The DCEU Has to Have a Cyborg Movie Now

A Cyborg solo movie starring Ray Fisher is exactly what the DCEU needs now. In the time since Justice League disappointed at the box office, the DCEU has given up trying to emulate the interconnectedness of the MCU and embraced a more loosely-interwoven standalone approach, to generally successful results. There've also been some changes in casting, with Ben Affleck retiring as the Caped Crusader and Robert Pattinson stepping in to play a younger Bruce Wayne, beginning with 2021's The Batman. Meanwhile, Jason Momoa's Aquaman and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman have both anchored hit solo movies and will return to the DCEU in their upcoming sequels.

With The Flash movie now gearing up to begin production in 2021, that leaves Henry Cavill's Superman and Fisher's Cyborg as the odd heroes out from Justice League. Of the pair, the latter's future is particularly up in the air. The previously-announced Cyborg film (which was once scheduled to open in April of this year) has yet to materialize, and it's been a long time since Victor Stone was rumored to show up in The Flash. At this point, it seems safe to assume any future appearances by the character have either been scrapped or indefinitely postponed.

Fortunately, there's hope for Fisher's Cyborg yet. Audiences will finally get to see Victor Stone's original arc in the DCEU when Zack Snyder's initial cut of Justice League streams on HBO Max in 2021, and an enthusiastic response to the character could be just what he needs to get his solo movie back on track. More to the point, a Cyborg film is something the DCEU at large would benefit from.

The DCEU is Diverse, But it Still Needs a Black-Led Movie

Ray Fisher as Cyborg in Zack Snyder Justice League

Prior to Joss Whedon's reshoots on Justice League, Snyder described Cyborg as the "heart" of the movie. More recently, in an interview with The Black Cape Magazine, Fisher revealed he'd met with Snyder and writer Chris Terrio before the script was even written to discuss the film's portrayal of Victor and his family and get his perspective "as a Black man if I’d been watching this thing." In the end, much of Cyborg's storyline was abandoned during the reshoots, and his solo movie was lost in the Justice League fallout. It's all the more glaring a problem since, as (relatively) diverse as the DCEU is, it has yet to release a Black-led film. The absence of Cyborg makes that gaping hole in the franchise all the more apparent.

Ray Fisher's Whedon Allegations Can't Be Ignored

Ray Fisher as Cyborg in Justice League with Joss Whedon.

At the start of July, Fisher made waves when he called out Whedon on Twitter, accusing the director of "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable" behavior during the Justice League reshoots. For contractual reasons, Fisher has yet to get into the specifics of his allegations, but it's a bad look for Warner Bros. whichever way you cut it, especially after his role was so heavily reduced in Justice League's theatrical cut. At a time when more BIPOC creatives are speaking out against Hollywood's failures when it comes to representation (on both sides of the camera) and how they aren't afforded the same respect and opportunities as their white peers, the studio can't simply ignore what Fisher said.

The DCEU is Wasting its Best Black Characters

Frankly, the DCEU's problems with Black representation is something WB and DC brought on themselves. In addition to their failure to properly utilize Fisher as Cyborg, they've yet to do anything with the fan-favorite DC hero John Stewart (a Black member of the Green Lantern Corps) and abandoned plans for a Suicide Squad spinoff featuring Deadshot after the movie bombed with critics (despite its commercial success and having a bankable star in Will Smith lined up). Of the three, Cyborg would be the easiest to immediately put into action. There are already acclaimed Black directors vying for the chance to helm his solo movie, and WB could readily get a head-start on things, in anticipation of Snyder's Justice League increasing the demand for a new Cyborg project. The ball's in their court, so to speak; they just have to pick it up.

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