DC Films The DC Studios News and Discussion Thread

[TheScarecrow]

It'll probably be more of a soft reboot in the sense that certain characters and elements from the current continuity will carry over to the new one. I don't see Gunn recasting Peacemaker, for instance. Various actors from TSS may also reprise their roles at some point in the near future. (Loosely related — with Marvel's GotG franchise coming to a close soon, expect to see those guys show up in the nascent DCU as well.) As far as Wonder Woman is concerned, the 2020 sequel doesn't leave us with any loose threads really so as to warrant a follow-up. Aquaman 2 is still on the way, and Momoa himself hinted at bigger and better things to come. Whether that's in the form of a reprisal as Aquaman or a new character like Lobo, money's gonna be made either way.

I don't really see it as rushing. From a purely business perspective, the studio isn't where they want to be right now. Marvel is crushing them in the competition with their event films and such. And while it might seem futile as hell to replicate that kind of success, Warners will never stop trying. Never. Hypothetically speaking, if Zaslav fails in his endeavor to relaunch the franchise, another regime will eventually take over and try to do the same thing. Rinse, repeat. That's just how corporations are run. Competition is paramount.

I don't see a soft reboot working anymore.

The fanbase is too toxic. It's just going to be continued division about why X could be brought over but not Y.

It's all got to go or none of it does.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I also imagine that a third WW movie with Gadot and a third Aquaman movie with that cast would be very expensive, which maybe isn't worth the investment for them if they are going to reboot everything.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I don't see a soft reboot working anymore.

The fanbase is too toxic. It's just going to be continued division about why X could be brought over but not Y.

It's all got to go or none of it does.

Soft in the sense that Gunn's likely to keep Cena's Peacemaker and possibly even Robbie given their connection in TSS. His wife isn't going anywhere either. lol He values certain relationships. Outside of them, virtually everyone else is expendable IMO.

 

[TheScarecrow]

Soft in the sense that Gunn's likely to keep Cena's Peacemaker and possibly even Robbie given their connection in TSS. His wife isn't going anywhere either. lol He values certain relationships. Outside of them, virtually everyone else is expendable IMO.

Yes which is why Gunn is going to have to make hard decisions. There is no reason his wife couldn't play someone else in the same way Momoa is rumoured to play Lobo.

But if he ditches Cavill as Superman and Gadot as Wonder Woman while keeping his wife as Emilia Harcourt then this mess and this division just takes on a new form. No thank you.

A big job calls for big decisions. Gunn the executive needs to be prepared to do things that Gunn the filmmaker would not.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Yes which is why Gunn is going to have to make hard decisions. There is no reason his wife couldn't play someone else in the same way Momoa is rumoured to play Lobo.

But if he ditches Cavill as Superman and Gadot as Wonder Woman while keeping his wife as Emilia Harcourt then this mess and this division just takes on a new form. No thank you.

A big job calls for big decisions. Gunn the executive needs to be prepared to do things that Gunn the filmmaker would not.

Those are fair points. But I still think he'll keep Cena's Peacemaker, Robbie's Harley Quinn and a few others. We'll see what happens.

 

[TheScarecrow]

Those are fair points. But I still think he'll keep Cena's Peacemaker, Robbie's Harley Quinn and a few others. We'll see what happens.

I love Robbie as Harley Quinn but she's headlined two flops already. I see no business case for keeping her in the role.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I love Robbie as Harley Quinn but she's headlined two flops already. I see no business case for keeping her in the role.

Yeah, but like I said, professional relationships have value (even if they shouldn't for some of the reasons you mentioned above); and Gunn enjoys working with her. So, well see.

 

[Invader Joker]

I think the crucial part about all this is that if they're building a new DC Universe, then they NEED Superman and Wonder Woman and Batman as foundational pieces. Hence scrapping Cavill and scrapping Gadot is necessary.
However. They can wait to introduce Aquaman in the new DCU. They can wait to introduce Shazam. They can wait or probably never even use Peacemaker.

