The original plans for the unofficially named DC Extended Universe are dead - but that leaves the DCEU in a position to have a bright future. Warner Bros. and DC originally announced their plans for a shared universe that could rival what Marvel Studios had created in 2014, the year after Zack Snyder's reboot of Superman, Man of Steel, performed well at the box office but divided audiences. The original plan was to make two films a year from 2016 to 2020, and create a true cinematic universe out of DC characters.
This incredibly ambitious plan came on the heels of Christopher Nolan finishing up his Dark Knight trilogy, but also as Marvel Studios released The Avengers and completely rewrote the possibilities of a cinematic franchise. The film received critical acclaim for pulling off a crossover of three different Marvel franchises and many other side characters and audiences responded positively, to the tune of $1.5 billion at the box office. As if this didn't raise expectations for Man of Steel enough, Marvel released Iron Man 3 just a month before Snyder's first DCEU movie, and the Robert Downey Jr. solo movie earn another billion dollars. Warner Bros. saw this success and wanted it for themselves with their DC properties... which didn't immediately happen.
Related: Wonder Woman 1984 May Break DCEU Sequel Tradition (& Change Its Future)
The first two years of DC's five year slate brought Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League (originally planned as the first half of a two-parter) to theaters, but not to the result the studio wanted. Other than Wonder Woman, the early entries of the DCEU were critically panned and received mixed responses from audiences. Some of them still managed to perform very well at the box office, but dwindling interest and excitement from general audiences meant that changes were coming. Through announcements of the future, it is officially clear: the original DCEU is dead.
- This Page: The Original DCEU Is Dead
- Page 2: A New DCEU Is Coming
Zack Snyder Imagined A Different DCEU
When Zack Snyder was hired to direct Man of Steel, he was brought on to do for Superman and the larger DC mythos what Nolan did with his Dark Knight trilogy. Through the casting of Henry Cavill as Clark Kent and small Easter eggs hinting at a bigger universe, Man of Steel established the tone for Snyder's vision of his own DC universe. But there was a divisive reaction to the new portrayal of Superman - one who was willing to let his father die instead of revealing his abilities, level an entire city fighting Zod, and snap Zod's neck to end it. This take on Superman and superheroes as a whole, as divisive as it was, was all part of Snyder's larger plans for an epic DC story told on the biggest medium possible.
Related: The DCEU Ruined Batman & Superman (But It's Not Snyder's Fault)
Concept artist Jay Oliva has confirmed that Snyder's original plan for the DCEU was for a five film arc. This story would be told in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Justice League, Justice League 2, and likely Justice League 3 - with Superman, the rise of the Justice League, and Darkseid at the core. We've laid out his entire plan in the past, but Snyder only truly got to see his vision through on Man of Steel. Although the story and tonal decisions of Batman v Superman remained true to Snyder's original take, Warner Bros. still stepped in to cut down the 3 hour runtime that would eventually be released as the Ultimate Cut. Snyder's grander plans for the DCEU went off the rails after Batman v Superman received an even harsher reaction than his previous DC film and saw the studio get cold feet. They heavily reshot Suicide Squad to change the tone, and that was just the beginning of the studio meddling.
The DCEU As We Know It Died With Justice League
As a result of Batman v Superman's reception, Geoff Johns - then the freshly appointed head of DC Films - became more involved with Justice League. Reports surfaced that changes were being made to Snyder's original plan during production. After completing filming, Joss Whedon was hired to write scenes for the film's upcoming reshoots. His role became much larger after Snyder stepped away from the project in early 2017 due to the death of his daughter. With Snyder out of the picture, Warner Bros. and Whedon continued to change Justice League to better fit the vision of the studio, going as far as changing the ending as plans for Justice League 2 were distanced. Justice League still saw a tepid response upon its release and disappointed at the box office. It is the lowest grossing DCEU film to date worldwide, despite housing all of its stars.
