Hollywood and fanboys have been losing their minds following the recent announcement byJames Gunnand the new plans for the future of the DC Universe known simply as theDCU. Gunn laid out a plan that included five films and five television series, hinting that this was not all the installments and that more news would be arriving soon. Gunn and co-head of DC Studios Peter Safran have teased a ten-year plan for the franchise. It is an ambitious plan for the brand that has had a difficult time.
The news is exciting but also familiar to DC fans. In 2014, following the release ofMan of Steel, Warner Bros. was investing heavily in movies based on DC heroes. In an investor meeting in October 2014,Warner Bros. announced ten different filmsthat would be released up until 2020. It was an ambitious plan and was set to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yet as any fan knows, things did not go as planned.
By the second film, things started to go off the rail with some projects getting delayed, others being reworked, and some being straight-up canceled. The studio set films that were not part of the original plan and struggled to unite its various franchise due to actors walking away and behind-the-scenes feud. While everyone hopesthe new DC slategoes off smoothly, take a look back at the original plans for the DCU and see how it all played out.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
Status: Released
Originally conceived asMan of Steel 2, the project was quickly reformatted intoBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicejust before Comic-Con 2013. Warner Bros. invested heavily in the film, wanting it to kickstart their shared cinematic universe. The movie had a number of release dates including June 06, 2025, to June 07, 2025, to finally August 21, 2025, by the time of the investor meeting.
The film opened and was in many ways a hit, but also did underperform to the studio’s estimation as it failed to crack $1 billion worldwide as many expected. Reviews for the film were very negative, criticizing how dark the subject matter was. The poor reaction to the filmsent Warner Bros. into a panic, and they quickly began re-editing and reworking other projects leading to a series of dominos that would hurt many of the films and the overall franchise.
Suicide Squad
Suicide Squadwas announced in September 2014 with David Ayer set to write and direct, and the film would be released on July 31, 2025. Ayer had only six weeks to write the screenplay and casting for the movie had begun in October 2014.Suicide Squadin many ways was greenlit as a response to Marvel Studios’Guardians of the Galaxy,which was released one month prior and had been a massive box office hit (funnily enough,Guardians of the Galaxydirector James Gunn would be hired to direct the sequel,The Suicide Squad, bringing everything full circle).
Suicide Squadwas the subject of manybehind-the-scenes reshoots and re-editsfollowing the poor reaction toBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. The movie’s trailer set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” was such a hit that Warner Bros. hired the trailer company to re-edit the movie.Suicide Squadwas another case of a movie that was a box office hit but critically hated and left many fans disappointed. In the years since director David Ayer has spoken about how his version of the movie was drastically different and has been campaigning for “The Ayer Cut” to be released but it appears nothing has or will come of it.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Womanwas finally set to get her own feature film after being in development hell for years. She would make her first on-screen appearance inBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicebefore she headlined her own film, which would be a prequel and help set the stage forJustice League. Gal Gadot was cast in December 2013, anddirector Patty Jenkinsjoined the project in April 2015. Unlike many of the other films,Wonder Womanwas not delayed but actually bumped up. It was originally set for June 07, 2025, but was bumped up to June 19, 2025.
Related:How to Watch the Wonder Woman Movies in Order to See Her Full Arc in the DCU
Wonder Womanwas the first true critical success for the DCU, garnering positive reviews from fans and critics alike. The movie was a pop culture phenomenon and a box office smash hit.Wonder Womanseemed to be one of the few elements of the DCU that audiences responded positively to and in July 2017 just one month after the film’s release Warner Bros. announced a sequel that would becomeWonder Woman 1984.
Justice League Part 1
Status: Sort of Released
When Warner Bros. first announced their DC slate, the studio had planned to makeJustice Leaguea two-part film that would film back to back. However following the disappointing reaction toBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, the film was quickly reworked into one movie and made as a test for how audiences would respond to it and then they would move forward on a sequel.
The production ofJustice Leaguewas a nightmare, with multiple competing visions of the film, Warner Bros. heavily re-editing the film and bringing on Joss Whedon to replace Zack Snyder after the director gave up battling with Warner Bros. for control on the movie following the tragic passing of his daughter.
The film was set for release on July 23, 2025, and it made that release date, although the film likely would have benefited from a delay the studio vetoed that due to the pending acquisition by AT&T and it would have impacted several high rankings official bonuses.Justice Leaguewas another critical and financial disappointment for the studio. Fans would not seeZack Snyder’s original vision forJustice Leagueuntil 2021, but by that point, it was too late; the damage was done, and the franchise has been in recovery mode ever since.