The Aquaman, Shazam and Peacemaker projects could continue and have their send-offs in the old DCEU because they don't intervene in the creation of a new DCU. Superman and Wonder Woman? Yes they do, because they need to be part of the League no matter what.

 

[Invader Joker]

I'm predicting a slate like this going forward:
2024
Films
-Scarecrow (DCU)
-Clayface (DCU)
Shows
-The Penguin (DCU)
-Gotham PD (DCU)
-Peacemaker Season 2 (DCEU)
-Amanda Waller show (DCEU)
-The other spin-off James Gunn was working on (???)
2025
Films
-The Batman 2 (DCU)
-Professor Pyg (DCU)
-Shazam 3* (DCEU)
-Blue Beetle 2* (????)
Shows
-Arkham (DCU)
-Catwoman (DCU)
-Shows introducing other DCU characters lesser known.
2026
Films
-Superman (DCU)
-Wonder Woman (DCU)
Shows
-More The Batman spin-offs. (DCU)
2027
Films
-Green Lantern (DCU)
-Flash (DCU)
-Aquaman 3* (DCEU)
Shows
-More spin-offs.
2028
Films
-The Batman 3 (DCU)
-Justice League with Batman, Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern. (DCU)

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I think the crucial part about all this is that if they're building a new DC Universe, then they NEED Superman and Wonder Woman and Batman as foundational pieces. Hence scrapping Cavill and scrapping Gadot is necessary.
However. They can wait to introduce Aquaman in the new DCU. They can wait to introduce Shazam. They can wait or probably never even use Peacemaker.

The Aquaman, Shazam and Peacemaker projects could continue and have their send-offs in the old DCEU because they don't intervene in the creation of a new DCU. Superman and Wonder Woman? Yes they do, because they need to be part of the League no matter what.

Good points. For the most part, I agree. I just think they might want to leave the door open as it relates to certain acting portrayals. In other words, let's say Gunn wants to have a Peacemaker cameo in a new JL film, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that he would bring back Cena to reprise the role. Sure, he could just as easily go with another actor, but you never know.

 

[Invader Joker]

Good points. For the most part, I agree. I just think they might want to leave the door open as it relates to certain acting portrayals. In other words, let's say Gunn wants to have a Peacemaker cameo in a new JL film, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that he would bring back Cena to reprise the role. Sure, he could just as easily go with another actor, but you never know.

Yeah I think that as long as the foundational cast of the League is entirely different he can get away with having actors of lesser known characters reprise their roles. No one's gonna get confused if it's very clear everything else is different. Cavill, Affleck and Gadot need to be replaced and rebooted because for all intents and purposes they were the faces of the old DCEU in ways that John Cena, Viola Davis, etc are not.
Robbie's Harley Quinn is entirely dependant on what he's planning to do with Batman, but even with her he can probably get away with having one more project with her in the old DCEU if it comes out in 2024 or 2025 before the first major blockbuster officially establishing the new DCU comes out.

 

[TheVileOne]

It'll probably be more of a soft reboot in the sense that certain characters and elements from the current continuity will carry over to the new one. I don't see Gunn recasting Peacemaker, for instance. Various actors from TSS may also reprise their roles at some point in the near future. (Loosely related — with Marvel's GotG franchise coming to a close soon, expect to see those guys show up in the nascent DCU as well.) As far as Wonder Woman is concerned, the 2020 sequel doesn't leave us with any loose threads really so as to warrant a follow-up. Aquaman 2 is still on the way, and Momoa himself hinted at bigger and better things to come. Whether that's in the form of a reprisal as Aquaman or a new character like Lobo, money's gonna be made either way.

I don't really see it as rushing. From a purely business perspective, the studio isn't where they want to be right now. Marvel is crushing them in the competition with their event films and such. And while it might seem futile as hell to replicate that kind of success, Warners will never stop trying. Never. Hypothetically speaking, if Zaslav fails in his endeavor to relaunch the franchise, another regime will eventually take over and try to do the same thing. Rinse, repeat. That's just how corporations are run. Competition is paramount.

Already had multiple soft reboots.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Already had multiple soft reboots.

