DC FanDome will not return in 2022, with its cancellation being one of the side effects issues Warner Bros. continues to be saddled with. As the DCEU multiverse began to take shape, DC FanDome first debuted in August 2020 as an online streaming event showcasing everything on the horizon for the DC brand in all forms of media. With a physical San Diego Comic-Con blocked by the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, DC FanDome was a huge hit, returning in 2021 and quickly becoming an anticipated annual DC promotional event.
Sadly, it was not to be for 2022, with DC FanDome having been canceled for the year. In an official statement, Warner Bros. Discovery explained the reasoning of DC FanDome's cancellation: "With the return of in person events, Warner Bros. Discovery is excited to be able to engage with our fans live at numerous comic-cons around the world and will not be scheduling DC FanDome for 2022." While this indicates that DC properties will be showcased at upcoming fan conventions for the remainder of 2022, through a combination of factors like the DCEU's attachment to Ben Affleck's Batman and numerous movie cancellations and delays, the hard truth of the matter is that a 2022 DC FanDome was not likely.
That is not to say that DC FanDome will not be back in 2023 or beyond. With the event's popularity, continuing it would be highly advisable for the post-merger management of Warner Bros. Discovery. Still, the absence of DC FanDome will undoubtedly be a missed presence by DC fans in 2022. Here is why DC FanDome will regretfully not be held in 2022.
Warner Bros. Is Making A Mistake To Cancel DC FanDome
The concept of DC FanDome is an event that most studios would love to have for their biggest IPs as a weekend streaming event showcasing everything upcoming for the franchise in question. Essentially, DC FanDome is a streaming Comic-Con exclusively devoted to everything under the DC banner, with Warner Bros. able to have full creative and financial control over it. With the renewed likelihood of Henry Cavill continuing as Superman, among other developments, skipping a year of the kind of DC-centric fireworks DC FanDome offers is a big loss for Warner Bros Discovery. That said, Warner Bros. Discovery's statement suggests the studio may wish to reconfigure future DC FanDomes into physical events more along the lines of San Diego Comic-Con or Disney's D23 Expo. Of more immediate importance, the well that DC FanDome could draw from in 2022 has run unexpectedly low.
With Batgirl Canceled & Everything Pushed Back, There's Nothing To Show
The unprecedented cancellation of Batgirl by itself would make hosting a DC FanDome in the timeframe immediately succeeding it hard enough, but things have become even more complicated with the rescheduling of every upcoming DC movie to at least 2023 save for the October release of Black Adam. Ben Affleck's appearance in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (itself a turn of events that could portend a larger Affleck Batman return) seems likely to at least partially account for the release shuffles, the film switching once more to being released after The Flash movie. However, that and the Arrowverse's impending conclusion with The Flash season 9, leaving Superman & Lois and Stargirl as the last DC shows on the CW, also have resulted in WB Discovery lacking a fully solidified DC plans to share at DC FanDome. With those factors all leaving DC fans with as much consternation as curiosity, there was simply too little to build a foundation on for DC FanDome in 2022.
The DC FanDome Cancellation Only Shows How Chaotic Things Are For DC
The loss of DC FanDome in 2022 is ultimately a byproduct of Warner Bros. Discovery having to do a huge amount of work in organizing their stated 10-year plan for the DCEU, which certainly could not be finalized ahead of a September of October DC FanDome date. Though Batgirl could still be released eventually, the impact of its cancellation, the rescheduling of the DC film slate, and the potential returns of multiple DCEU cast members have all left DC's future with more questions than answers. Until Warner Bros. Discovery is fully prepared to flip that equation, DC FanDome inevitably was going to end up on hold. All DC fans can do is hope that everything in DC's future is structured as it needs to be for DC FanDome, whether as an in-person event or a hybridized approach with streaming, to return in 2023.
