The DC film universe is a confusing one. Currently we're not too sure who is playing which character or what is really going with any of the main DC comics characters, such as; Batman, Superman, The Flash and Green Lantern. Fans are divided on the recent portrayal of most of those characters, Wonder Woman being the one character receiving near universal appraise.
While the quality of the DCEU is a debate not needed to be discussed, as both sides stand firmly by their beliefs, it is seeming more likely every day that the DCEU as we know it, is coming to an end. With rumours of Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill out as DC's big two (Batman and Superman respectively) circulating around comic book news sites, the future of the DC film universe seems shaky at best.
I am here to share with you my idea for a DC universe moving forward. This does not reflect my opinion on the current DC Film Universe one way or another, but it is instead something I have been thinking, in the event that Warner Brothers decides to head in a different direction.
With
Pattie Jenkins having stated, according to a previous
CBM article that
Wonder Woman 1984 is not a sequel to
2017's Wonder Woman, we are left with the question of how this is? Well Wonder Woman is technically speaking, a sequel to
2016's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. This is shown through email correspondences between Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince, following a plot thread from the previously mentioned film, which ties it firmly into that universe.
While it might not seem like a big deal, it is. Wonder Woman's journey in the DCEU is currently described as, after Steve Trevor died, she gave up on mankind until Batman asked for her help. If this wasn't the case, she'd surely be a public figure that someone such as Bruce Wayne would have heard of by now. So in my theory,
Wonder Woman 1984 is not a sequel to Wonder Woman because it does not care about the previously established DC canon.
2017's Wonder Woman, may still be viewed as a general origin to the character, but it is not necesarilly tied in 100%.
So where am I going with this? Something that made me curious about
Wonder Woman 1984 is the date. It sits between two of Hollywoods most iconic portrayals of Batman and Superman on film.
Richard Donner's Superman I & II (Donner Cut) and
Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns. Therefore my idea for a continued film universe is to utilize the Donner Superman films and Burton Batman films as the introduction for their respective characters and ultimately include
Pattie Jenkins' Wonder Woman films as her characters intro to the universe.
A situation like this can lead to new universes with a universally praised previous canon, and a unmapped canvas for future to be announced DC projects. And of course people will complain that the Burton Bat-suit is dated, or stuff like that, but there is no reason the characters need to resemble shot for shot their original portrayals. In this event you will have established characters existing in the DC film universe such as a Catwoman, The Joker and Lex Luthor, while leaving out the bad taste of both series' respective sequels. Now we have Wonder Woman with near universal mass apeal, Superman with an optimism that people think have been missing and Batman with his own dark and unique world as the bases of your world.
With rumours of Matt Reeve's Batman film potentially following a younger Bruce Wayne as stated in this
CBM article, and murmers of it being set in the past, why couldn't it be a spiritual sequel to the Burton Batman films without having to follow their template exactly? And while I know that the rumours of Penguin being the potential villain suggest that my theory is unlikely, that has not been confirmed by anyone at Warner Brother's, DC or working on the project.
Now we get to the awkward part. What about Aquaman and Shazam? They're clearly set modern day, they can't be in this old 1980's film universe. And well you are right. I think those characters would have to be the last remnants of the previous DC universe. Though reshoots on the recent Shazam movie, as announced in this
CBM article could potentially change the entire setting of the film and remove it from the current DCEU. Those shots of newspapers and batarangs from Freddy's Desk could easily be manipulated to be replaced with the events of the previously mentioned Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman films.
Aquaman on the other hand would probably be stuck in the DCEU. But that is not necesarilly a bad thing. James Wan may have more freedom with future installments if he doesn't have to worry about connecting them to future tie in films.
Then there is Todd Phillips' Joker film starring Joaquin Phoenix which is also set in the 1980's. While I don't believe this film would be connected to any future installments, it would be cool if he was inspired by the work Napier did in Tim Burton's Batman and rose up as a new Clown Prince of Crime, it is highly unlikely. And while Burton's film came out in 1989 and Joker is set to take place in 1981, thats not a big deal. But again, very unlikely.
Future films such as Birds of Prey could take place in the past, really we have no idea. Other films such as the Flash might even be completely new concepts, ignoring Ezra Millers previous portrayal, although nothing is to say they wouldn't keep him on board. The James Gunn penned Suicide Squad Sequel, is said to be a reimagining of the franchise. Not really a sequel at all. Sure he'll probably keep Margot Robbie, but that doesn't mean this movie needs to acknowledge the previous David Ayer version of Suicide Squad. She could simply state that she's been on one mission prior for Waller, although this movie would also take place in the past.
There have also been rumours of a potential Supergirl film being set in the past (I can't remember where I read that one), it could very easily pass as a sequel to 1980's Superman II.
Gal Gadot could go on in starring in two different universe versions of Justice League, and really it's not that big a deal. In the animated universe Kevin Conroy has voiced Batman in several different universes and variations. Sure voice acting isn't the same as live action portrayal, but wouldn't it be satisfying to see Gal Gadot playing Wonder Woman, regardless of the universe it's set in? Have a loose canon.
Thanks for reading my rant guys. I know it's weird, you don't have to be mean about it. I just like thinking this stuff up.