Thanks to Wonder Woman, the DC Extended Universe finally has a smash hit that can be celebrated by both fans and critics alike, setting the stage for Justice League, which we can only hope will continue that trend. After Justice League, though, Aquaman is the only other DCEU film with a fixed release date, meaning there are hopefully a slew of DC related announcements on the horizon.

A recent post on 4chan made a number of assertions about the next slate of DC films, and while it’s hard to verify the accuracy of anonymous claims of this nature, we do know enough about the state of the DCEU to make a guess at their validity.

Even if it’s just baseless speculation, aspects of these new rumors can be corroborated by confirmed production details (and some good old fashioned well-reasoned speculation), giving us a good glimpse of what DC might have in store.

DC Wants Matthew Vaughn to Direct a Movie

Man of Steel 2 - Matthew Vaughn may direct

Vaughn’s name is one that has been thrown around the DCEU for some time now, and these new rumors definitely don’t contradict that, saying that both The Flash and (the still not officially green lit) Man of Steel 2 have already been offered to him. Supposedly the X-Men: First Class, Kingsman, and Kick-Ass director hasn’t accepted either project yet, although he’s leaning toward The Flash, which is probably also the preference of most fans, since the DCEU’s take on the character seems to be a strong match for Vaughn’s sensibilities.

Considering separate rumors have already been swirling around Vaughn directing Man of Steel 2 and directing The Flash, this rumor isn't really new, except for the fact that it suggests either movie is his for the taking.

Wonder Woman 2

While a Wonder Woman sequel was seemingly confirmed by Zack Snyder during the Shanghai premiere of Wonder Woman, there still hasn’t been any official comment by Warner Bros.. Nevertheless, these new rumors state that there have been ongoing discussion for “months” and a detailed outline of the plot has already been completed.

If true, the Wonder Woman sequel may feature Cheetah, played by an actor with some star power to her name. It’s not specified what time period the movie would occupy, but it's said that it won't include Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor.

Shazam/Black Adam

There has been talk of Black Adam appearing in the DCEU of years now, and the character has already been cast as Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, but it is still sans a script, a director, a release date, or a Shazam actor (although Armie Hammer’s name has been thrown around, but that’s nothing new for anyone who follows DC rumors). In fact, it seems as if the confirmed stand-alone Black Adam movie will arrive before Shazam, but that may not end up being the case, with the rumors stating that Black Adam will most likely happen sometime after 2020, with the character possibly popping up sometime before then.

Corroborating older rumors, these new claims say Black Adam is said to be the main antagonist and Superman will make an appearance of some kind. The DCEU version of these characters will most closely align with the New 52 version written by DC Films head Geoff Johns, which makes a lot of sense, considering Geoff Johns is helping plan much of the universe's larger story.

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The Green Lantern Corps in the comics

Green Lantern Corps

There’s been a lot of question marks around The Flash film, as Flash the only confirmed Justice League member without a solo movie with a clear path to the big screen, but there’s another founding member of the Justice League from the comics that doesn’t even have a guaranteed Justice Leauge appearance yet - Green Lantern.

It’s confirmed that David Goyer and Justin Rhodes are working on a script for Green Lantern Corps, which Goyer himself is rumored to direct, and supposedly Tom Cruise, Joel McHale, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds, Armie Hammer, Jake Gyllenhaal, and James Marsden have all been in the running, with Armie Hammer (again) getting some repeated teases (with some help from Henry Cavill).

Understandably, Warner Bros. doesn’t want to rush into another Green Lantern movie after the critical and financial failure that was 2011’s Green Lantern. The 4chan rumors say a 2018 release date was under consideration at one point, but with the amount of motion capture and VFX necessary to make it happen, don’t expect to see it for several years yet.

The rumors also say the movie may not only feature multiple Green Lanterns, but multiple lantern corps, with the Orange Lantern Lafleeze; Red Lantern Atrocitus, and the Blue Lantern Saint Walker. Considering the movie is about the Green Lantern Corps and not a specific Green Lantern, like Hal Jordan, it only makes sense that it would include other lanterns, although it seems Yellow Lanterns and Sinestro are conspicuously absent from this rumor, but it's hard to imagine they would go that route and exclude them.

Gotham City Sirens

Gotham City Sirens featuring Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Harley Quinn

While Warner Bros. will have released two DC films in 2016 and 2017, it will be almost a year gap from Justice League to Aquaman, which is currently the only DC film in 2018. There have been rumors that there’s a desire to get one more off the ground in 2017 for a 2018 release, but time is drawing short, as it would need to get into production in July or August to make the scheduling work.