I already elaborated on what I meant by "soft" reboot. Closer to a hard reboot but with certain character portrayals and such carrying over.

 

[TheVileOne]

I already elaborated on what I meant by "soft" reboot. Closer to a hard reboot but with certain character portrayals and such carrying over.

I don't know how they can make either one work. They already have Aquaman and The Flash coming out. Also, Aquaman's the only DC film franchise other than Batman that made over a billion dollars.

I don't think the current regime can make this turkey fly, but I guess we'll see.

 

[Mani-Man]

I don't know how they can make either one work. They already have Aquaman and The Flash coming out. Also, Aquaman's the only DC film franchise other than Batman that made over a billion dollars.

I don't think the current regime can make this turkey fly, but I guess we'll see.

These are the two movies that worry me a bit, Flash maybe more because it comes down to how it ends.
Like if it ends with Supergirl, Keaton Batman etc being the new main ones according to it, then the plan being not to use them and instead reboot hard...it would look kind of dumb.

And with Aquaman, the chance that it makes a billion again.
Like if you catch lightning in a bottle twice, why would you not go for a third time?

I guess it comes down to how tight the 10 year plan is.
Like if they have faith in the plan and expect big things, i could see them stop at Aquaman 2 no matter the success because they have faith enough that the 10 year plan will produce several big money things.

 

[FunkMiller]

I don't know how they can make either one work. They already have Aquaman and The Flash coming out. Also, Aquaman's the only DC film franchise other than Batman that made over a billion dollars.
.

Do they?

I keep coming back to the fact Zaslav blew CNN + up to the cost of several hundred million dollars.

Everyone's assuming these films are definitely coming out. Black Adam just lost WB a good 50 million dollars. The advertising budgets for Aquaman and The Flash will be in excess of 200 million dollars. Zaslav canned Batgirl to the tune of 90 million dollars.

I don't think the release of any of the remaining DCEU movies in theatres is as guaranteed as most people think.

If a hard reboot is on the cards, be prepared to never see them.

 

[blackdragon6]

Tbh I'm still skeptical of a hard reboot, and it's still iffy if the Reevesverse will be a part of it if there is one. I don't know what Gunn is doing BUT I'm just not sold on a hard reboot.

 

[king666]

Rebooting everything and incorporating it into the Reevesverse: As long as Reeves is on board. Just let him do his own thing. Make his trilogy work as a prequel to the new DC universe.

Merging the Reevesverse into the current DCEU: no.

 

[Mani-Man]

Do they?

I keep coming back to the fact Zaslav blew CNN + up to the cost of several hundred million dollars.

Everyone's assuming these films are definitely coming out. Black Adam just lost WB a good 50 million dollars. The advertising budgets for Aquaman and The Flash will be in excess of 200 million dollars. Zaslav canned Batgirl to the tune of 90 million dollars.

I don't think the release of any of the remaining DCEU movies in theatres is as guaranteed as most people think.

If a hard reboot is on the cards, be prepared to never see them.

Possible is everything at this point.
But my thinking is that The Flash is already too expensive to cancel.
Like there is a small chance that this still makes money despite the high costs and troubles.
Too much has gone into this movie, too much to cancel it.

For Aquaman i feel like the potential of another Billion Dollar Movie is making it a safe Movie.
So far outside of Heard, all you hear about the movie is very positive...so the chances are higher that this will be a success.

 

[Frodo]

This may be not be popular in terms of fan opinion , but I personally would prefer that if there was a hard reboot and a canning of the current universe, that they ditch the whole shared universe model ,and just focus on making a good films tailored to each character and each director .

In other words, i;d prefer if they reboot Superman, just reboot Superman ala Matt Reeves , in his own world , and Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, etc, be done the same way.

At the end of the day, the individual characters stories are what's more important to me than whether they all exist in the same universe and whether their films lead to a team up ala Marvel.

Getting those individual films right is what's more appealing to me than trying to lead up to a big event film or to have overarching storylines across films done more effectively.

If the goal is to hard reboot for the sake of trying to make everything connected more successfully, that's okay, but that doesn't really excitement me in all honesty.

