If you could rewrite history as far as the DCEU

[Boom]

PHASE ONE

2018
Superman
Batman

2019
World's Finest

2020
Wonder Woman
Aquaman

2021
Flash
Green Lantern

2022
Justice League (introduce Martian Manhunter)

 

[Tg11]

PHASE ONE

2018
Superman
Batman

2019
World's Finest

2020
Wonder Woman
Aquaman

2021
Flash
Green Lantern

2022
Justice League (introduce Martian Manhunter)

That actually looks good but for the JL film you would introduce Martian Manhunter but then I wonder if Oliver and Dinah would show up

 

[Boom]

My roster for the first film would be Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The classic seven.

I'd either go with the White Martians or Starro as the film's antagonist/s. The White Martians may be the more palatable and audience-friendly option, but I think you could do something very interesting with Starro if you present him as this malevolent, Lovecraftian entity. In fact, if Starro had extraterrestrial origins and then it crash-landed into Earth's oceans millions of years ago, that's how you get Martian Manhunter and Aquaman involved right there.

 

[Tg11]

Yeah of course but for me I would build up Darkseid to be the DC Big Bad to be our Thanos basically with the way I managed to rework the universe if I were handling it

 

[Boom]

I wouldn't build up a "big bad," at least not in the same way Marvel did. The constant teasing of Thanos over the course of seventeen films wore thin with me.

In addition to Justice League films, I'd also put out a trilogy of New Gods films with Darkseid as the central antagonist. Then once that trilogy finishes up, you bring Darkseid and the New Gods into the Justice League fold.

 

[Tg11]

For the next Phase I would also have sequels for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern and introduce a new franchise that of course being Shazam

 

[Rorschach2012]

My roster for the first film would be Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The classic seven. In order to incorporate Martian Manhunter I'd either go the classic route with the White Martians, or try a spin on Starro.

Starro would’ve been amazing. That could actually be a really scary villain if they do it right. The little Starro’s would basically be like the facehuggers from Alien, and then Starro’s primary form could be gigantic and monstrous like a Kraken almost.

Plus the mind control aspect could provide some great opportunities for in-fighting within the team.

And yeah I was very disappointed by the lineup we got in the movie. Superman for five minutes? No Green Lantern or Martian Manhunter but Cyborg instead? Nah...Should’ve been the original seven with John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan.

White Martians could’ve been cool, but a bit generic IMO. They’re great to use for the first Justice League story because you can put most of your focus on the team as the White Martians need little explanation.

 

[Tg11]

Yeah the mind control aspect they did it in the first Avengers film with Loki and it created in fighting so you could have in fighting within the League but also Starro could use mind control on someone else similar to what Loki did with Hawkeye and then Hawkeye eventually joined the Avengers; you can do the same set up with Starro brainwashing someone who is not even on the team

 

[unholyrevenger]

My roster for the first film would be Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The classic seven.

I'd either go with the White Martians or Starro as the film's antagonist/s. The White Martians may be the more palatable and audience-friendly option, but I think you could do something very interesting with Starro if you present him as this malevolent, Lovecraftian entity. In fact, if Starro had extraterrestrial origins and then it crash-landed into Earth's oceans millions of years ago, that's how you get Martian Manhunter and Aquaman involved right there.

Nah that should be parallax. Starro should be a body horror Cronenberg Green Lantern movie.

 

[Tg11]

Or another way to do it:

Man of Steel (1st film of the DCEU)
The Batman (2nd film of the DCEU)
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (3rd film of the DCEU)
The Flash (4th film of the DCEU)
Green Lantern Corps (5th film of the DCEU)
Aquaman (6th film of the DCEU)
Wonder Woman (7th film of the DCEU)
Justice League (8th film of the DCEU)

Phase 1 Complete

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Or another way to do it:

Man of Steel (1st film of the DCEU)
The Batman (2nd film of the DCEU)
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (3rd film of the DCEU)
The Flash (4th film of the DCEU)
Green Lantern Corps (5th film of the DCEU)
Aquaman (6th film of the DCEU)
Wonder Woman (7th film of the DCEU)
Justice League (8th film of the DCEU)

Phase 1 Complete

I could get on board with that!

