice the previous year. More shocking however is that the second movie is actually ensemble crossover flick, Justice League: Part One, revealing for the first time that Warner Bros. is actually splitting their Justice League stories into multiple movies. Justice League: Part One is holding the November 12th, 2017 date, and will have Zack Snyder directing, along with Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ben Affleck’s Batman and Amy Adams’ Lois Lane being the first characters confirmed to appear.
For 2018, Warner Bros. dropped a pretty big bomb by unmasking the March 23rd, 2018 movie as The Flash, and they’ve already cast the Scarlet Speedster for the big screen! Somehow sneaking this nugget around everyone’s collective internet eyes, Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) will portray The Fastest Man Alive for the DC Cinematic Universe. The July 27th, 2018 movie happens to be Aquaman, and mercifully, we finally got word straight from Tsujihara and the studio here that those many rumours and gun-jumping speculative reporters were correct; Jason Momoa will indeed portray the King of Atlantis. Tsujihara was mum on Aquaman’s rumoured presence in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice though unfortunately.
In 2019, Shazam marks the April 5th, 2019 movie, which is a bit shocking, given that Warner Bros. has already hyped up Dwayne Johnson’s casting as the movie’s villain, Black Adam. This led many people, including us, to believe that Shazam was actually the movie in Suicide Squad’s date. Unfortunately though, it looks like we’ll be waiting quite a while for the big screen debut of Billy Batson and his magic. Regardless, the second 2019 movie, in the June 14th, 2019 spot, is Justice League: Part Two, which has so far only confirmed Zack Snyder as its director.
Lastly, the pair of 2020 movies are some curveballs too. Cyborg, a solo movie starring the title character that will make his debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, played by Ray Fisher, is the movie holding the April 3rd, 2020 date. The second movie, on June 19th, 2020, happens to be a reboot of Green Lantern, Warner Bros.’ surprising flop of 2011, which starred Ryan Reynolds in the title role, and was self-contained. This confirms that 2011’s ill-fated Green Lantern movie is being disregarded, and Warner Bros. and DC are simply starting fresh with a brand new Green Lantern movie, set in the DC Cinematic Universe. Green Lantern himself has yet to be cast at this point.
Tsujihara also confirms that new solo movies for both Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman are in development, but neither currently have release dates, and he has no news to share about them at this time.
These announcements seem to confirm that the apparently leaked DC movie slate leading into this year’s San-Diego Comic-Con turned out to be completely false. Shazam was entirely in the wrong place, Wonder Woman was off by a month, The Sandman is not present at all, and nor is the false Flash/Green Lantern team-up movie that clearly never existed in the first place. The splitting of Justice League was not acknowledged (and again, in the wrong date), and Man of Steel 2 isn’t set for May 2018, as the fake leak indicated either. It would seem then that the storied scoop was 100% hogwash. Oh well. At least we have the genuine roster now, but it’s another lesson not to believe everything you hear, folks!
This news also seems to legitimately cement that, as DC previously claimed, their movies and the shared DC Television Universe on The CW are entirely separate. The Flash stars a completely different actor in Ezra Miller, despite the live-action TV series of the same name being led by Grant Gustin on The CW, with the movie and the show (which will hopefully still be airing in 2018!) indeed being completely separate from one another. A separate Suicide Squad has also already been portrayed on Arrow, and it seems that the movie version will be entirely different as well. This would also seem to dash any hope that Stephen Amell’s ultra-popular Green Arrow character from Arrow may be featured in the DC Cinematic Universe, and it would seem that CBS’s upcoming Supergirl’s heroine doesn’t exist in the DC Cinematic Universe either. Too bad.
Then again, in the case of Amell, he is so beloved by fans, that he is to voice Green Arrow in upcoming video game, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, plus, a bonus Arrow skin in last year’s well-received fighting game, Injustice: Gods Among Us also returned Amell’s likeness and voice to the character. If the stars align, maybe, just maybe, Amell can exist as the Emerald Archer in two universes at once!
Anyway, to quickly recap, here’s the layout of the current DC Cinematic Universe movie slate:
– Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 25th, 2016)
– Suicide Squad (August 5th, 2016)
– Wonder Woman (June 23rd, 2017)
– Justice League: Part One (November 10th, 2017)
– The Flash (March 23rd, 2018)
– Aquaman (July 27th, 2018)
– Shazam (April 5th, 2019)
– Justice League: Part Two (June 14th, 2019)
– Cyborg (April 3rd, 2020)
– Green Lantern (June 19th, 2020)
What do you think of the official DC movie slate over the next six years? Are you excited? Are you apathetic? Are you wondering why new solo Batman and Superman movies aren’t a part of the list? As usual, your comments are welcome below.
Eggplante will continue to bring you all news and updates on the DC Cinematic Universe.