Warner Bros. are taking a very different approach to their Cinematic Universe (or "Extended Universe" as they're calling it) than Marvel, with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League introducing the heroes before their origin stories are presumably told in solo outings which are going to follow those movies. It all begins with Batman v Superman next year though. "What we are doing is ground up all the way. It is one giant story," director Zack Snyder explains. "The first thing we had was the Justice League concept. The other movies, in a way, have to support that. That is our Wonder Woman, our Aquaman. They have their own creative concepts that supports them, but they do serve Justice League in the coming together of those heroes."
That won't restrict those in charge of the other heroes too much as the director goes on to explain that the other filmmakers contributing to the DC Extended Universe will have complete creative freedom, albeit with him keeping a very close eye on them. "I want all the other directors of the other films to be able to stretch their legs and do what they want, but at the same time there is a big interconnected universe. I have given everyone amazing access to our story, to me, and what we are doing. All the films have like minded conceptual jumping on points." Snyder wasn't willing to get into specifics, but he did tease what the magazine describes as an "elusive" cameo for Aquaman in Dawn of Justice by promising only that, "You will understand he exists."
Now, many fans have accused Warner Bros. of not having any sort of plan, but the magazine was lucky enough to see a board which maps out how and where the movies take place in the DC Extended Universe and how they all link up to wach other. Producer Deborah Snyder describes that as, "Kind of a timeline of what every movie is, where it is going, and where the films fit in relation to each other." Fellow producer Charles Roven meanwhile went into even further details about how they're ensuring that these movies all exist in the same world while not restricting their directors and writers too much. "We call it the sandbox. It has borders around it, but everybody gets to play in the sandbox. On Suicide Squad, David Ayer has a lot of specific control over his area of the sandbox. Even if he crosses the line a little bit, we see if we can push our boundaries back a little bit." With Justice League set to start shooting next Spring, expect to hear more soon!