DC's 2020 movie slate currently consists of two movies - Wonder Woman 1984 and Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) - though it's possible there can always be more movies added to the release schedule. After Wonder Woman's critical and commercial success and Justice League's critical and commercial disappointment in 2017, DC Films restructured behind the scenes and is pushing forward with a new mandate, with James Wan's Aquaman representing the end of the previous administration.
At the moment, there are well more than a dozen DC movies in development at Warner Bros., but the DC Films division is no longer on the same path that it once was. It was previously believed that movies like The Flash and Suicide Squad 2 would enter production sometime in 2018 or early 2019, seeing as the characters in each movie represent the heart of the unofficially titled DC Extended Universe, but that's not necessarily the case. Instead, DC Films is somewhat rebooting in 2019, thanks to David F. Sandberg's Shazam! (which exists in the DCEU, but is a degree removed from what audiences expect from a DCEU movie) and Todd Phillips' Joker - a Joker origin movie that will kickoff DC Films' non-DCEU slate of movies.
Related: The DCEU Can Start A New Type Of Shared Universe
Even though the DCEU's future seemed bleak post-Justice League, that's no longer the case seeing as DC Films has not only filled out their 2019 release slate but also their 2020 schedule as well. While there are currently two DC movies slated to release in 2020, DC Films may choose to release more, seeing as they still have a couple of 2020 release dates slotted for untitled DC movies.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) - February 7, 2020
Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was first introduced in David Ayer's Suicide Squad, and she became so popular amongst general audiences that WB ended up commissioning multiple spinoff movies of her character and others. Over the years, though, most of the Suicide Squad spinoff movies (as well as the Suicide Squad sequel) started to falter in development. Meanwhile, Robbie pushed forward with her own spinoff movie, one that brings DC's Birds of Prey team into the fold.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is that movie, which stars Robbie as Harley Quinn, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, with Ella Jay Basco appearing as Cassandra Cain. The Birds of Prey movie, which is being directed by Cathy Yan, is scheduled to enter production in January 2019 and release in February 2020, thus kicking off DC's 2020 release slate.
Black Adam - April 3, 2020?
Before the core Justice League cast members officially joined the DCEU, Dwayne Johnson signed on as Black Adam, a DC Comics villain who is often pitted against Shazam. It was originally believed that Johnson would be playing the villain in DC's Shazam! movie, starring Zachary Levi as Billy Batson/Shazam; however, that didn't end up happening. While Johnson is still producing Shazam!, he's not scheduled to appear in the film. Instead, Johnson will make his DCEU debut as Black Adam in a solo Black Adam movie.
Once Johnson appears in the Black Adam movie, then it seems a possible Shazam! sequel will see the two major characters come face-to-face. When that happens remains to be seen. However, it's possible that, if Black Adam does enter production in 2019 as Johnson expects, it could ultimately release in April 2020 (which was originally supposed to be the Cyborg movie's release date, but nothing has happened on that movie's front in quite some time). It would be fitting to have the Black Adam movie, which is currently being written by longtime Johnson collaborator, Adam Sztykiel, release on the same weekend that Shazam! did a year earlier in 2019.
Page 2 of 2: What Other DC Films Can We Expect In 2020?
Wonder Woman 1984 - June 5, 2020
It didn't take long for WB to greenlight a Wonder Woman sequel after Patty Jenkins' first Wonder Woman movie became an astounding critical and commercial success, while also becoming the highest-grossing superhero origin movie at the time. Wonder Woman 2 ended up being titled Wonder Woman 1984, since it takes place in the 1980s and sees Gal Gadot's Diana Prince take on Kristen Wiig's Cheetah (as well as possibly another villain) at the height of the Cold War. Furthermore, Wonder Woman 1984 brings back Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, though it's unclear how the sequel will explain his return considering the character died in 2017's Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman 1984 started filming in June 2018 - one year after the first Wonder Woman hit theaters - and wraps production in December 2018. Although Wonder Woman 1984 was originally scheduled to release in November 2019, it was ultimately pushed back to June 2020 in order to take advantage of the same prime summer date that the first Wonder Woman movie released on. It's an interesting choice, since that means two DC movies - Joker and Birds of Prey - will have gone into production after Wonder Woman 1984 yet will release before the Wonder Woman sequel hits theaters. This is all part of DC Films' new plan that is being overseen by former New Line Cinema producer Walter Hamada.
The Batman - July 24, 2020?
Update: The Batman is now releasing in June 2021, with Ben Affleck being replaced by a younger actor.
One of the most anticipated and questioned DC Films movies in development is The Batman. After Ben Affleck stepped down as writer and director, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes mastermind Matt Reeves took over, with rumors swirling that Affleck's time in the cape and cowl had also come to an end. What followed was months of conflicting rumors, with everything from Jake Gyllenhaal taking over as Batman, to Affleck having a change of heart and returning to the role, to the film taking place completely outside of the DCEU. Unfortunately, there's still quite a bit that remains unclear about Reeves' The Batman, including who's starring in it and when it will release in theaters.
One thing is clear, however - Warner Bros. desperately needs The Batman to work, and they need it soon. In the aftermath of Justice League, DC's two cultural titans - Batman (Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) - have somehow ended up in cinematic limbo. At the moment, there's no telling if Affleck will remain in the role as Batman, but there's still very much a future for the Caped Crusader in the DCEU. Reeves reportedly finished The Batman's script in September 2018, and will now do some rewrites before reportedly entering production in summer 2019. If it stays on schedule, then The Batman could very well take WB's July 2020 release date (a date previously held by Green Lantern Corps), which would fall on the same weekend that Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises released on in 2008 and 2012, respectively.
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In Hollywood, with release dates in an almost constant state of flux, anything can happen between now and 2020. At the moment, DC Films currently has two movies confirmed to release in 2020, with another two release dates open for any movie to come swooping in. Of course, DC Films may choose to just release Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984 in 2020 and remove the other two release dates from their schedule. After all, there's no need to rush out movies.
