The DCEU is now long dead, but the franchise left behind almost as many cancelled projects as completed ones. Years of changing leadership at Warner Bros., conflicting creative visions, and a full-scale reboot from DC Studios meant countless movies were announced, developed, and, in some cases, came surprisingly close to becoming reality before being shelved for good.
From long-awaited sequels and ambitious crossover events to fan-favourite characters who never got their moment in the spotlight, some of these lost projects still sound too good to abandon. Others? Not so much.
With the DCU hitting some highs (Superman) and lows (Supergirl) under James Gunn and Peter Safran, we're looking back at seven cancelled DCEU projects to decide which deserve a second chance—and a few which are better off staying in the vault.
7. Batman Beyond ✅
Michael Keaton reprised his role as Batman in The Flash, but there had been plans for his Dark Knight beyond that. He was first set to serve as a mentor to Barbara Gordon's vigilante in the scrapped Batgirl movie and even shot a cameo for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
With him established as the DCEU's new permanent Caped Crusader, the plan was to build to a Batman Beyond movie. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson was penning the screenplay, and with Robert Pattinson playing a younger Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves' The Batman franchise, the idea was to have the DCEU's Batman pass the mantle to Terry McGinnis.
As if a Batman Beyond movie wasn't already a perfect way to end Keaton's tenure as this iconic character, one idea considered for the project was to have Bruce Wayne rekindle his romance with Michelle Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle/Catwoman. In the new DCU, this would make for a perfect standalone "Elseworlds" project and please fans eager for a live-action Batman Beyond.
6. Man Of Steel 2 ❌
There's a great deal of confusion surrounding when all these DCEU plans changed. However, we know Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson was the driving force behind Henry Cavill's return as Superman (he went around executive Walter Hamada to make it happen).
That happened shortly before Black Adam's release, and with the actor back in the fold, Warner Bros. was mulling over Man of Steel 2. Man of Steel producer and writer Charles Roven pitched a follow-up to former DC Films executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. However, they weren't keen and chose to wait until the new leadership at DC Studios was appointed before forging ahead with anything.
A separate Superman movie pitch from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) was considered, but the studio was similarly unsure about his approach to the character. That left poor old Kal-El in limbo until Gunn decided to reboot the franchise with last July's Superman. Man of Steel 2 wouldn't work in the DCU, even as an "Elseworlds" project, but with Christopher McQuarrie circling the movie at one stage, we can't help but mourn it.
5. Superman vs. Black Adam ✅
Sticking with Superman, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson fancied building the DCEU around himself and Black Adam, and he knew that throwing Cavill's Man of Tomorrow into the mix would help with that (hence why news of the actor's surprise cameo leaked before the movie's release).
DC Studios had other ideas, and that's why Johnson attempted to force the studio's hand (again). That time, it was by leaking financial data about Black Adam and sharing plans for a Hawkman movie he no doubt hoped would get fans behind him. Alas, the movie was so underwhelming that it didn't exactly go as planned.
Still, had he gotten his way, Black Adam would have been followed by Man of Steel 2, Black Adam 2, and then an eventual face-off...which likely wouldn't have included Shazam in any way, shape, or form, given Johnson's apparent disdain for the character. Bringing Johnson back into the fold as a rebooted Black Adam for a clash with David Corenswet's Superman wouldn't be the worst idea, as The Rock still has heaps of fans.
4. Batgirl ✅
Batgirl had almost finished shooting when the order came in from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to scrap it as a tax write-off. Word leaked to the media that the movie was "unreleasable," a claim it was hard to believe given who was involved.
Filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had successfully helmed Bad Boys for Life and episodes of Ms. Marvel for Marvel Studios. Plus, with actors like Leslie Grace, J. K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, and Michael Keaton leading the Batgirl cast, are we really meant to believe that they delivered a complete disaster of a movie here?
This ultimately got caught up in the regime change and an executive's desire to save some cash. It's hard to shake the feeling that we missed out on something special here or, at the very least, a fun adventure for Barbara Gordon, so surely some reshoots and a few tweaks could at least lead to Batgirl getting a streaming release, even if it's as a fully standalone adventure that proves DC Studios values what its fans want?
3. Justice League Dark ❌
A Justice League Dark project had been in the works at Warner Bros. for years. However, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams was ultimately tasked with overseeing a slate of projects revolving around the supernatural superhero team.
Like the rest of the projects he'd taken on as part of an overall deal with the studio, this never really came to anything. Sure, the movie might have happened eventually, and TV shows revolving around Zatanna, John Constantine, and Madame Xanadu were beginning to take shape when DC Studios was formed.
Honestly, given Abrams' work in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, we're not exactly mourning the fact that his time in the DCEU ended with something of a whimper. Still, with James Mangold's Swamp Thing on the back burner, we'd like DC Studios, at the very least, to revisit the Justice League Dark concept sooner rather than later, albeit not with Abrams.
2. Crisis On Infinite Earths ❌
While Johnson has led us all to believe that he was solely responsible for Cavill's Superman return in Black Adam, that isn't strictly true. Yes, he makes it sound like there was no other choice than to go around studio brass to make it happen, but Walter Hamada had his own important plans for the Man of Steel.
While The Flash would end with Superman being written out of reality (and replaced by Supergirl), the endgame was for Cavill to make his grand return in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Would it have been a "welcome back" or a permanent "farewell," though? Well, draw your own conclusions, as Cavill shot a cameo in The Flash that inserted him back into the DCEU.
Hamada had plans to reboot the DCEU, and it's possible Cavill's Clark Kent was going to take centre stage in this movie before making the ultimate sacrifice, likely taking Barry Allen's place from the comics. Ben Affleck was also set to return as Batman here, and as much potential as this had, it should be obvious why it wouldn't fit into the DCU, even as a farewell to the DCEU.
1. Justice League 2 ✅
Warner Bros. reportedly shot several cameos for The Flash before DC Studios was formed. However, we know Gunn left most of them on the cutting room floor (including an ending with Superman, Supergirl, and Keaton's Batman all there to confront Barry Allen in a new timeline).
It's since become clear that the vast majority of DCEU actors are being ditched in the new DCU, and given the dismal box office performance of the "greatest superhero ever made," The Flash 2 certainly won't happen. However, Justice League 2 was among the projects being mulled over by Warner Bros., either pre- or post-Crisis.
This wouldn't have been a follow-up to Zack Snyder's effort, though, and was instead eyed as a fresh start for the superhero team. Gunn needs to make a Justice League (not "Gang") movie a priority, but why not finally relent and let Snyder make his Justice League sequels as a comic or animated movie? It would finally end all those #RestoreTheSnyderVerse demands and has the potential to be a solid hit.
As for the "Ayer Cut" of Suicide Squad, only David Ayer wants that, so hard pass (❌).