Okay, looks like Warner Bros. and DC Comics finally decided to show their hand. While many a DC fan has had to put on a brave face and confidently reassure others that the DC Cinematic Universe will eventually catch up to Marvel, even with the 8-year head start, there’s often a bit of hesitation. DC’s Cinematic foundation started on shaky ground among fans with the divisive Man of Steel and the ever-growing cast of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice still has us scratching our heads over the nature of all the reported cameos. Instead of building their world, Warner Bros. and DC looked like they were trying their damnedest to throw every hero in the DC Universe into one film, reversing Marvel’s formula of solo movies leading to a team up film. It also didn’t help that WB pushed back the release of Dawn of Justice to May of 2016 only to push it up to March in order to avoid direct box office conflict with Captain America 3. And even though WB/DC claimed to have nine movies lined up through 2020, Marvel still trumped them with films scheduled for release through 2028.
Yesterday, however, WB/DC, after sporadic announcements about their films including the casting of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Black Adam for the upcoming Shazam movie, finally gave us a map of their cinematic universe through 2020.
Obviously most of these films aren’t surprising. We’ve known about Justice League and Shazam for a while and Suicide Squad was only recently announced. The most surprising part of this lineup is the splitting up of Justice League into two films, something we’ve only seen with the final movies of book adaptation series, and their placement in the order; part one will follow the Wonder Woman solo movie with part two released two years later after solo movies for the Flash, Aquaman, and Shazam. It’s an odd thing to do when one would logically assume the two films would be one continuous story. Breaking them up with three solo films, presumably origin stories, in the middle seems like a bit of a gamble. Of course, the two Justice League movies could technically be standalone movies with the second part acting as an extension of the finished story from part one with the films sandwiched between adding to the build up. Or they could be a bunch of solo origin stories with no connection to the Justice League narrative. Either scenario is likely until plot details are confirmed – the Schrödinger’s cat of fan speculation, if you will.
Oh, and before I forget…
Ahem!
OHMYGODWE’REGETTINGAWONDERWOMANSOLOMOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, Sam, calm down. Deep breaths. In and out. There we go. Now…continue.
So, yeah, we’re actually going to get a Wonder Woman solo film before Justice League! The assumption is it will be some sort of origin story since producer Charles Roven recently let slip that her backstory would be more in line with the New 52 comics where Diana learns she’s a demigod, the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. The solo movie could potentially piggyback off of Diana/Wonder Woman’s cameo (however large the role is) in Batman v Superman, telling her origin in its entirety for the cinematic universe. Or the film could go with what seems to be the most popular narrative structure of WB/DC, non-linear storytelling with more flashbacks than you can shake a stick at. One can only hope that the creative team selected for the project has something better up their sleeve. And, sorry Marvel, but looks like DC’s beating you to the female superhero solo movie. Better get cracking on a Black Widow or a Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel movie STAT.
The announcement also confirmed the casting of Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman and Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash. Momoa’s rumored attachment to playing Aquaman has been around for so long I think we’re all breathing easier now that the cat’s finally out of the bag. The casting of Miller as Barry Allen is definitely an interesting one. While Grant Gustin embodies aspects of the Silver Age Barry, in personality and looks, on television, Miller’s casting appears to be more on point with Zack Snyder’s atypical casting decisions. With the myriad casting rumors going around about every other character, Flash seemed to be one of the furthest from our minds. Though now that Miller is confirmed for the role, I’m genuinely interested to see what he brings to Barry on the big screen.
Momoa’s casting is easily the most inspired choice and yet he’s the most radical departure from his comic book counterpart. Arthur Curry, in the comics, has been Whitey McBlonderson since his inception, but putting Momoa, a man of Pacific Islander heritage, in the role feels almost like a “well duh!” moment of realization. Not only does it further diversify the cast, but it shows that the casting director, Snyder, and hopefully some of the producers are thinking more about what works for the character rather than strictly adhering to the comics. Perhaps Momoa’s casting could affect the comics should he prove likeable enough to audiences. 
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pumped for the future of comic book movies. In my world, there isn’t a war between Marvel and DC movies. I get to watch all of them, so how could I possibly lose? Okay, there are ways I could lose, but right now I need to live in my delusions of a well crafted universe for the DC Comics characters I love. There are a few things worth noting, though. One, the list doesn’t include planned solo movies for Batman and Superman, which WB is totally gonna do because do I really need to explain it to you? Two, Guillermo Del Toro’s Justice League Dark and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Sandman movies are still in the wings for the time being. Whether WB plans to add them to the lineup or keep them in development hell remains to be seen.
Oh and apparently Green Lantern is getting rebooted. So…Hal Jordan again or can we just skip over to John Stewart?
The Maniacal Geek 