What did Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav mean when he said DC Films was undergoing a “reset”? This came after the explosive news that the $90M Batgirl movie was being put on ice, and since then we’ve learned of further projects being shelved on an almost daily basis. Zaslav said a Marvel Studios-esque 10-year plan would be put into effect eventually, but what does that mean for current DCEU projects and others that were set in motion pre-merger?
There are four major films on the way: The Flash, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and Black Adam. Zaslav recently admitted that he’d seen them all and liked them, but they could be made better. According to THR, that meant a June test screening and reshoots for Black Adam that have added a new element to Dwayne Johnson’s place in the DCEU. We don’t know what that is, but Johnson often talks about the “hierarchy of power” putting Black Adam right at the top. But what if Superman is back in action? I’m not confirming anything, just throwing a rumor that I’ve heard out there.
Zaslav has already cleared The Flash as one of the films that is safe, despite the PR disaster that has become star Ezra Miller. It was revealed that Miller was part of additional photography over the summer, and that went without incident. However, this was also before their arrest just days ago, the third time they’ve been arrested this year. Plans surrounding the film could change at any time depending on circumstances involving Miller.
Finally, it seems that Shazam and Aquaman sequels are in a good place, as there’s been no update on plans to drastically change them.
DC Films chief Walter Hamada nearly quit the company when he learned of Batgirl‘s cancellation, but if he was mad about that he might want to sit down. It seems that many or all of the plans he had pre-merger are either dead or close to it. There has been absolutely no movement on the Black Superman movie from producer JJ Abrams and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, nor the Green Lantern Corps, Static Shock, or Supergirl films, although rumors are already starting to swirl about that last one. An introduction of the Secret Six, a team that typically runs counter to the Suicide Squad, was also being eyed.
Hamada’s plan, if left to his own devices, was to have the many multiverse storylines culminate in a Crisis On Infinite Earths event. If you don’t know that classic tale, it involved many heroes from across the Multiverse coming together to save the remaining Earths, with the result a massive reboot of DC Comics continuity. We’ve known all along that Hamada wanted to do a reboot that would clear a path for new versions of characters, such as Michael Keaton’s Batman.
But Zaslav’s many changes are in direct opposition to that, or so it seems to me. I hesitate to say he’s chosen to move forward with the Zack Snyderverse, but he doesn’t appear to want to throw everything out, either. The true direction may not be known until the Kevin Feige-like overseer of the brand is eventually hired.
