Warner Bros. Pictures finally launched their DC Comics-based universe (unofficially known as the DC Extended Universe) with Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. The superhero team-up movie was a follow-up to Snyder's 2013 Superman film, Man of Steel. The studio continued expanding their newly-formed shared universe with David Ayer's Suicide Squad in August 2016 and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman in June 2017 - and it all came to a head with Snyder's Justice League in November 2017.Justice League united the world's finest heroes - Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) - for the first time ever on the big screen. Unfortunately, the movie's critical and commercial performance was disappointing enough to cause significant changes in DC Films' leadership under Warners. That doesn't mean their schedule is changing because of Justice League, though.
Related: Warner Bros.' DCEU Slate Remains Unchanged
Warner Bros. revealed their upcoming DCEU slate at SDCC 2017 - consisting of David F. Sandberg's Shazam!, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 2, Gavin O'Connor's Suicide Squad 2, Matt Reeves' The Batman, Joss Whedon's Batgirl, Flashpoint, Green Lantern Corps, and Justice League Dark, aside from James Wan's Aquaman, which has already completed filming - and that slate remained the same when they presented at CCXP 2017. While that's plenty of movies to keep the studio busy over the next few years, there are a dozen other DC movies in development with the studio that are not on that official slate of movies.
Justice League 2
When Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara announced DC's film slate in 2014, the schedule included Justice League: Part 1 and Justice League: Part 2. Part 1 was scheduled to release in November 2017, with Part 2 arriving in theaters almost two years later in June 2019. However, the slate changed upon Batman V Superman's release. Geoff Johns announced in June 2016 that the first superhero team-up movie was simply titled Justice League, and executive producer Deborah Snyder told Screen Rant later that month that Justice League was always meant to be standalone. But that doesn't mean they aren't planning a sequel.
Justice League 2 is no longer slated to release in June 2019, but it's still in the works. In fact, J.K. Simmons revealed in a recent interview that Warner Bros. is already working on the Justice League sequel's script. Although not much is known about the potential film at this stage, or who will be returning for the sequel (seeing as Ben Affleck is looking to exit the DCEU and Henry Cavill only has one more on his contract), Justice League's post-credits scene seems to tease an Injustice League or Legion of Doom team-up to fight against the newly-formed superhero League.
Black Adam
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson announced his DCEU involvement in August 2014, with him later being confirmed to be playing Teth-Adam, aka Black Adam, in DC's Shazam! film. However, as the project progressed, plans changed, and now Johnson will no longer be appearing in David F. Sandberg's Shazam!. Johnson will headline a Black Adam solo film first before facing off against Zachary Levi's Shazam (formerly known as Captain Marvel) in a future film.
The Black Adam movie doesn't yet have a director, but Rampage scribe Adam Sztykiel is confirmed to be writing the screenplay, with Johnson co-producing alongside Hiram Garcia through their Seven Bucks Productions banner. While story details are being kept under wraps, Johnson has been repeatedly teasing an ultimate showdown between Black Adam and the Man of Steel, with this movie also potentially being Henry Cavill's last Superman film.
Gotham City Sirens
In December 2016, David Ayer signed up to direct a Gotham City Sirens spinoff - presumably following the comic book team of the same name, consisting of Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman - with Margot Robbie executive producing in addition to reprising her Suicide Squad role as Harley Quinn. Tomb Raider and Captain Marvel scribe Geneva Robertson-Dworet is writing the screenplay, with DC Films head honcho Geoff Johns also producing.
A year has passed since the project was first announced, yet not much development has happened on the film, thus leading to rumors that Ayer had exited the movie. That could not be further from the truth, as Ayer reaffirmed his involvement in July 2017, and Warner Bros. confirmed a month later that the movie was still in development and very important to them. Considering that the studio is fast-tracking Suicide Squad 2, though, audiences shouldn't expect to see Gotham City Sirens until at least 2020 or 2021.
Joker & Harley Quinn
Suicide Squad 2 is the next Harley Quinn-starring movie on the docket to enter production, with Gotham City Sirens presumably coming soon thereafter, but those aren't the only two films featuring Gotham's supervillain. Screen Rant first broke the news of a Joker & Harley Quinn spinoff (originally operating under the working title Harley Quinn vs. The Joker) in July 2017. It's the third Harley Quinn movie that Warner Bros. put into development.
The project was confirmed one month later with Crazy, Stupid, Love filmmakers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa tapped to write and direct the spinoff that's about an "insane and twisted, criminal love story." Both Jared Leto and Margot Robbie are expected to return as the Joker and Harley Quinn, respectively. Considering that this is only one of four Harley Quinn-related movies in development, there's no telling when it will actually release.
Harley Quinn/Birds of Prey
The current standalone Harley Quinn spinoff is the fourth DC movie in development that revolves around the Batman villain. Margot Robbie is presumably appearing as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad 2 (seeing as she did say she plans on playing the character at some point in 2018, thus lining up with Suicide Squad 2's production start date), but after that, she will play the villain another three times: in Gotham City Sirens, The Joker/Harley Quinn spinoff, and a standalone Harley Quinn movie.
In December 2017, Robbie confirmed that the separate Harley spinoff was in development, and has been for quite some time, though she refrained from revealing specifics. However, it's possible that the film she was talking about is actually Birds of Prey, which was reportedly put into development in November 2016, with Bumblebee: The Movie scribe Christina Hodson penning the screenplay. If so, it's possible that Harley Quinn could be the villain in the Birds of Prey film.