The failures of Justice League didn't just mean the end of Snyder's involvement. Warner Bros. saw major changes at the executive level, with Sue Kroll leaving the position as president of marketing and chairman Kevin Tsujihara taking a step back. Toby Emmerich was named the new chairman of Warner Bros. and it wasn't too long before Geoff Johns left his role at DC Films to take on a more creative position instead. Ben Affleck was disinterested in continuing to play Batman beyond the capacity originally pitched to him, and Henry Cavill's position as Superman has since become unclear. After spending several years overseeing the direction of the entire universe - one that would expand to include solo films for other Justice League characters due to Warner Bros.' shared universe desires - Snyder left behind an unfinished story. In doing so, his exit and the ensuing fallout signaled the end of the DCEU as we know it.
Page 2: A New DCEU Is Coming
The New DCEU Is Now Underway
Walter Hamada now is running DC Films and looking to correct the mistakes of the DCEU's past by making everything less connected and more character, story, and filmmaker-driven. Although movies like Aquaman, Shazam!, and Wonder Woman 1984 will co-exist in the same world, the connections between them will be minimal. Jason Momoa's solo movie only had a brief mention of Steppenwolf to connect to the larger universe, and other than that, James Wan focused on delivering an enjoyable Aquaman movie first and foremost. The trailers for Shazam! have teased DC connections, but there are no longer plans for a Superman cameo by Cavill and no other hero is expected to appear. As for Wonder Woman 1984, the movie will take place years before any of the other DC stories (besides the first Wonder Woman movie), giving Patty Jenkins almost complete freedom with the story.
The disconnecting of these films has also given the studios and creators freedom to experiment as a whole. They are really testing this with Joaquin Phoenix's Joker being an origin story for the famed villain that takes place in its own universe, but they're also applying some of the same methods to their in-universe films. Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) is expected to have a significantly smaller budget than the usual comic book movie and the Margot Robbie led film could even be R-rated. Shazam! reportedly also has a mid-sized budget, even if the trailers have shown them putting all their money to good use. There's no telling what Matt Reeves will do with The Batman either, but a detective driven noir story may not require too hefty of a backing.
Related: The DCEU Wasted Ben Affleck's Batman (& His Other Skills)
Speaking of The Batman, Reeves taking control of a new franchise also is set to bring a new actor under the cowl. Affleck's days of the playing the role are done, showing a willingness by the studios to disregard what is necessary for the DCEU to have a long life. These changes won't stop with dumping the past iterations of Batman and possibly Superman, as James Gunn's The Suicide Squad will also reportedly focus on a mostly new cast. Robbie is rumored to return as Harley along with Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, but the other members of Task Force X will be up to Gunn, even if that means tossing aside well liked former members like Will Smith's Deadshot or Jai Coutney's Captain Boomerang.
Can The New DCEU Get Things Right This Time?
All of these changes the DCEU is making appear to be for the better, but will they actually be? They've certainly made promising moves recently that have re-energized the outlook of the DCEU, but many of these decisions won't come to fruition for another few years. Shazam! is coming this year, but Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984 don't arrive until 2020, and The Batman and The Suicide Squad were just dated for 2021 release dates.
Aquaman's success has emboldened the studio to continue moving forward with their shared universe plans, but to do it in their own way. Shazam! will be the first true output from the Hamada era of DC Films and the excitement for it is very high among fans. As long as Shazam! delivers the fun time many are looking for, then the DCEU will have two possibly critical and financially successful hits back-to-back, something that has yet to happen. And with their extended plans, there is clearly some sort of plan in motion that actually has a realistic shot of happening.
With the promise of the next three years of DCEU films, it will also give the studio time to figure out what their plans are beyond 2021. They've repeatedly seen The Flash reworked and delayed; Green Lantern Corps is still trying to get off the ground; Batgirl and Gotham City Sirens may both be set up in Birds of Prey; there's still talks of Supergirl, Black Adam, New Gods, and much more; and plans for Aquaman 2 and Wonder Woman 3 may already be underway. There are plenty of future DCEU movies to be made, and as long as they continue to take their time and grow the universe organically then it may not be too long before the DCEU is dominating Hollywood.
