What does DCEU canon actually look like in 2022, and how has Zack Snyder's Justice League affected future franchise entries? The sense of collective disappointment was impossible to ignore when Justice League arrived in 2017. The DCEU wasn't exactly on a hot streak after Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, but Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman - much like Diana herself - offered a glimmer of hope to a dreary world. Alas, Wonder Woman proved a false DCEU dawn, and Justice League misfired on a critical and commercial level.

Once the initial wave of post-release upset faded, thoughts turned toward Zack Snyder. The Man of Steel and Batman V Superman director had filmed Justice League, but departed during post-production due to tragic personal circumstances. Warner Bros. drafted in Joss Whedon to "finish" Justice League, but throughout 2018-2020, the scale of Whedon's alterations became painfully clear. Justice League wasn't only changed by reshoots and editing either - Zack Snyder, even before his exit, was under studio duress to deliver a Justice League that didn't much resemble the movie in his mind. DCEU fans gladly took up the cause, and campaigned for Warner Bros. to let Snyder finish his aborted plan. Zack Snyder's Justice League landed on HBO Max in spring 2021.

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Unsurprisingly, two very different versions of Justice League floating in the DCEU's ether isn't exactly conducive to solid continuity. Like if Marvel Studios had released a director's cut of The Avengers that introduced the Fantastic Four, killed off Thor, and ended with Thanos helping Tony Stark oppose Galactus in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. What impact has Zack Snyder's Justice League had upon DCEU canon? Which upcoming DC releases come bearing canon status? And does "DCEU canon" even carry meaning in a multiverse-heavy 2022?

What Is DCEU Canon?

Batman v Superman Wonder Woman Ben Affleck Henry Cavill

Just like true love or dubstep, DCEU canon isn't easy to define through words alone. But if define it we must, DCEU canon begins with Zack Snyder's 2013 effort, Man of Steel. Starring Henry Cavill as Superman, Man of Steel was never intended as the jumping-off point for a shared superhero franchise. But with the MCU going gangbusters and a raft of DC heroes ready and waiting for their big screen debuts, Man of Steel became the start of DCEU canon as we know it (or knew it). From there, DCEU canon begins simply enough. Batman V Superman follows smoothly from Man of Steel, while Wonder Woman tells Diana Prince's origin story in World War I. Suicide Squad acts as something of a spinoff, but still exists firmly within DCEU canon, revealing snippets of Ben Affleck's Batman apprehending Gotham City favorites such as Joker and Deadshot. From 2013 to mid-2017, DCEU canon is as straight and well-defined as Clark Kent's jawline. Only after Justice League's release do things start to go wonky.

Without a pearl of doubt, 2018's Aquaman is a DCEU-canon movie. James Wan's superhero splash comes after the events of Justice League, though many have argued scheduling Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry solo movie before the team-up would've anchored his character far better. Regardless, Aquaman slots neatly alongside its predecessors in the DCEU box-set without any significant continuity wrinkles. The same goes for Shazam! in 2019 and Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous etc...) in 2020. Despite sharing no strong ties with existing DCEU storylines, Zachary Levi's Big-meets-King-Arthur romp plays very much within the same sandpit, while Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn hails directly from Suicide Squad. Notably, however, AquamanShazam! and Birds of Prey all rely far less upon the "shared" part of the DCEU's shared universe compared to past releases.

Wonky then becomes labyrinthine, as DCEU canon loosens significantly post-Birds of Prey. Both Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad are, technically speaking, DCEU canon. Unlike prior installments, however, both movies explicitly disassociate themselves from the wider franchise. Wonder Woman 1984 abandons any continuity outside of Diana's 2017 solo movie, gifting the Amazonian princess powers that she oddly chooses not to wield in Batman V Superman or Justice League. James Gunn takes a similarly isolated approach for The Suicide Squad. Officially a DCEU sequel that continues Harley Quinn's journey after Birds of PreyThe Suicide Squad happily does its own thing - even dropping a Superman reference that doesn't work with Henry Cavill's version of the Kryptonian hero.

Related: Justice League 2 Will Struggle To Be A True DCEU Sequel (Because Of Snyder)

DCEU canon can, therefore, be broadly split into three eras. Man of SteelBatman V SupermanSuicide SquadWonder Woman and Justice League comprise a coherent, interlaced, multi-part narrative. AquamanShazam! and Birds of Prey join that list, but operate with significantly more independence. And, finally, Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad openly contradict DCEU canon - despite officially residing within that universe.

Which Cut Of Justice League Is Canon?

Batman looking serious as the sun sets in Zack Snyder's Justice League.

The short answer is 2017's Justice League theatrical cut. Warner Bros. still push their Whedon-fiddled Justice League on HBO Max and in promotional packages, confirming Zack Snyder's Justice League hasn't usurped the original edit's DCEU canon status (despite most fans wishing for precisely that).