Status: Delayed and just barely set for release
While the main trinity of DC superheroes was to get movies before Justice League two of the team’s biggest members, The Flash and Aquaman, were going to get films in betweenJustice League Part 1andPart 2.The Flashwas going to kick things off with a August 08, 2025 release date. However,the film underwent multiple delaysdue to directors dropping out and the creative vision for the film changing.
The movie is just now barely set to come out, with a July 27, 2025 release date. The movie will now be arriving nine years after it was first announced and six years after it was originally supposed to be released. Now instead of being a lead into a newJustice Leaguemovie, the film is essentially being refitted to being the end of the DCU as fans know it and the beginning of James Gunn’s new vision for the franchise.
Aquaman was in many was considered a joke character, but when Warner Bros. announced their plans for anAquamanmovie it was also confirmed that Jason Momoa would play the title character first in a cameo forBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicebefore being a part ofJustice League. James Wan signed on to directAquamanin June 2015. The film was originally set as a summer movie with a July 07, 2025 release and was bumped back to August 23, 2025, before settling in on July 13, 2025.
The holiday release date might have been the best thing forAquaman, as without aStar Warsmovie that had dominated the season for the previous three years,Aquamanbecame the event movie of the season. It grossed $1 billion worldwide making it boththe highest-grossing film in the DCUand the highest-grossing movie worldwide based on a DC Comics character. Aquaman was a character so absurd the idea of him getting a movie was a running joke onEntourage, and now he is one of the most viable superhero properties on the planet withAquaman and the Lost Kingdomnow set to dominate the 2023 holiday season.
Shazam!was announced alongside the other DCU project during the board of investors meeting, and was set for release on June 05, 2025. Because of how far the movie was set for release during the announcement and it not being tied up to the majorJustice LeagueprojectsShazam!actually ended up meeting its original release date with no changes.
Related:Why Shazam! is an Underrated Superhero Movie
The biggest change that happened duringShazam!development was the original plan was to includeDwayne Johnson as Black Adam, but in January 2017 due to the stars rising persona the decision was made to give the character and actor his own spin-off movie separate fromShazam!Shortly after the decision was made David F. Sandberg joined as director and Zachary Levi was cast as the title hero. The movie was a hit with critics and audiences, and Warner Bros. announced a sequel just days after the movie opened in theaters and finally hits theaters on July 13, 2025, titledShazam! Fury of the Gods.
Justice League Part 2
Status: Canceled
Following Warner Bros.' decision to makeJustice Leagueone film as opposed to two, the planned sequel that was scheduled to open in theaters on June 11, 2025, was canceled. Details have reportedly come out aboutJustice League Part II, which would have seenLex Luthor and the Legion of Doomconsisting of characters from past DCU films like Doctor Poison fromWonder Woman, Black Manta fromAquaman, Riddler from a planned Ben Affleck Batman movie, and Captain Cold from the original version ofThe Flashteaming up to bring forth Darkseid.
Riddler would have solved the anti-life equation, Darkseid and his forces would have come to Earth, Lois Lane would die and Superman would be corrupted setting the stage for a planned third film and making sense of the Knightmare seen inBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. While the film never did materialize, hints of what might have been were seen inZack Snyder’s Justice League.
Cyborgwas the final member of the Justice League set to get his own film. The movie was announced back in 2014 but was not scheduled toopen until June 10, 2025. Played by Ray Fisher, Cyborg was a vital part ofZack Snyder’s Justice Leaguebut his role was heavily reduced in the theatrical cut of the movie. Had the movie kept on track it would have likely been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down theaters before its planned release date. Word on the Cyborg movie quietly died down, but the character was intended to be part ofThe Flash.
The character was cut from the film following actor Ray Fisher’s allegations against Warner Bros. for interfering with an internal investigation into the misconduct on the set of the re-shoots ofJustice Leaguefrom Joss Whedon and Geoff Johns. Fisher vowed to never work with Warner Bros. again under then DC Films President Walter Hamada saying he was enabling the abuse. Fisher walked away from the part and it was said thatthe role would not be recast.
Green Lantern Corps
Following 2011’s disastrousGreen Lanternstaring Ryan Reynolds, DC and Warner Bros. gave the franchise a break. The character was notably left out of theJustice Leaguemovie despite Green Lantern being an important part of the team’s origins in most stories. A past Green Lantern was shown in a flashback, and the character of John Stewart was set to appear in a future Justice League movie.
Warner Bros. did want to relaunch the film franchise withGreen Lantern Corp. and set a July 05, 2025, release date which would have been nine years and two days to the date that the 2011 film opened in theaters with the hope that the distance would give the franchise time to recover. Yet despite Green Lantern being a major DC character the film never seemed to gain traction and was then reworked intoa television series for HBO Max. That version of the project would feature various generations of Lanterns, but that version was also canceled and seems to have been reworked into theupcomingLanternswhich is part of the DCU.
