The DC Extended Universe wasn't exactly a success, though it would be wrong to say that it didn't deliver some good stories and box office hits. Still, something needed to change, and that's why DC Studios was formed at the start of 2023.
Over the past two years, we've seen the DCU slowly start to take shape. Superman will kick things off properly this summer after Creature Commandos gave us a taste of what's to come, and beyond that, the slate is - mostly - shaping up to be in equal parts intriguing and exciting.
However, when DC Studios decided to take these characters back to the drawing board, there were some casualties. James Gunn has enlisted many of his friends to reprise their respective DC roles, but with a fresh start on the horizon, many movies and ideas were scrapped.
It's those we're taking a closer look at today. So, to see which potentially awesome DCEU movies will now never see the light of day, click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
8. Batman Beyond
Michael Keaton returned 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, all of this was going to culminate with a Batman Beyond movie. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson was penning the screenplay, and with Robert Pattinson playing 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 for his Bruce Wayne to rekindle his romance with Michelle Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle/Catwoman.
7. Wonder Woman 3
One of the most high-profile casualties of DC Studios' formation was Wonder Woman 3. It was said that Patty Jenkins' vision for the threequel didn't fit into what Gunn and Safran had planned for the DCU, and vague promises about the project being revisited were half-heartedly made.
Gal Gadot has insisted that she'll reprise the role of Diana Prince, but reliable insiders claim otherwise, and Gunn - who is quick to debunk even the most minor of rumours - remains silent about the situation (Jenkins, however, has said she's moved on from the threequel).
It's obvious now that Gadot's time as Wonder Woman is over and that Wonder Woman 3, in any form, will no longer happen. A new version of the Amazon Warrior will almost certainly be cast down the line, but we'd bet on it being a younger actress that better fits in alongside David Corenswet's Superman and whoever plays the next Batman.
6. Man Of Steel 2
There's a great deal of confusion surrounding when all these DCEU plans changed. However, we now know Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson was responsible for going around Walter Hamada to bring Henry Cavill back as Superman.
That happened shortly before Black Adam's release, and with the actor back in the fold, Warner Bros. started mulling over Man of Steel 2 ideas. 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 for the new leadership at DC Studios to be 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 this July's Superman.
5. Superman vs. Black Adam
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson quite 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 once again force the studio's hand; this 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, it didn't exactly go as planned.
Still, had he gotten his way, Black Adam was going to be 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.
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 Batgirl's cast, are we really meant to believe that they delivered a complete disaster of a movie here?
This ultimately got caught up in a change of regimes 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.
3. J.J. Abrams' 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 taking charge of 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 as part of the DCEU ended with something of a whimper. With a new Swamp Thing movie from James Mangold somewhere on the horizon, perhaps this team will get a second chance in the DCU.
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 permanent "farewell," though? Heck, Cavill even shot a cameo in The Flash that inserted him back into the DCEU.
Hamada had plans to reboot the DCEU, and chances are 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.
1. Justice League 2
Warner Bros. is said to have shot several cameos for The Flash before DC Studios was formed, though we know now 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; as of now, we don't know whether DC Studios has something similar planned because the team hasn't been mentioned. Gunn has alluded to, but not confirmed, a future team-up project.