According to the rumors, the current top candidate for a second 2018 film is Gotham City Sirens. Margot Robbie is already in line to play Harley Quinn, but WB hasn’t zeroed in on a Catwoman and Poison Ivy yet, although Joel Edgerton is rumored as the top choice for the role of Black Mask. It's hard to verify casting predictions like this, but it's doubtful that Gotham City Sirens will see a massive production, meaning it could come together a little quicker than some alternates. The only issue is it's directed by David Ayer, who already ran into issues with Suicide Squad due to a rushed production schedule, meaning he may be leery of making this a repeat affair.

Justice League Dark

The original members of the Justice League Dark

Having just lost Doug Liman as director, it’s not clear what WB’s next step is with Justice League Dark, but with a script already in place, it appears it’s merely a matter of finding Liman’s replacement.

The 4chan rumors don’t list any names, but recent reports have indicated that IT’s Andres Muschietti and foreign film director, Damián Szifron, are both potential replacements. If WB is able to nail down a director soon, Justice League Dark is said to have a shot at a 2018 release, which, if true, would also suggest they’re going in a more low-fi direction for the supernatural DC team, a sensible decision with a riskier property and potentially horror movie director.

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The Killing Joke Barbara Gordon

Batgirl

The DCEU introduced Jared Leto as the new Joker in Suicide Squad, but it’s not clear what the plans are for the Clown Prince of Crime moving forward. His portrayal was undeniably polarizing, but with as little screen time as he had, it’s possible he just needs more time to grow on audiences.

Regardless, the new rumor is that he is being considered for a flashback sequence in Joss Whedon’s Batgirl movie, which, if true, would likely indicate a Killing Joke-esque backstory for the crime fighter. This would align with previous reports that Gail Simone’s New 52 run on the character is being used as the primary inspiration.

Suicide Squad 2

Suicide Squad 2 Story

While Suicide Squad was a wild financial success, WB still doesn’t have Suicide Squad 2 completely figured out. Adam Cozad (The Legend of Tarzan) has been brought on to create a story treatment and Mel Gibson, Jaume-Collet Serra (The Shallows), Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), and Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies) are all potential directors.

According to the 4chan rumors, several villains have been considered, including Bane, Maxwell Lord, and Scarecrow. While Scarecrow was revealed in some concept art from the first Suicide Squad, there’s no knowing how well this one actually lines up with the actual plans for the sequel.

The Batman

Matt Reeves Batman

After a little drama earlier this year, The Batman has finally locked down a new director in Matt Reeves. Initial plans were to include Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke, and possibly a whole host of other classic Batman villains, but Reeves negotiated total control as a part of his deal and may be starting from scratch when he finally gets to work.

The 4chan rumors say production isn’t expected to start until late 2017, and with Reeves still hard at work on War for the Planet of the Apes, it seems like a fairly obvious assessment of the situation.

Justice League 2

Until Justice League hits theaters, it’ll be hard to look forward and predict what the true plans for the DCEU’s second major team up movie are, but we’ve speculated previously that Wonder Woman could open the door for DC’s New Gods and Justice League could be sewing the seeds for a Justice League 2 inspired by Geoff Johns' Darkseid War.

According to 4chan, we may not be too far off the mark, as the work of Jack Kirby (the creator of DC’s New Gods) and Darkseid War will serve as the major inspirations for Justice League 2. Some specific New Gods such as Orion and Mister Miracle have also been considered to make an appearance.

It’s not just our own speculation that corroborates this one, either. Zack Snyder actually directly referenced a Jack Kirby and New Gods inspiration during the Justice League set visit, so this one seems like it could be a good bet.

At the end of the day, there’s no knowing just what kind of insider information (or lack thereof) this new 4chan is referencing, and some of the claims are understandably hard to verify, but a number of these possibilities are right in-line with what we already know about DC’s plans. It’s always possible the original poster simply did their due diligence when making up these rumors, but the bottom line is that nothing here seems implausible, and a number of the claims are actually really likely to be accurate.

With Wonder Woman seeing positive buzz and poised to make a big splash at the box office, it seems like Warner Bros. might want to strike while the iron is hot to announce any future plans for the DCEU, especially if it’s related to a Wonder Woman sequel, so we’ll be sure to keep you up to date as more information becomes available.

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What do you think about these claims? Is this a direction you’d like to see from the future of the DCEU? Let us hear about it in the comments!

NEXT: What Zack Snyder’s Departure Means For the DCEU

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