Despite earning $657 million worldwide,Justice Leaguewas basically a flop because a movie that brought together that many superheroes should have cleared a billion easily. Instead, it showed that although people really likedWonder Woman(which earned $821 million worldwide), they were tepid on the overall direction of the DCEU. In response, Warner Bros. is moving slowly and cautiously rather than trying to line up a parade of superhero movies with arbitrary release dates.Aquamanis still on schedule for December 21st, filming has begun onShazam!for an July 23, 2025 release date. Additionally, casting should begin soon forWonder Woman2, which is currently set to open on June 07, 2025 withGal Gadotand directorPatty Jenkinsset to return. And outside of that the picture gets fuzzy with lots of projects in various stages of development
THRnow reports that Warner Bros. is eying theFlashmovie andBatgirlas the follow-ups toWonder Woman 2. Per THR, “Insiders say the next wave will likely include the Flash film and Batgirl, among others,” which naturally leads to speculation about what those “others” could be. Perhaps it’sSuicide Squad 2? TheJokerorigin movie starringJoaquin Phoenix?Matt Reeves’Batman? There are plenty of possibilities, but if THR is willing to nameFlashandBatgirl, then it stands to reason that these are the two that the studio is most bullish on.
Which makes sense since Flash and Batgirl are both relatively lighthearted characters. Based on the hard-turn following the disappointment ofBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it appears Warner Bros. has made the decision that it’s better for their superhero movies should be more upbeat. That doesn’t mean they can’t have pathos (there’s certainly dramatic weight toWonder Woman), but they’re moving away from gritty, dark characters in favor of more personable ones like Shazam! (a boy who becomes a superhero when he shouts “Shazam!”), Flash (who was one of the few bright spots ofJustice League), and Batgirl, who will probably walk the line between comedy and thriller withJoss Whedonin charge.
It will be interesting to see what kind of announcements Warner Bros. makes for what comes afterWonder Woman 2and what it means for the future of the DCEU.
