The specter of Zack Snyder’s DCEU has been something Warner Bros. never quite managed to exorcize. That still seems to be the case as The Hollywood Reporter revealed that even immediately prior to the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran as DC Studios CEOs the studio were still considering Justice League 2 as a viable option. Now it seems that Gunn and Safran’s plans are not only abandoning that particular route, but looks set to completely change the guard of the DCU, which could spell the end for the likes of Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot and even Henry Cavill.
Justice League became both the defining high point and devastating low of the DCEU thanks to the issues faced during its original production and the huge amount of attention brought by Snyder’s cut of the movie in 2021. However, everything between the two points has been a mess, and considering the only DCU release of 2022, Black Adam, failed to even break into the top ten movies of the year, it is not surprising that there are more big changes apparently being made.
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Until the appointment of Gunn and Safran a couple of months ago, it would seem that Warner Bros. Discovery heads were already starting to put together the first idea of bringing back the current DC stars to appear in Justice League 2. What it would have looked like, or how it would have come together is unknown, but it now all seems irrelevant as the entire DCU shake up is heading towards completely cleaning the slate rather than re-arranging it.
How Long Will It Be Before the DCU Plan Is Revealed?
It has only been a couple of months since James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the new heads set to bring together the franchise and make it a success again. However, since then there have been plenty of rumors but very little actual information forthcoming about where the next steps lie for the heroes of DC Comics. It may not be the type of information that can be released on a whim, but the longer it takes DC Studios to put out their plan, the less interest people seem to have in what they say.
Despite originally having a bulging slate for 2022, production delays, as well as a desire not to go up against the might of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or Avatar: The Way of Water, have seen that reduced to just Black Adam. This leaves Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom all now releasing in 2023, along with Blue Beetle, which will be last movie currently guaranteed to be released by the studio. The real issue for Warner Bros. Discovery now is whether anyone is going to care much about these movies if they are effectively about to be wiped out by a complete DCU overhaul? It once seemed that the Justice League roster was setting many movies and many years for its big name cast, but that could be coming to an end much earlier than anyone anticipated.