 

[Tg11]

I could get on board with that!

I am glad that you like the idea and I would do 2 movies a year in Phase 1 to start off

 

[Thundarr]

I won’t go into as much detail as some of you with laying out the plot, but this is how I would go about creating the DC Cinematic Universe.

Batman Begins (2005): The movie would be almost exactly the same, except that there would be little Easter eggs throughout the film hinting that there is a shared universe (news reports from Metropolis and Central City, etc).

Superman Returns (2006): This movie would be given a complete makeover. Brandon Routh’s Superman costume would be brighter, like Christopher Reeves ‘ or Dean Caine’s costumes were. The story would have been better written, with a greater emphasis on fun. And again there would be Easter eggs throughout the film, like news reports on the events of Batman Begins for example.

The Dark Knight (2008): The Dark Knight would be pretty much as it was, with the exception of Easter eggs laced throughout the movie that it shares continuity with Superman Returns.

Man Of Steel (2009): This would be a direct sequel to Superman Returns. Brandon Routh would reprise the role of Superman. It would introduce the character of Wonder Woman, as she teams up with Superman in order to defeat the villain (I’m thinking Brainiac as the Big Bad for this movie).

Wonder Woman (2010): A prequel to the previous DC CBMs, this movie would be pretty much exactly like the Wonder Woman film that we got. The casting might be different (I don’t know if Gal Gadot was acting back then, or if she was maybe too young for the role at that time) and I might have had it set during WWII rather than WWI, but other than that it would have been pretty much the same movie.

Green Lantern (2011): I would have done away with the crappy CGI costume for Hal Jordan, and given it a much better script to work with. Maybe even change the villain (although I will admit that I don’t know The Green Lantern’s rogues gallery all that well, so I don’t know who I would change it to). But as with the above mentioned films, there would be Easter eggs tying the film in with the other movies from the franchise.

CW’s Arrow (2012): Arrow would exist within the DCEU, just as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel’s various Netflix shows all exist in the MCU. The events of the above films would be mentioned throughout the series as important events within the shared universe. The only major difference would be that The Atom would have to be recast.

Batman vs Superman (2013): This movie would be more along the lines of Batman/Superman: Public Enemies, only slightly different. Lex Luthor frames Superman for murder. Bruce Wayne/Batman, being distrustful of Superman, goes to Metroplolis in order to bring Superman to justice. They fight, much as they did in the BvS movie that we actually got, but stop and join forces when Batman realizes that Superman is innocent.

CW’s The Flash (2014): Just as Arrow and The Flash share an extended TV universe, both shows would be a part of the DCEU.

CW’s Supergirl (2015): Again, much like Arrow and The Flash, Supergirl would share an extended film and television universe with the DCEU. The only real difference would be that Supergirl would not be from an alternate Earth the way she is in the existing TV series.

Justice League (2016): This would essentially be a live action retelling of Justice League: War. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Martian Manhunter, and possibly Cyborg and Shazam (introduced for the first time in this movie) join forces in order to defend the Earth from the invasion of Darkseid. In the end, they all agree to come together whenever the Earth is in peril.

Death of Superman (2018): Pretty much what you would expect from the title. A retelling of the story from the comics, only using the characters from the DCEU. Doomsday awakens from his 2000+ year slumber to find that he (and the metal coffin he was encased in) is buried under tons of earth and stone. He smashes his way out and wreaks havoc once topside, destroying all within his path. The Justice League comes together in order to try to stop him, but Doomsday eliminates them one by one until Superman is the only one left. Their battle puts the fight between Superman an General Zod in Man Of Steel to shame. In the end, Superman and Doomsday destroy each other. (So in other words, pretty much what we’re getting with the upcoming animated Death of Superman Justice League movie).