I'd prefer the point of throwing everything out, to be to make great films which put these characters and their own individual journeys , over just attempting to do a better version of what they tried before.

But that's just my own view of it.

I'd be much more on board with a hard reboot if the point was do with Superman and other characters, what Matt Reeves and Chris Nolan did with Batman, Donner did with Superman etc.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I love Robbie as Harley Quinn but she's headlined two flops already. I see no business case for keeping her in the role.

I wouldn't be sorry to see Robbie go. I thought she was good, but not to the point of 'OMG, I cannot see anybody else as Harley Quiin!!!!'. I'm actually keen to see another take on the character (as well as Gaga's, of course).

 

[emc5466]

I wouldn’t be surprised if they also add the Joaquin Phoenix Joker to the DCU as well. $40m plus box office points will get Phoenix to play ball I would think.

 

[king666]

This may be not be popular in terms of fan opinion , but I personally would prefer that if there was a hard reboot and a canning of the current universe, that they ditch the whole shared universe model ,and just focus on making a good films tailored to each character and each director .

In other words, i;d prefer if they reboot Superman, just reboot Superman ala Matt Reeves , in his own world , and Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, etc, be done the same way.

At the end of the day, the individual characters stories are what's more important to me than whether they all exist in the same universe and whether their films lead to a team up ala Marvel.

Getting those individual films right is what's more appealing to me than trying to lead up to a big event film or to have overarching storylines across films done more effectively.

If the goal is to hard reboot for the sake of trying to make everything connected more successfully, that's okay, but that doesn't really excitement me in all honesty.

I'd prefer the point of throwing everything out, to be to make great films which put these characters and their own individual journeys , over just attempting to do a better version of what they tried before.

But that's just my own view of it.

I'd be much more on board with a hard reboot if the point was do with Superman and other characters, what Matt Reeves and Chris Nolan did with Batman, Donner did with Superman etc.

That's a pretty reasonable take, even though I disagree. I want to see good standalone movies, sure, but I also want to see good live-action Justice League movies. IMO they should just go easy on the shared universe shenanigans.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they also add the Joaquin Phoenix Joker to the DCU as well. $40m plus box office points will get Phoenix to play ball I would think.

Sounds like an absolute mess imo. But it's WB we're talking about, so...

 

[TheVileOne]

Do they?

I keep coming back to the fact Zaslav blew CNN + up to the cost of several hundred million dollars.

Everyone's assuming these films are definitely coming out. Black Adam just lost WB a good 50 million dollars. The advertising budgets for Aquaman and The Flash will be in excess of 200 million dollars. Zaslav canned Batgirl to the tune of 90 million dollars.

I don't think the release of any of the remaining DCEU movies in theatres is as guaranteed as most people think.

If a hard reboot is on the cards, be prepared to never see them.

Yes they do. Unless Zaslav wants to cancel them and write them off as well, which I don't see how they can do that. They spent way too much money on those films.

 

[FunkMiller]

This may be not be popular in terms of fan opinion , but I personally would prefer that if there was a hard reboot and a canning of the current universe, that they ditch the whole shared universe model ,and just focus on making a good films tailored to each character and each director .

In other words, i;d prefer if they reboot Superman, just reboot Superman ala Matt Reeves , in his own world , and Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, etc, be done the same way.

At the end of the day, the individual characters stories are what's more important to me than whether they all exist in the same universe and whether their films lead to a team up ala Marvel.

The sad truth is that DC has never needed the team up movie in the same way that Marvel did. None of Marvel's characters had the iconic status of DC's back in 2008. They had to make the Avengers, because none of them were really strong enough to stand on their own two feet, to begin with.

But DC just saw that fat pay check and chased the MCU formula when it absolutely did not need to. It's what destroyed their franchise before it had even started.

In another universe, people with talent and common sense were in charge, and we'd have a Superman trilogy, a Wonder Woman trilogy, a Green Lantern trilogy, a Flash trilogy and would be introducing a new Batman right about now. That would have rivalled Marvel far better than the awful, greed fuelled dash to create a shared universe we got.