Although 2020 was an empty year with little to no films, there are plenty of DC movies releasing after Wonder Woman 1984. Originally scheduled to come out in November 2019, Wonder Woman 1984's release had been moved around a handful of times before ultimately landing on Christmas day - and on HBO Max. It's the dawn of a new age for Warner Bros, a studio that plans to release all of its 2021 movies on the burgeoning streaming service, which has caused quite an uproar.
While the studio as a whole has moved around its 2021 and 2022 slate quite a bit, the upcoming DC movies haven't changed much. Throughout the year, The Batman and The Suicide Squad have been moving through production and post-production, respectively, with plans to release both films within the next year or so still in place. Then there are all the other DC movies in development that continue to push through the late development and pre-production phases without many delays.
Overall, the upcoming DC movies slate is looking healthy in spite of the pandemic, and is in fact bigger than it was at the start of 2022. Now, thanks to HBO Max, there are a few DC TV shows in development that will directly connect to the DCEU - and not in a multiversal way, but actually as prequels (Gotham Central in The Batman's case) and possibly sequels (with regards to The Suicide Squad's Peacemaker spinoff). Besides those, though, DC's future is still about blockbuster movies.
Zack Snyder is currently in post-production on his version of Justice League, which will contain 2.5 hours of new footage and be released exclusively on HBO Max as a 4-hour miniseries. Because so much of Snyder's Justice League cut wasn't included in the theatrical version or was reshot to fit an alternate story, the HBO Max release is practically a new movie for all intents and purposes - but rather than release a 4-hour film or trim it down, the streaming service will debut it as a form of TV show. Furthermore, the new footage not only includes Superman in a black suit but a handful of characters who weren't in the theatrical cut at all, namely Darkseid. Although a specific date hasn't been set, Zack Snyder's Justice League is aiming to release in early 2021.
A sequel to David Ayer's Suicide Squad from 2016, James Gunn's The Suicide Squad sees the return of a handful of characters, such as Amanda Waller, Rick Flag, and Harley Quinn, but it also adds several new villains to Task Force X. Specific story details have been kept under wraps, though the sequel features two teams and takes place on the island of Corto Maltese, where the characters will have to destroy the prison Jotunheim. Given the film is about supervillains risking their lives to shorten their prison sentences and are, thus, sent on dangerous missions, many of them may die. Gunn has teased the deaths of several Task Force X members, including Harley Quinn, after all. The Suicide Squad is scheduled to release on August 6, 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max (for one month).
The first movie in a new trilogy, Matt Reeves' The Batman reboots the famed DC superhero once again, this time taking Bruce Wayne's story back to his second year in crime-fighting. Although there are hints of other superheroes existing in this world, The Batman takes place outside of the core DCEU, but that doesn't mean it's not part of the same multiverse. Starring Robert Pattinson as the titular hero, The Batman features new iterations of James Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth, as well as Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, and Carmine Falcone. It takes place one year after HBO Max's Gotham Central TV show, and will see Batman hunt down the Riddler, a serial killer in Gotham. The Batman was originally slated to release in summer 2021 but is now set to debut on March 4, 2022.
One of the most unexpected superhero movies in development right now is DC Super Pets, an upcoming animated film from Jared Stern, who wrote the script for The LEGO Batman Movie. DC Super Pets will be a CGI-animated movie based on the Legion of Super-Pets team, which consists of Krypto the Superdog, Comet the Super-Horse, Beppo the Super-Monkey, and Streaky the Supercat, with a handful of other superpowered pets joining the team in various incarnations. Not much is known about the film, but it will be written and directed by Stern with Sam Levine co-directing. It's currently set to release on May 20, 2022.
After changing hands several times over the past six years, The Flash movie is finally getting underway with Andy Muschietti directing and Birds of Prey's Christina Hodson writing. Although not an exact adaptation of the Flashpoint comic book story, The Flash will contain elements from that plot and depict a Speed Force multiverse story, one that not only ties together the DCEU but also connects the shared universe to past DC franchises. In addition to Ezra Miller and Ben Affleck reprising their roles as Barry Allen/Flash and Bruce Wayne/Batman, respectively, The Flash movie also stars Michael Keaton, who is returning as the Caped Crusader for the first time since Tim Burton's Batman Returns. More superheroes may join the film, which will reset the DCEU as audiences know it. The Flash is scheduled to release in theaters on November 4, 2022.
James Wan's Aquaman became one of the highest-grossing DC movies of all time, and so, Wan is, of course, coming back to direct Aquaman 2. The sequel features the return of Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman (now King of Atlantis) along with Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Orm, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta. Warner Bros is aiming to begin production on Aquaman 2 in early 2021 for the film to make its current release date of December 16, 2022. While most of the story is being kept secret, Aquaman 2 is confirmed to explore more of the Seven Kingdoms, which were teased in the first film. Furthermore, Aquaman 2's plot could be used to set up the planned, horror-themed spinoff The Trench, which dives into the monsters Aquaman encounters in the original movie.
Coming four years after the first movie hit theaters, David F. Sandberg's Shazam!: Fury of the Gods was originally scheduled to release in April 2022, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, its production and release have both been pushed back. Zachary Levi and Asher Angel will reprise their roles as Shazam and Billy Batson, respectively, with presumably the rest of the young and adult casts returning as well. Although no story details have been revealed, it's been reported that Shazam!: Fury of the Gods will feature three villains - one of whom could be Mister Mind - and have more action scenes with the adult Shazam Family. At the moment, Shazam!: Fury of the Gods is scheduled to release on June 2, 2023.
Perhaps the movie that's been in development the longest, Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam is moving forward through development and, soon, into production. Johnson will portray the villain-turned-anti-hero Black Adam, who is also Shazam's arch-nemesis, in the film that will tell Teth-Adam's origin story as well as introduce the Justice Society of America (the precursor to the Justice League team) into the DCEU. Black Adam will also star Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Aldis Hodge as the classic superhero Hawkman, appearing for the first time in live-action on the big screen after previously being used on TV. Although it was originally slated for December 2021, Black Adam is currently without a release date. It is expected to begin production in spring 2021, which means it'll likely come out in 2022.