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I won’t go into as much detail as some of you with laying out the plot, but this is how I would go about creating the DC Cinematic Universe.

Batman Begins (2005): The movie would be almost exactly the same, except that there would be little Easter eggs throughout the film hinting that there is a shared universe (news reports from Metropolis and Central City, etc).

Superman Returns (2006): This movie would be given a complete makeover. Brandon Routh’s Superman costume would be brighter, like Christopher Reeves ‘ or Dean Caine’s costumes were. The story would have been better written, with a greater emphasis on fun. And again there would be Easter eggs throughout the film, like news reports on the events of Batman Begins for example.

The Dark Knight (2008): The Dark Knight would be pretty much as it was, with the exception of Easter eggs laced throughout the movie that it shares continuity with Superman Returns.

Man Of Steel (2009): This would be a direct sequel to Superman Returns. Brandon Routh would reprise the role of Superman. It would introduce the character of Wonder Woman, as she teams up with Superman in order to defeat the villain (I’m thinking Brainiac as the Big Bad for this movie).

Wonder Woman (2010): A prequel to the previous DC CBMs, this movie would be pretty much exactly like the Wonder Woman film that we got. The casting might be different (I don’t know if Gal Gadot was acting back then, or if she was maybe too young for the role at that time) and I might have had it set during WWII rather than WWI, but other than that it would have been pretty much the same movie.

Green Lantern (2011): I would have done away with the crappy CGI costume for Hal Jordan, and given it a much better script to work with. Maybe even change the villain (although I will admit that I don’t know The Green Lantern’s rogues gallery all that well, so I don’t know who I would change it to). But as with the above mentioned films, there would be Easter eggs tying the film in with the other movies from the franchise.

CW’s Arrow (2012): Arrow would exist within the DCEU, just as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel’s various Netflix shows all exist in the MCU. The events of the above films would be mentioned throughout the series as important events within the shared universe. The only major difference would be that The Atom would have to be recast.

Batman vs Superman (2013): This movie would be more along the lines of Batman/Superman: Public Enemies, only slightly different. Lex Luthor frames Superman for murder. Bruce Wayne/Batman, being distrustful of Superman, goes to Metroplolis in order to bring Superman to justice. They fight, much as they did in the BvS movie that we actually got, but stop and join forces when Batman realizes that Superman is innocent.

CW’s The Flash (2014): Just as Arrow and The Flash share an extended TV universe, both shows would be a part of the DCEU.

Justice League (2016): This would essentially be a live action retelling of Justice League: War. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Green Arrow, and possibly Cyborg and Shazam (introduced for the first time in this movie) join forces in order to defend the Earth from the invasion of Darkseid. In the end, they all agree to come together whenever the Earth is in peril.

That is actually one of the best fan "How I would've's" that I've seen

 

[Thundarr]

That is actually one of the best fan "How I would've's" that I've seen

Thanks t:

I’ve actually added some stuff to it that I forgot to put in my original post (including CW’s Supergirl, then ending with a live action “Death of Superman” movie).

Of course, we could start the DCEU even sooner with Christopher Reeves’ Superman, Tim Burton’s Batman, and TV’s The Flash from the late 1980’s/early 1990’s. If Christopher Reeves had never had his accident, they could have cast Denzel Washington as John Stewart/Green Lantern and Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman. Maybe Ben Afleck could have played Hawk Man? He kind of looked like Hawk Man in Kevin Smith’s Dogma.

Of course planning an extended cinematic universe wasn’t really a thing back then, and wouldn’t be until after Iron Man 2 when Nick Fury shows up in the movies mid-end credits teaser.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Thanks t:

I’ve actually added some stuff to it that I forgot to put in my original post (including CW’s Supergirl, then ending with a live action “Death of Superman” movie).

