With James Gunn’s DCU on the way, these super-stories might be kaput.
- +
byMatt Fowler Posted March 16, 2023, 5:26 p.m.
Sometimes – even when multiplexes have been dominated by superhero movies for over two decades – things just don’t pan out. Occasionally the best-laid plans get their neck snapped like General Zod after a horrific battle that levels half of Metropolis.
With DC’s Cinematic Universe about to reset with this summer’s multiversal mayhem movie, The Flash, as the DCU reins are handed to James Gunn and Peter Safran, a ton of teases, setups, and planted seeds from the past decade of DC movies are going to wind up going nowhere. The Snyderverse is officially dunzo (although Zack Snyder is now teasing a Darkseid something is coming in April, though it is highly unlikely it will be a new movie…), so let’s take a look at the many storylines that are getting the shaft. Gunn’s DCU means what once was will now…never be.
Let’s start with Shazam! Yes, even the charming, comedic bubble created by the first Shazam! film has a few connections to the Snyderverse saga, and those threads are probably gonna get snipped. Everything is still supposed to shake out and straighten up when Gunn’s Gods and Monsters refresh kicks in but these past few years definitely spotlight an awkward phase in the already scattershot DCEU. There was even enough of a power vacuum that Dwayne Johnson tried to capitalize on it with Black Adam, with the promise that the hierarchy of power was going to change. It didn’t. The Rock’s cooking, however, was not smelled – smelt? – and we’d learn very soon after that movie’s release that actor Henry Cavill wouldn’t be a part of Gunn’s vision for Superman.
And that news, like a plummeting Kyrptonian escape pod, took Johnson’s Teth-Adam down with it. You know what they say…
Hierarchy Shmierarchy
Johnson utilized his towering Tinseltown influence to get Henry Cavill into the post-credit scene of Black Adam so that these two seemingly unstoppable heroes could come face to face – and tease a future clash of champions. Now that Cavill’s out as Clark and it’s very likely Johnson won’t return as Black Adam, the entire thing’s a wash. Of course, Johnson’s not officially out as the all-powerful lethal anti-hero but his discussions with Gunn made it clear there wasn’t really a place for him in the initial Gods and Monsters rebrand.
No Superman Meeting Shazam (Again)!
Black Adam got the head, Shazam! got the rest.
This also means no Superman and Shazam!, despite the post-credits scene from the first Shazam! movie giving us the “Marty McFly’s being erased from history” version of Superman.
No Black Adam and Shazam!
And speaking of Shazam…the original intention was for his path to cross with Black Adam.
Black Adam was a primary adversary for Shazam! in the comics and originally the character was to be introduced via Shazam! Until Johnson got involved with the project, that is, and it was reworked to focus on Black Adam. (“You’re not supposed to be here, it’s you who’s not supposed to be here”) In fact, because of his star power, there was a world where a Black Adam movie was going to come out before the Shazam! movie, but ultimately the Rock’s film took 15 years to come to fruition so it missed the boat there.
So yeah, in theory, Black Adam was on a collision course with Zachary Levi’s hero – even though it seemed like that had been dropped (or sidelined) in favor of going right for the Superman prize fight – but now even if there were plans for Black Adam to interact with Shazam!, like in the funny books, that could be dead in the water too.
We Live in a Justice Society
The Justice Society of America was introduced in Black Adam as a pre-existing superhero squad that was implied to have had a deep history and previous rosters, despite never having been mentioned in any DCEU film before it. Like most elements of Black Adam, their future seem to be on hold – though, who knows? Maybe the JSA will still be active in Gunn’s new vision for the franchise.
Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind
Shazam also gave us an ending with Mark Strong’s Doctor Sivana meeting one of Shazam’s oldest adversaries, and a true DC deep cut, Mister Mind – who is an evil alien worm with a genius-level intellect and hypnotic powers. He’s also just a little guy! So smol. Anyhow, will this get picked up in Shazam! Fury of the Gods? Fans spotted what they feel is a Mister Mind Easter egg in the trailer so we’ll have to see.
The Dark Knight’s Knightmare 
Most of the other stories teased in the Snyderverse came from Zack Snyder himself, primarily in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The wildest of them all was the Knightmare detour, which showed us a grim, dystopian wasteland future where Darkseid had conquered, Superman was angry and evil, and Batfleck formed an uneasy alliance with Jared Leto’s Joker and led a loose-screw crew of rebels – including Cyborg, Deathstroke, Flash, and Mera – to retake, and undo, the wasteland apocalypse created, in part, by the death of Lois Lane.