A fuller answer is considerably trickier to navigate. In official terms, Justice League 2017 is the version DCEU canon adheres to, but subsequent entries largely pretend the team-up never happened. Aquaman drops a single reference to Steppenwolf, and Shazam! includes a "Superman is back!" newspaper headline. Both could apply equally to the Snyder Cut, and from there on out, Justice League gets ghosted - a far cry from the MCU where ramifications of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron are still being felt. Recent DCEU movies ignoring Justice League can likely be attributed to the 2017 cut's wholly negative reputation among fans, and the ensuing controversy surrounding Joss Whedon's involvement. No DCEU director would willingly link their movie to that nuclear heat. In practical terms, this means Justice League 2017 finds itself in the strange position of having DCEU canon status... but precious little influence upon its own cinematic universe.

Sadly, that does little to help Zack Snyder's Justice League. Widely accepted as the superior edit (if somewhat testing on the buttocks), the Snyder Cut presents an alternate vision for the DCEU. Every film released beforehand remains canon to Snyder's story (Man of SteelBatman V Superman, etc...), but the director's ending simply doesn't align with where the DCEU has headed since. Zack Snyder's Justice League concludes with the Knightmare timeline becoming reality, where Darkseid turns Earth into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and Warner Bros. has shown as much interest in continuing this narrative as Batman shows in talking normally. WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff told Variety in 2021:

Related: Why Affleck's Batman Is Returning To The DCEU (But Not Cavill's Superman)

We’re just so happy that he could bring his cut of the “Justice League” to life because that wasn’t in the plan until about a year ago. With that comes the completion of his trilogy. We’re very happy we’ve done this, but we’re very excited about the plans we have for all the multi-dimensional DC characters that are being developed right now.

Snyder has responded with (via JakesTakes):

"Yes, Warner Bros. has been aggressively anti-Snyder, if you will. And that’s… what can you say? What can I say? Clearly they’re not interested in my take."

As such, Zack Snyder's Justice League is best considered part of DC's movie multiverse - taking place on a parallel plane similar to the DCEU, but where Warner Bros. lost Joss Whedon's number.

Upcoming DCEU Canon Projects

Flash with a variant Barry and Supergirl in The Flash

DCEU canon may not look as neat or defined as other superhero franchises, but that isn't stemming Warner Bros.' steady flow of releases. Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods both continue on from Billy Batson's 2019 debut and, therefore, immediately fall within the DCEU bracket. Andy Muschietti's The Flash once again stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, and the Scarlet Speedster teaming up with Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne proves his latest escapade takes place post-Justice League. Likewise, 2022's Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom serves as a direct DCEU sequel to James Wan's 2018 original, while Wonder Woman 3 completes Gal Gadot's solo trilogy.

Leslie Grace swoops onto Disney+ as Barbara Gordon in HBO Max's Batgirl movie, which connects to the DCEU via J.K. Simmons' Commissioner Gordon. She'll be joined in the streaming service's "Gotham City" section by Black Canary, also receiving her first solo movie. Canary will be played once again by Jurnee Smollett (from Birds of Prey), cementing the HBO Max release as an addition to DCEU canon. Xolo Maridueña has been cast as the title character in an upcoming Blue Beetle movie - a project confirmed as DCEU canon in a (now deleted) tweet by director, Angel Manuel Soto. And finally on the movie front, DC's planned Supergirl movie will follow on from Sasha Calle's debut in The Flash, making her Kara an official DCEU entity.

Related: Every Failed DC Movie Before The DCEU (& Why They Didn't Work)

Just like Marvel, the DCEU is extending beyond the big screen. As a spinoff from The Suicide Squad, James Gunn's Peacemaker marks the DCEU's first foray into television. HBO Max's upcoming Green Lantern series will reportedly also branch out from the franchise, alongside the long-delayed Green Lantern Corps movie.

Non-DCEU Canon DC Projects

Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle and Robert Pattinson as Batman on a building site in The Batman

Roundabout the same time DCEU movies stopped flaunting their DCEU status, Warner Bros. began pushing its superhero output in a more diverse direction. Joaquin Phoenix's Joker (and its mooted sequel) exist entirely in isolation, while Matt Reeves' The Batman will kick-start a whole new shared DC franchise that includes Robert Pattinson's movie, a Gotham PD series, and a second spinoff starring Colin Farrell's Penguin. These projects do not openly connect to the DCEU, and the same goes for animated fare such as DC League of Super-PetsBatwheels and My Adventures With Superman.

More ambiguous is J.J. Abrams' Justice League Dark series, which also incorporates Constantine, and Madame X, in addition to a planned Zatanna movie. These could feasibly wrap around existing DCEU canon, or exist as an entirely separate world (similar to The Batman) but Abrams has yet to confirm either way. The same applies to Michael B. Jordan's proposed Val-Zod Superman series, which would take place on Earth-2.

The debate over what is and isn't DCEU canon becomes infinitely more complicated thanks to 2022's multiverse obsession. By reintroducing Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne in The Flash, the DCEU will soon connect to Tim Burton's Batman movies. Meanwhile, the Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover linked The CW's roster of DC superheroes to SmallvilleTitansDoom Patrol and the DCEU. We can, therefore, deduce that every DC release - television and film alike - occupies the same multiverse. Some stories are bunched into one specific realm (the DCEU movies, Matt Reeves' Batman franchise, Arrowverse), but there's always potential to cross borders. And because of that, Zack Snyder's Justice League's canon status isn't completely out of the question forever.

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