Very nice. Would you bother dividing it into phases like the MCU or just let it run?

... Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman. Maybe Ben Afleck could have played Hawk Man? He kind of looked like Hawk Man in Kevin Smith’s Dogma.

I'd love to have seen Lucy Lawless play Wonder Woman in live-action (I know she's voiced her).

Wow, I'd forgotten about Dogma. Affleck did look a little Hawkman-ish, didn't he!

 

[Thundarr]

Very nice. Would you bother dividing it into phases like the MCU or just let it run?

I might do a bunch more sequels in between Justice League: War and Justice League: Death of Superman, I just don’t quite know what the individual stories would be. But I think I would have some of the lesser known characters from the movies (Cyborg, Shazam, etc) make periodic appearances in the CW series. And some of the movie sequels could be team up movies with two or more League members, but not enough of them to make them Justice League movies. Like how Black Widow was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Maybe have a live action Justice League: Throne of Atlantis movie, introducing Aquaman into the DCEU and making him a member of The Justice League before going ahead with the Death of Superman story.

I'd love to have seen Lucy Lawless play Wonder Woman in live-action (I know she's voiced her).

Wow, I'd forgotten about Dogma. Affleck did look a little Hawkman-ish, didn't he!

When I saw that scene near the end, with Afleck flying around with that brass armour chest plate, I totally thought “That would be perfect as a live action Hawk Man”. (The general look, not the character killing people, )

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I might do a bunch more sequels in between Justice League: War and Justice League: Death of Superman, I just don’t quite know what the individual stories would be. But I think I would have some of the lesser known characters from the movies (Cyborg, Shazam, etc) make periodic appearances in the CW series. And some of the movie sequels could be team up movies with two or more League members, but not enough of them to make them Justice League movies. Like how Black Widow was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Maybe have a live action Justice League: Throne of Atlantis movie, introducing Aquaman into the DCEU and making him a member of The Justice League before going ahead with the Death of Superman story.

Yes, some two-header team-ups could be good. Would you go beyond Death of Superman?

 

[Thundarr]

Yes, some two-header team-ups could be good. Would you go beyond Death of Superman?

Absolutely! Have a “Reign of the Supermen” story arc. Either all in one movie, or possibly give each individual Superman his own film (Eradicator, Steel, Superboy, Cyborg Superman). But for Gods sake do NOT cast Shaquille O’Neil as Steel again (personally, my vote is for Terry Crews in the role). The problem is, with the possible exception of Superboy, none of those characters can really carry an entire film on their own. But at the same time you don’t want to reveal that Cyborg Superman is the Big Bad of the story arc until you’re ready to do “Superman Lives”. But if you try and combine “Reign of the Supermen” with “Superman Lives”, the whole thing will come off as a rushed mess, like the inclusion of Doomsday at the end of BvS: DoJ.

Maybe a “Reign of the Supermen” movie which (a) introduces each of the new Supermen to the GA and (b) requires them to team up to take down a new threat to the world. Save Cyborg Superman’s big reveal until the beginning of the third act of “Superman Lives”, stretching the story out across two films.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Okay, cool And...

But for Gods sake do NOT cast Shaquille O’Neil as Steel again

... so, so seconded!

 

[Thundarr]

Okay, cool And...



... so, so seconded!

Yeah, that Steel movie was the s**ts.

 

[samsnee]

They should have done World’s Finest instead of BvS. Batman should not have been at the end of his career.

 

[FunkMiller]

I won’t go into as much detail as some of you with laying out the plot, but this is how I would go about creating the DC Cinematic Universe.

Batman Begins (2005): The movie would be almost exactly the same, except that there would be little Easter eggs throughout the film hinting that there is a shared universe (news reports from Metropolis and Central City, etc).

