Common sense would dictate that a studio coming off back-to-back years where a superhero film earned more than $1 billion at the box office would be in good shape. However, over at Warner Bros., just because “Aquaman” and “Joker” both reached the milestone, it appears that there’s more uncertainty than ever before with the studio’s superhero properties.
According to a new report from Variety, given the recent box office success, WB is now trying to figure out how to fully move ahead with new takes on established properties, new producers on already-announced projects, more spin-offs with villains, and yes, even that fabled “Flash” film that keeps getting delayed. But even though everything seems to be in flux, one thing is for sure — WB is committed to bringing DC superheroes to the big screen in the years to come.
First off, WB wants to figure out what to do with Superman. After Henry Cavill redefined the character on the big screen with his three collaborations with director Zack Snyder, you would think the actor is cemented as the Big Blue Boyscout in the future. Well, not so much. Even after his own insistence that he’s not done with the character, WB has reportedly sat down with Michael B. Jordan and listened to the actor-producer pitch the studio on what he thinks is a great future for the character. Unfortunately, with Jordan’s busy schedule, any collaboration with the actor and the studio is going to probably wait until 2023, at the earliest.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have “Green Lantern Corps.” After being announced years ago, then forgotten but later re-announced again, “Green Lantern Corps” is still a priority for WB. Reportedly, Geoff Johns is working on a script and will have it turned it by the end of the year. It seems as if WB is set to approach JJ Abrams and his Bad Robot production company about spearheading the project. However, if that doesn’t work out, the report claims that Greg Berlanti (who is working with Johns on a separate “Green Lantern” HBO Max series) could be in line to work on the big-screen project, as well.
Now, obviously we can’t talk about the future of WB and DC superheroes without Batman, right? The report claims that everything seems to be full steam ahead on Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” but there is an added wrinkle to some of the casting news that could be a response to the recent “Joker” success. Variety says that the contracts that the actors are signing, particularly the villains played by Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, Zoe Kravitz, and others, include options for spin-off films. So, it appears that we could be seeing quite a bit more villainous big-screen projects in the future.
And finally, we have to talk about “Flash.” After the recent news that Andy Muschietti is aboard to direct the film, many fans expected production to begin ASAP. Unfortunately, with the production of “Fantastic Beasts 3” being delayed until well into 2020, star Ezra Miller likely won’t get a chance to begin work on “Flash” until 2021 at the earliest. That means we’re still years away from “Flash.” That is if you believe the film will actually happen. WB sure is hoping it will.
So, as you can see, there’s a lot going on at WB, but very little stuff set in stone. The studio is obviously committed to a future with DC superheroes. However, what that future might look like is still up in the air.