Lobo
Warner Bros. has been trying to get a Lobo movie off the ground since 2009, with multiple directors, such as Guy Ritchie and Brad Peyton, attached to the project at various points. In fact, Dwayne Johnson was originally being courted to play Lobo, but he ended up switching over to Black Adam instead. And although there hasn't been much development on the project since 2012, the studio is reportedly interested in gearing up production once again and bringing the character into the DCEU. In March 2016, Wonder Woman scribe Jason Fuchs signed up to rewrite Lobo's script, with the plan to represent the character exactly as he's been written in the comics. Lobo doesn't yet have a director attached, but Deadpool's Tim Miller did meet with Warner Bros. about the project. However, since he's now attached to helm James Cameron's 2019 Terminator film, it seems talks have since fallen by the wayside.
Man of Steel 2
Long before Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was announced at SDCC 2013, Zack Snyder planned on making Man of Steel 2, with the possibility of teasing Batman's existence in the universe at the end of the film. But Warner Bros. fast-tracking the DCEU significantly altered those plans. That doesn't mean the Superman sequel isn't weighing on the studio's mind, though. Warner Bros. is actively meeting with directors for the project, such as Kingsman and X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn.
Man of Steel 2 doesn't yet have a script, but franchise producer Charles Roven said ideas have been discussed. Unfortunately, he also said the film won't be coming anytime soon, so fans shouldn't get their hopes up. And as previously mentioned, Cavill has one more Superman film left on his contract, so he may choose to wait for a few years and star in Man of Steel 2 instead Justice League 2 for his final DCEU appearance as the Last Son of Krypton; that's if he chooses not to renew his contract.
Ben Affleck first teased Deathstroke's inclusion in Justice League in August 2016, with Zack Snyder teasing the character's involvement in the project one month later. Lots of actors were gunning to play the DCEU's Slade Wilson, but Joe Manganiello was always rumored to have already nabbed the gig. After months and months of teasing, Manganiello finally made his debut as the Batman villain in Justice League's post-credits scene, thus confirming his DCEU involvement.
Aside from presumably reappearing in Justice League 2 alongside Lex Luthor and the rest of the Injustice League/Legion of Doom, Manganiello will also reprise his role in a Deathstroke solo movie, with The Raid director Gareth Evans behind the camera. Although not much is known about the film at this time, Warner Bros. reportedly agreed to the project because of Evans' pitch, even though the director was originally brought in to discuss helming Justice League Dark.
Nightwing
In addition to Batgirl, Geoff Johns wants to build out the Batman Family in the DCEU with Nightwing. The film is being directed by The LEGO Batman Movie's Chris McKay, based on a script from The Accountant scribe and Ozark creator Bill Dubuque. McKay is planning to hold an open casting call to find the perfect candidate for the role, for the actor will need to perform real stuntwork and face grueling action throughout the filming process.
McKay most recently said that people should start hearing concrete information about the movie in February 2018, possibly even casting details. That news falls in line with his previous statements about getting the ball rolling on the film in 2018, before moving into production the year after. Considering that Nightwing wasn't on Warner Bros.' schedule, it seems the adaptation most likely won't release until 2020 or after. After all, McKay did say he wouldn't make the movie if he was tied down to a release date, because he wants to take his time and get the character and story right.
Cyborg
The Cyborg solo movie was originally scheduled to release in April 2020 as part of Warner Bros.' initial DCEU slate, but the film not being on the studio's schedule at either SDCC 2017 or CCXP 2017 seems to indicate that the movie has been set aside for the time being. What's interesting, though, is that things may have changed when Zack Snyder exited Justice League and Warner Bros. drastically altered the movie, since Ray Fisher said in May 2017 that the Cyborg solo film was still on track to release in 2020.
Fisher has also said that he wants a "personal story" for Cyborg in his spinoff movie, one that will see him going up against the Phantom Limbs organization, whenever the film does release. Cyborg's introduction in Justice League bridged the gap between the superhero team and the villainous New Gods, but with the Legion of Doom taking precedence in Justice League 2, it seems the superhero's connection to the Mother Boxes is no longer relevant... at least for now.
Deadshot
Suicide Squad wasn't critically successful, but the movie did wonders at the worldwide box office, earning it a sequel and multiple spinoffs, including one for Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot. The current status of the DCEU's Deadshot spinoff remains murky, though, seeing as there's been no major movement on the project since the studio began considering its potential in December 2016. While the concept of a Will Smith-led Deadshot movie isn't far-fetched, perhaps Warner Bros. realizes they have too many villain/anti-hero projects in the works and would rather commit Deadshot to Suicide Squad 2 (though Smith's involvement in the sequel hasn't been confirmed yet), not only because the character is a major player in the source material, but also because he's played by Smith, who can draw in casual moviegoers.
Joker Origin (Elseworlds)
The DCEU may be in full swing, but Warner Bros. isn't letting go of making separate, standalone DC features. The first movie of that caliber is The Joker origin story, directed by The Hangover and War Dogs director Todd Philips and executive produced by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The project is potentially the first of many Elseworlds-type stories that will come from a new DC banner operating under Warner Bros. Pictures. Although not much is known about the project at this time, we know the studio is courting Leonardo DiCaprio for the title role, hedging Scorsese's relationship with the actor to finally get him in a DC movie, and the film is expected to start shooting in fall 2018, alongside Suicide Squad 2.
