How to reboot the Justice League franchise while also moving the DCEU forward may seem like an impossible task, but the DC films already explained that it can be done. Almost five years after Justice League (2017), Warner Bros has yet to announce plans for a Justice League 2. Such uncertainty regarding the status of the Justice League in the DCEU is already affecting other movies in the franchise, which is why solving the Justice League issue in the simplest way possible should be a top priority for Warner Bros.
In those five years that followed the premiere of Justice League, the only new Justice League-related project in the DCEU was Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Snyder’s four-hour cut of the movie released as an HBO Max original. The Snyder Cut fixed a lot of the issues Justice League’s theatrical cut had and it expanded the story thanks to its longer runtime, plus it set up a significant Darkseid storyline that Snyder planned on continuing in Justice League 2. However, despite the release of the Snyder Cut, Warner Bros. seems to not have any plans of continuing the story set up in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
With 2017’s Justice League being a financial disappointment and Zack Snyder’s Justice League looking more and more to be a one-off release, the DCEU’s Justice League has found itself stuck in limbo. There are also behind-the-scenes reasons why making another Justice League movie is not easy. Ben Affleck had previously announced he was done playing Batman – even though he is now returning for The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom; Ray Fisher has stated he would not return under the current management, and Ezra Miller has been at the center of a series of controversies. In addition, Henry Cavill hasn’t played Superman since 2017. Still, simply ignoring the Justice League as the DCEU has been trying to do in the last few years will not work in the long term. Likewise, a complete reboot might also not be a viable option. Therefore, the DCEU’s easiest solution for the Justice League problem is a soft reboot, one in the style of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
The DCEU Can’t Continue Without The Justice League
While shifting away from the Justice League following the 2017 film’s reception made sense, a DC universe can only move forward without its most important heroes to an extent. The DCEU did not end after Justice League’s bad reception, it actually found new valuable franchises like Aquaman and experimented more with movies like Shazam! and the R-Rated Birds of Brey and The Suicide Squad. Still, the absence of a Justice League movie in the DCEU’s upcoming slate evokes the idea that there is not a bigger plan for the DC films – which plays against the other films at a time when shared universes and crossovers do so well at the box office.
For example, despite all the excitement regarding Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, the lack of confirmation regarding whether Henry Cavill’s Superman will be in the film or where is the Justice League during the events of Black Adam ends up creating unnecessary pressure on the film. The lack of a Justice League sequel is just a part of a much bigger DCEU problem, one that has created moments like Superman’s infamous headless cameo in Shazam! or the blurry Justice League cameo in Peacemaker. Even those who are familiar with the DC universe can get confused regarding whether Henry Cavill is still Superman or who is the DCEU’s Batman, something that could be solved with the Justice League’s return.
Why The DCEU Can’t Just Fully Reboot The Justice League
While completely rebooting the Justice League franchise seems like the easiest way to bring DC’s superhero team back, recasting the entire Justice League would not make sense for the DCEU. That is because at least two Justice League heroes are currently way too valuable for DC to scrap, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will only premiere in December 2023 while Wonder Woman 3 is still in the early stages of development, which means the DCEU cannot fully reboot the Justice League franchise as of now. In addition, with Batgirl now canceled and Affleck seemly continuing to be the DCEU’s Batman as suggested by his role in Aquaman 2, a full reboot that scraps everything that has been done so far would not work.
Despite its problems, the DCEU continues to be a shared universe in which everything is technically intertwined. Therefore, DC cannot scrap its current Justice League while moving forward with films like Shazam: Fury of the Gods or a potential Black Adam sequel, because they all belong to the same universe. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav had previously mentioned the word “reset” when talking about the studios’ plans for the future, but no actual reboot has been announced.
The Suicide Squad Is What A Perfect Soft Reboot Looks Like
With a full DCEU's Justice League reboot most likely off the table, DC’s next best option is a soft reboot. The ideal soft reboot works as a standalone movie despite technically being a sequel, which is exactly what The Suicide Squad delivered. The James Gunn film works perfectly fine for those who never watched Suicide Squad (2016), but it doesn't recast any roles nor contradict the events of the film. The Suicide Squad simply has Amanda Waller put together the Suicide Squad for another mission now with a slightly different lineup.
While 2016’s Suicide Squad had a solid box office, its mostly negative reception made it seem like a sequel would never happen. Still, by going with the soft reboot route, The Suicide Squad was able to deliver a much better-received film without having to start from scratch. 2016’s Suicide Squad, despite its flaws, created the foundation for that corner of the DC universe, and there was no reason to scrap it all only because the film did not quite work.
The Next Justice League Film Should Repeat The Suicide Squad’s Trick
The Suicide Squad’s great reviews even led to a spinoff series, Peacemaker, and it proved that a soft reboot is always a viable option. Instead of waiting decades to develop a new Justice League from scratch or trying to incorporate Zack Snyder’s original plans into the current DCEU, Warner Bros.’ best decision would be to make a new Justice League film that doesn’t contradict the previous one but focuses on an entirely different story. That means no ties to Apokolips, Darkseid, or Superman succumbing to the Anti-Life equation, as those are intrinsically tied to Snyder’s story and would not feel like a fresh start.
If the complete Justice League cast, for various reasons, cannot return, it would be better for a potential Justice League 2 to change the team’s roster rather than recast. That would honor the original cast and it would leave the door open for potential returns. That said, even the soft reboot approach depends on what the future of Henry Cavill’s Superman and Ben Affleck’s Batman might be, as the DCEU was built on the DC trinity. Having a Justice League roster without Superman and Batman can work under specific conditions, but still, having the original pillars of the DCEU along with Wonder Woman reuniting to sustain this soft reboot would make it easier for Justice League 2 to succeed.