We’ll likely never get any follow up on this now. That means no finding out what happened to Lois and why it turned Clark into the worst prison guard ever. Or discovering how Harley died in Batman’s arms? Will we ever see him f***king kill Joker? (clip: “I’ll f***ing kill you”) Sadly, all of these teases are but Knightmare dust in the Knightmare wind.
Never Send a Boy Wonder
Shown in Batman v Superman, and then confirmed by Leto’s Joker in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Robin – this time Dick Grayson, not Jason Todd – was killed by The Clown Prince of Crime and his costumed body was graffitied as a cruel jape. This happened 10 years before the events of Batman v Superman and, to our knowledge, Batman never took on another sidekick. And these are the details we’re left with. Maybe Ben Affleck’s scenes in The Flash will shed some more light but ultimately this might remain a brick wall.
The Lex Express and the Stroke of Death
The Lex Luthor corner of ZS’s JL teased out a few things. One was Lex being sprung from Arkham, on the precipice of establishing the Legion of Doom in order to counteract the do-goodery of the Justice League.
The second was Lex revealing Batman’s secret identity to Joe Manganiello’s merc with the mouth, Deathstroke. Okay, so he’s not THE merc with THE mouth, but he’s definitely a mercenary with an opening in his face. This particular plot nugget was to feed into a Ben Affleck solo Bat-film, one that the Dunkin’ fanatic would star in and direct.
Lois and Clark’s Bruce
Gone baby gone. Snyder’s Justice League hinted towards – and then Snyder himself confirmed – that Lois Lane was pregnant. This was to play out, in the long term, with her son, Bruce Kent, taking up the mantle of Batman. And this, obviously, was ambitious planting since it would take a time jump that would age Bruce Two up by a few decades. But now, the DCU will look back instead of forward for a new Caped Crusader as Michael Keaton’s Tim Burton-era Batman will wash his tights and leave his home for another go round as the winged freak. Not to mention whoever will play Bats in The Brave and the Bold movie too.
Mars Attacks
The scene that actually closed out Snyder’s Justice League involved Harry Lennix’s General Swanwick coming clean as ace alien Martian Manhunter and revealing his secret to Bruce Wayne. The fact that it was the last image of a film that had multiple end tags seemed to suggest Double M would have a huge role going forward, but this will likely be dropped too.
Though, to be clear, aside from a few cases, we don’t know the full breadth of who’s still sticking around, actor-wise and character-wise, in Gunn’s DCU. Some folks will move forward and on into Gods and Monsters – like Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller (who’s getting her own HBO Max series), and probably also anyone Gunn worked with on The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker – so it’s possible Martian Manhunter will stick around as well. Possibly even with Harry Lennix in the role.
Cyborg No More
One actor we know won’t be returning – and how this actually affects the future of the character going forward, we can’t say – is Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League. It was a role that was actually quite essential in Zack Snyder’s cut of the film. After leveling accusations of abuse against director Joss Whedon and claims that DC Films co-chairs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg enabled this alleged behavior, Fisher refused to continue on as Cyborg, which nixed the Cyborg solo movie and the character’s appearance in the upcoming Flash film.
Unrealized Movies
As the DCEU trudged forward – racking up some nice wins with solo adventures like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam! – it was clear that the many, varied projects Warner Bros. had planned would require a second examination. The axe came down on Affleck’s Bat-film (aided by Affleck’s own health issues stemming from his time in production as Batman). We also lost the Jared Leto Joker movie, a Joker/Harley movie, Gotham City Sirens, Aquaman spinoff The Trench, a Wonder Twins flick, a Will Smith Deadshot movie, and a big screen adaptation of Green Lantern Corps – though that last one is still part of Gunn’s slate, just as a streaming series called Lanterns.
And gone is Ava DuVernay’s New Gods, which was co-written by DuVernay and comic scribe Tom King. It should be noted that King became one of James Gunn’s writers and shapers of the Gods and Monsters slate and his award-winning comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is also being adapted into a movie under Gunn’s watch.
And then there’s Batgirl. We don’t know what happened to that one. It’s a mystery. But we’re sure it wasn’t the collaborative work of hundreds of people getting permanently shelved for the purposes of a tax write off. That would be insane.
Of course, we still could get more on some of these teases. The Flash’s use of the multiverse and Batmans – Batmen? – could give us more on Robin, more on the alternate Knightmare future, and perhaps some layovers from Snyder’s super-roster. And even after that movie’s release, Jason Mamoa will return in the long-delayed Aquaman sequel.
But what are some of the stories you wish would continue under Gunn’s watch? Let us know what stories you’re bummed to see go bye bye in the comments. And vote in the poll below!
