James Gunn and Peter Safran are the new heads of DC Studios, and they now have the power to save several DCU movies from development hell. The DCU (then called the DCEU) began in 2013 with the release of Man of Steel, and along with it came plans for several other movies featuring Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern Corps, Cyborg, and more. While some of these announced projects eventually came to fruition, others, along with more that were revealed later, have been either shelved or are stuck in unending development cycles. However, there's still hope for some of them.Superman's appearance in the post-credits stinger for Black Adam and Aquaman's upcoming sequel shows that the current DCU isn't dead, but there's little doubt that Gunn and Safran are reevaluating how to best unify the shared universe moving forward and rework delayed or canceled DCU movie plans. While there will surely be new movies teased soon, this stage of transition is the perfect opportunity to reintroduce already-written scripts and proposed concepts in a way that works as part of a new cohesive whole.
Justice League Dark
The Justice League Dark is an off-shoot of the main team dedicated and prepared to deal with supernatural or magical threats. Acclaimed director Benicio Del Toro was initially tied to the project, which would have featured John Constantine, Deadman, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, and more. Still, it's since bounced around to various writers and directors, including J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot team. There haven't been any recent updates about the project, making what happened to Justice League Dark's development unclear.
Fortunately, James Gunn has hinted that the team may be back in the DCU's plans. On Halloween 2022, Gunn tweeted an image of Justice League Dark member Deadman. While it may have been little more than a nod to the holiday, it's coincidental that he chose to feature a relatively obscure character from a team with a previously announced movie. It's also possible that Deadman may be featured in a solo movie or series, but a Justice League Dark movie would likely have more potential as Deadman rarely works alone.
Gotham City Sirens
David Ayer's Suicide Squad received middling reviews, but Margot Robbie's charismatic embodiment of Harley Quinn was a bright spot. To capitalize on Harley's positive reception and Robbie's interest in continuing with the role, Ayer was tapped to direct Gotham City Sirens (per THR). The film was rumored to center on DC villain Black Mask (supported by Ayer tweeting a picture of the character), so the team-up was likely reworked into the Harley-centered Birds of Prey. With a potential Harley Quinn return in Batgirl no longer possible after the film's untimely cancelation, it's unclear where Gunn plans to have Robbie's version of the character appear next.
While the all-female group has similarities to the already-released Birds of Prey, the Gotham City Sirens could have more mainstream appeal by providing more recognizable partners for Harley in Poison Ivy and Catwoman. Given Ivy's romantic importance to Harley in recent iterations of the characters in comics and HBO's Harley Quinn series, it would be a perfect opportunity to explore a character that hasn't been featured in film since 1997's Batman & Robin. While Sirens isn't among the DCU movies James Gunn has teased so far, there's room for the project to make a comeback sooner or later.
Cyborg
Cyborg hasn't historically been a founding member of the Justice League, but DC's New 52 relaunch brought Vic Stone to the forefront as a team mainstay. Justice League mirrored this elevated status, and a Cyborg solo project was announced as part of DC's future slate before the poorly-received ensemble film debuted. However, Justice League's poor reception led WarnerMedia to put several previously-announced movies on the back burner, and Cyborg was never formally attached to a creative team or release date. However, it's not too late for DCU to fix the mistake of losing Cyborg.
With new leadership and an assumed new direction for the shared universe, DCU leadership can give Ray Fisher's Cyborg the movie that he deserves. With other Justice League members starring in sequels or making cameos, Gunn would do well to include Cyborg among Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and other DC staples moving forward.
The Trench
After Aquaman proved to be a box office hit by earning $1 billion worldwide (per BoxOfficeMojo), DC announced two more Aquaman-related projects. The first was a sequel (now known as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), and the second was the mysteriously titled The Trench. Not much was known about the project at the time, but director James Wan clarified in the comments of one of his Instagram posts that the movie was actually a Black Manta project.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta was a striking villain, and James Wan has a strong history with horror films, so canceling the Black Manta spin-off was a mistake. A DCU side-project focused on a villain and a hive of deep-sea monstrosities seems like a perfect match, and James Gunn could move forward once again with the project if Aquaman 2 does well enough to prove continued fan interest in the IP. It's not yet known if Black Manta will survive Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but if not, a prequel project could always still work.
New Gods
While Darkseid and a few other New Gods can be seen in Zack Snyder's Justice League, the powerful race of beings hailing from Apokolips and New Genesis has yet to be centrally featured in the DCU. While DC ordered a New Gods script from comic writer Tom King and filmmaker Ava DuVernay, the project was shelved. However, the timing is now better than ever, and New Gods would be a perfect DC movie to release after Black Adam introduced more powerful characters to the DCU.
In an interview with CBR, Tom King explained that the "script has never been read" and that it was eventually shelved because "it conflicted with the plans [DC leadership] had at the time." However, the DCU's former plans should no longer be a restraint for projects. With Gunn now at the helm and a new plan being made for the future of the DCU, now is the perfect time for promising concepts like New Gods to re-enter production.
Batgirl
Of all the DCU projects indefinitely delayed or canceled, Batgirl has, perhaps, the strangest story. While most doomed movies are canceled in the pre-production stages, Batgirl completely finished filming before it was scrapped. The DCU lost a lot with Batgirl's cancellation, including the re-introduction of Michael Keaton's Batman and another appearance by J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. It's possible that these inclusions may no longer make sense with Gunn's desired direction for the franchise. Still, there may also be new opportunities for footage or characters to be repurposed into something that works.
Batgirl is one of the most important members of the Bat Family in DC's comics, so it's strange that the character has not yet made a big-screen appearance. If the previously-filmed movie stays canceled (initial screenings were poorly received, according to the New York Post), the character will hopefully appear in one of the many Batman-related projects scheduled to release over the next few years.
Justice League 2
It was a fairly unprecedented move for WarnerMedia to green light an alternate cut of Zack Snyder's Justice League using reshoots. It repurposed footage, but the four-hour epic proved to be a marked improvement over the theatrical version. With more time to introduce and flesh out characters like Cyborg and Steppenwolf, the film's plot was more coherent and set up a massive conflict between the Justice League and Darkseid that would have assumedly been the focus of Justice League 2.
However, despite his plans and roadmap, Zack Snyder said "there's no interest and/or appetite" for his vision of the DCU in an interview with I MINUTEMEN in 2021 (via YouTube). Even if Zack Snyder doesn't return to the director's chair, Gunn may still continue Snyder's vision for a growing conflict between Earth and Apokolips. If the DCU wants to show that it has a renewed focus and clear direction, another eventual team-up film is essential.
