DC and Warner Bros. still released many big projects, such as The Batman or Black Adam. However, at the present time, it can be said that their cinematic universe has been forced to completely destroy and rebuild to serve James Gunn’s 10-year plan and bring a completely different DCU in the future.
DCU will be missing familiar faces
Many DC film projects have been canceled, and many actors have regretfully said goodbye to DCU – Photo: Warner Bros.
After nearly a decade of development, the DCEU (DC Extended Cinematic Universe), the predecessor of the DCU, has brought many superheroes to the big screen, with the central element being the Justice League team. Among them, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are considered the key characters of this cinematic universe, along with some other notable names such as Aquaman or Shazam.
However, the future of DCU will probably be missing many familiar faces after the “overhaul” of James Gunn and Peter Safran. Ben Affleck has already confirmed that he will say goodbye to the role of Batman after the Justice League project ends, although the actor will still appear in the blockbuster The Flash as a guest. Next, Henry Cavill will also not return to the role of Superman because DCU wants a younger version of Superman to bring more different stories.
Besides, Gal Gadot’s future in this cinematic universe is also a big question mark, when the Wonder Woman 3 project by director Patty Jenkins has officially been canceled. However, although not officially confirmed, James Gunn has hinted that he still wants the actress to continue to stick with DCU in the role of the Amazon warrior that she has played so well over the years.
Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck will part ways with DCU, while Gal Gadot’s future is still open – Photo: Warner Bros.
Jason Momoa will still return to the role of Arthur Curry in the movie Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom, scheduled to be released on Christmas 2023. However, many sources have confirmed that this is the actor’s last project in the role of the DC Sea Emperor, before moving on to a new role, a new character in the future.
Ray Fisher, the actor who plays Cyborg Victor Stone, will not return to DC due to conflicts in views and working methods with director Joss Whedon as well as the Warner Bros. production team. Thus, almost the entire Justice League team previously built by director Zack Snyder will be completely absent from DC’s future projects.
Black Adam, although he just joined the DCU this year, has not escaped James Gunn’s overhaul. A few days ago, actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson himself confirmed that his character is not in the first chapter of the DC cinematic universe. The Rock said that Black Adam may return in the future, with stories related to the multiverse. However, if that really happens, it may be many years before audiences see this character again on the big screen.
Robert Pattinson’s Batman will become the center of a new DC cinematic universe
DCU’s changes do not affect the development of The Batman cinematic universe – Photo: Warner Bros.
The Batman is one of the few projects that is not affected by James Gunn’s new plans for DC, with part 2 still continuing to be produced according to the original schedule. This is partly because The Batman is placed in a separate cinematic universe, with the central character being Batman played by Robert Pattinson. While the DCU is still gradually renewing itself, The Batman can become the spearhead to keep audiences interested in DC’s superhero works.
It is no coincidence that DC decided to develop The Batman cinematic universe in parallel with their main cinematic universe. Since its release in early March 2022, this blockbuster has earned nearly 771 million USD (according to BoxOfficeMojo), along with countless positive reviews from both experts and general audiences. Pattinson’s performance is also a highlight in The Batman, helping to clearly portray the intelligence and detective skills of the Batman and bring new stories compared to previous Dark Knight projects.
Currently, besides The Batman 2, DC Studios is also nurturing a number of television projects to gradually build a mini-cinematic universe dedicated to Pattinson. One of them is the Penguin series, revolving around one of Batman’s most famous villains, played by Colin Farrell. In addition, some sources said that DC will soon launch separate projects for the Gotham Police Department, Arkham and Catwoman.
DCU’s new blockbuster lineup in the future
DCU will launch many film projects in 2023 – Photo: ScreenRant
Although still in the process of “demolishing and rebuilding”, DCU will still release a number of film projects in 2023 according to the original plan