Superman Returns (2006): This movie would be given a complete makeover. Brandon Routh’s Superman costume would be brighter, like Christopher Reeves ‘ or Dean Caine’s costumes were. The story would have been better written, with a greater emphasis on fun. And again there would be Easter eggs throughout the film, like news reports on the events of Batman Begins for example.

The Dark Knight (2008): The Dark Knight would be pretty much as it was, with the exception of Easter eggs laced throughout the movie that it shares continuity with Superman Returns.

Man Of Steel (2009): This would be a direct sequel to Superman Returns. Brandon Routh would reprise the role of Superman. It would introduce the character of Wonder Woman, as she teams up with Superman in order to defeat the villain (I’m thinking Brainiac as the Big Bad for this movie).

Wonder Woman (2010): A prequel to the previous DC CBMs, this movie would be pretty much exactly like the Wonder Woman film that we got. The casting might be different (I don’t know if Gal Gadot was acting back then, or if she was maybe too young for the role at that time) and I might have had it set during WWII rather than WWI, but other than that it would have been pretty much the same movie.

Green Lantern (2011): I would have done away with the crappy CGI costume for Hal Jordan, and given it a much better script to work with. Maybe even change the villain (although I will admit that I don’t know The Green Lantern’s rogues gallery all that well, so I don’t know who I would change it to). But as with the above mentioned films, there would be Easter eggs tying the film in with the other movies from the franchise.

CW’s Arrow (2012): Arrow would exist within the DCEU, just as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Marvel’s various Netflix shows all exist in the MCU. The events of the above films would be mentioned throughout the series as important events within the shared universe. The only major difference would be that The Atom would have to be recast.

Batman vs Superman (2013): This movie would be more along the lines of Batman/Superman: Public Enemies, only slightly different. Lex Luthor frames Superman for murder. Bruce Wayne/Batman, being distrustful of Superman, goes to Metroplolis in order to bring Superman to justice. They fight, much as they did in the BvS movie that we actually got, but stop and join forces when Batman realizes that Superman is innocent.

CW’s The Flash (2014): Just as Arrow and The Flash share an extended TV universe, both shows would be a part of the DCEU.

CW’s Supergirl (2015): Again, much like Arrow and The Flash, Supergirl would share an extended film and television universe with the DCEU. The only real difference would be that Supergirl would not be from an alternate Earth the way she is in the existing TV series.

Justice League (2016): This would essentially be a live action retelling of Justice League: War. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Martian Manhunter, and possibly Cyborg and Shazam (introduced for the first time in this movie) join forces in order to defend the Earth from the invasion of Darkseid. In the end, they all agree to come together whenever the Earth is in peril.

Death of Superman (2018): Pretty much what you would expect from the title. A retelling of the story from the comics, only using the characters from the DCEU. Doomsday awakens from his 2000+ year slumber to find that he (and the metal coffin he was encased in) is buried under tons of earth and stone. He smashes his way out and wreaks havoc once topside, destroying all within his path. The Justice League comes together in order to try to stop him, but Doomsday eliminates them one by one until Superman is the only one left. Their battle puts the fight between Superman an General Zod in Man Of Steel to shame. In the end, Superman and Doomsday destroy each other. (So in other words, pretty much what we’re getting with the upcoming animated Death of Superman Justice League movie).

Well done, mate. This is very good.

I don't think Nolan would have allowed the shared universe nods in his movies, but other than that, this could have been a perfectly reasonable game plan for DC. One that would have easily challenged the MCU's dominance.

 

[Thundarr]

They should have done World’s Finest instead of BvS. Batman should not have been at the end of his career.

Agreed.

 

[Prettyricky]

BVS should have been maybe 10 movies into the dceu. You need a few movies showing who batman and superman are and why them clashing is a big deal to the fans. Now if bale had stayed on as batman then it would have worked when we got bvs because bales batman had 3 movies under its belt. Recasting batman was big mistake not alot of people talk about. Also batman being old was a mistake when everyone else in the league is just starting out. Except diana