Boy oh boy, what a perplexing time it has been lately for Warner Brothers DCEU. I’m sure as many of you have heard by now that the upcoming film Batgirl has now been axed from WB’s agenda and it looks as if it will never see the light of day. The film was set to star Leslie Grace in her first outing as the title character with the likes of Brendan Frasier as the film's main antagonist Firefly, alongside the return of J.K Simmons’s commissioner Jim Gordan and Michael Keaton’s Batman/Bruce Wayne from the Tim Burton universe that was setup in 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns. It seems as if cancelation came to be due to the studios shift in plans for the future of the DCEU, there have been many statements made already on why it actually was scrapped because of the cost-cutting measures and refocus on theatrical releases since the film was slated to debut on the streaming service HBO Max. The film’s production budget was an estimate for $90 million and it seems as if the merging with Discovery Plus has made an impact on not just this film and the rest of future DC projects, but for HBO Max as well since a lot of Max’s original films have been removed from the service along with other sequels such as Scoob! Holiday Haunt that has been canceled.
A lot of this news points to negative impact on the WB’s name and fans may have lost interest for the future installments since the series has had a lot of irregular features, but for someone like myself who has been a vocal critic of the current state of WB’s so-called planned out scheduling, it seems as if things can be looking optimistic for the first time in a while (hopefully). They’re have been reports of early test screenings on the film and many have stated that it is almost unwatchable and is not the soft-reboot plan they were hoping for. The Flash movie which as yet to come out and is also in hot water currently with lead star Ezra Miller and all of his controversies, it was said to have been scrapping future plans that were set up in the 2021 Zack Synder’s Justice League and move forward into different territories such as replacing both Ben Affleck’s Batman with Michael Keaton and Henry Cavill’s Superman with Sasha Calle’s Supergirl. For these reasons I am not distraught about the cancellation of Batgirl or The Flash movie going into major release date shifts along with heavy reshoots as some probably are. The cast and crew deserve as much credit as any of us can give them for all their time and effort for attempting to bring Batgirl into live action, more than positive they will use Leslie Grace for future projects and would love nothing more to see her debut. As for the rest of the project along with The Flash, not even in the slightest was I looking forward to this, even though this universe has been a bit muddled there were many ways WB’s could have decided to keep this universe coherent, but have chosen not to. Ever since the failure that was 2017’s cop out version of Justice League, fans felt as if there was no light at the end of the tunnel for this universe, but with the fans online campaign to bring the true vision that was made director Zack Snyder the fans responded in a much more positive sense to where at a certain point seemed as hope was finally restored. In the end it was all for WB's attempt to only make The Flash movie in order to erase what was perfectly set up already, Darkseid’s dreadful invasion to earth and the team themselves finally brought together full circle (all missing from the theatrical cut) there was no reason to scrap this storyline.
All for them to “retire” Ben Affleck’s version in The Flash and have him replaced with 70 year old Michael Keaton as the frontrunner Batman is probably the biggest colossal mistake they could’ve made. I can’t comprehend how anybody would want to see a film where Batman and Jim Gordan are the same age in the same movie? The sad fact is we still don’t even have a Superman/Man of Steel sequel or appearance from him in set yet which is beyond uncivil, Superman is DC’s poster boy and yet they decide to scrap him and his storyline completely, all without giving Supergirl the proper introduction she deserves.
According to insiders WB. Discovery is taking more control over from now on, the plan seems to be to the studios cleaning house and scrap the soft-reboot plans and continue on utilizing these characters that have already been established for at least the next ten years. Keaton who originally was slated to appear in the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has just been replaced by Affleck. Reports have also suggested that they are looking into pushing the later installments for theatrical releases instead of streaming which to me points to good signs, no matter the quality of these films they are all made for the big screen and definitely keeping the theatrical experience alive. Unfortunately all these plans don’t look as if they plan on setting up a Justice League sequel with Zack Synder anytime soon, but as long as these characters appear and are utilized properly I believe we can be looking at a pretty strong continuation of this world. As for the rest of the DCEU and standalone projects outside of the extended universe it seems as if things are back on track, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to make his debut in Black Adam this October along with the character’s archenemy Shazam getting his sequel towards the end of the year in December with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Ever since the Synder cut movement helped get the film to finally come out after many years of denial from the studios I say with the utmost confidence remain sanguine about a Black Adam vs Shazam crossover. Anyone looking for enlightenment outside of the extended universe, WB has announced the release date and official title for the sequel to the 2019 standalone film Joker which is titled Joker: Folie a Deux (Madness for two) coming October 4th 2024. Said to be a musical set in Arkham Asylum with Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role this time alongside Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn all makes for a peculiar yet fascinating sequel to look forward to. As for other standalone projects we also have a follow up for The Batman that was released earlier this year and is confirmed to be in the writing process. It will probably be a couple of years until we see the film in theaters, but because the film was such a hit with fans and critics around the world for it’s noir/detective like take on Batman no doubt that director Matt Reeves will deliver upon yet another miraculous take for the caped crusader, he’s discussed introducing us to the likes of other iconic characters in Batman’s rogue gallery such as Robin, Hush, Mr. Freeze and The Court of Owls. Since what he brought to us in his first installment was such a grand scale in the world of his Gotham this sounds all the more splendid, no matter who or what he brings we can assume we are in safe hands. In closing not everyone might be eager for everything that is in slate, but at least there is something that’ll always be in this cathedral that is the DC universe for someone to cherish.
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By Danny Manna @Cinemanna24- Nerdthusiast Content Creator
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