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All of the DC Comics movies currently in the works, including a movie starring The Rock
All of the DC Comics movies currently in the works, including a movie starring The Rock
Travis ClarkJun 7, 2018, 23:06 IST
Warner Bros.
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A Joker "Suicide Squad" spin-off movie starring Jared Leto is reportedly in the works, but it's not the only DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. project in development. In fact, it's not even the only Joker solo movie that could be coming your way.
Warner Bros. and DC's answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe got fully underway in 2016 with the DC Extended Universe. "Man of Steel's" spiritual sequel "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Suicide Squad" were both released to underwhelming response.
The universe's troubles have continued since.
The culmination of it all, "Justice League," failed to deliver both commercially and critically last year, as it made only $657 million worldwide and has a 40% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. The only DCEU movie that has been both a financial and critical success has been "Wonder Woman."
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Despite this, DC movies keep being announced, though the road to cinemas has been a rocky one for some. The Flash movie has cycled through various directors, a Batgirl movie lost screenwriter Joss Whedon, and there are apparently two Joker movies in development. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The DCEU has been such a headache that Warner Bros. is reportedly rethinking its approach, and trying to downplay the interconnected stories to focus on more standalone features similar to "Wonder Woman," which was set in the past and mostly removed from the universe.
It's hard to juggle it all, so Business Insider has rounded up all of the DC movies that have either been confirmed or reported to be in development, and tried to make sense of where they all are in the process. But the status of some movies is so unknown that they weren't even worth including on the list, such as a "Man of Steel" sequel, a Cyborg movie, and a female-centric "Gotham City Sirens" film. It's safe to say that these movies are too far in development hell to even consider right now.
"Aquaman" comes to theaters December 21. It's directed by "Saw," "The Conjuring," and "Furious 7" director James Wan and stars Jason Momoa in the title role. He first appeared as the character in "Justice League."
"Shazam!"
"Shazam!" is based on a DC Comics character named Billy Batson, a young boy who turns into an adult superhero by shouting the magic word "Shazam." Zachary Levi is playing the hero, Asher Angel is the young Batson, and Mark Strong will appear as the villain Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. David F. Sandberg, who directed horror movies "Light Out" and "Annabell: Creation," is directing. It's set for release April 5, 2019.
Black Adam
Black Adam is a Shazam villain, but Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been attached to star as the character for years in his own movie. Johnson told Yahoo in April that a script is finished and it's "great." "If things come together in the way we anticipate them coming together, that feels like a 2019 movie," he said, which probably doesn't mean a release in 2019 at this point, but starting production.
"Wonder Woman" sequel
Director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot are both returning for the untitled "Wonder Woman" sequel, which is set in the 1980s during the Cold War and comes to theaters next November. Kristen Wiig is playing the villain Cheetah. Here's everything else we know about the movie.
"The Batman"
"War for the Planet of the Apes" director Matt Reeves is directing the next solo Batman movie, which doesn't have an official release date yet. It was recently reported that The Penguin is the top candidate to be the movie's villain. While the movie has been plagued by rumors that Ben Affleck (who was originally on board to also direct) wants out of the title role, he is still attached to star.
"Flashpoint"
The Flash movie may or may not be called "Flashpoint" (a tidpit in this Hollywood Reporter article about screenwriter Dan Mazeau mentions he worked on the movie "when it was titled 'Flashpoint'"), but that's been the least of the movie's problems. Several directors have cycled through the movie that stars Ezra Miller as the Flash. After Rick Famuyiwa stepped away, "Game Night" directors and "Spider-Man: Homecoming" writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were hired.
"Suicide Squad" sequel
A "Suicide Squad" sequel was originally supposed to start shooting this year, but Variety reported that the movie was delayed to make room for a "Birds of Prey" movie (more on that later). "The Accountant" director Gavin O'Connor will write and direct.
Jared Leto's "Suicide Squad" Joker spin-off
Jared Leto's Joker of "Suicide Squad" is reportedly getting his own movie, which, based on internet reaction, might not be a great idea.
Todd Phillips' Joker origin movie
On top of the Jared Leto Joker movie, there is a separate Joker solo movie in development from Warner Bros. with "The Hangover" director Todd Phillips attached to direct. The movie will be an origin story for Batman's greatest foe, and last we heard of it, Joaquin Phoenix was reportedly in talks to star as the title character.
Joker/Harley Quinn team-up movie
But there's more! Not only are there two Joker movies in development, one of which starring Jared Leto, a Joker/Harley Quinn team-up love story is in the works too, with Leto's Joker side-by-side with Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. We're not sure if the Leto solo movie will impact this film being made, but Variety reported last year that "This Is Us" executive producers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa were in final negotiations to direct.
Birds of Prey
Warner Bros. announced this year that Cathy Yan will direct a movie based on the "Birds of Prey" comic book with Robbie's Harley Quinn set to star. The comic focuses on Gotham City-based female vigilantes like Batgirl and Black Canary.
Batgirl
Speaking of Batgirl, "Avengers" director Joss Whedon was originally attached to write a solo film based on the character. Whedon left the project in February, and told The Hollywood Reporter "it took me months to realize I really didn't have a story." THR then reported in April that Christina Hodson, the writer of the upcoming "Transformers" spin-off movie "Bumblebee," will replace Whedon to write the script.
Nightwing
Another Batman sidekick, Nightwing (whose real name is Dick Grayson and was the original Robin in the comics), is also getting his own solo movie. While the status of the film had been unknown for some time, director Chris McKay, who directed "The LEGO Batman Movie," tweeted an update in February: "Nightwing script expected very soon. Working on rip-o-matic to show studio. This is going to be a LONG process. So don't expect casting news any time soon. We are taking our time."
Green Lantern Corps
"Man of Steel" screenwriter David S. Goyer is writing a script for a Green Lantern Corps movie, which would not have anything to do with the 2011 "Green Lantern" film starring Ryan Reynolds. A Green Lantern made a brief cameo in "Justice League" during a flashback scene, so we know they technically exist in the universe. The status of the movie is shaky though. Goyer told IGN in January that the movie is "still in the works" but doesn't know when it can be expected: "Who knows, especially with what's currently going on with the DC universe? There's obviously a whole recalibration happening with that right now." Sounds promising? And if your confused as to why this is called "Green Lantern Corps," in the comics there is a Green Lantern for every "space sector" in the galaxy that protects their assigned planets. The Corps is a space police force.
Justice League Dark
We haven't heard much about this movie in a while, so it's hard to tell if it's even still on Warner Bros.' list, but Deadline reported last year that Gerard Johnstone was hired to "polish" a script. The movie would focus on magic-based characters in the DC Comics universe like John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Deadman, Zatanna, and Etrigan the Demon. "Edge of Tomorrow" and "American Made" director Doug Liman was originally attached to direct, but left the movie last year to focus on another project.
