Warner Bros. and DC have officially confirmed that filmmaker Zack Snyder will direct a Justice League movie for the studios, as the followup to his Batman vs. Superman project and, in turn, the final installment in Sndyer’s Superman movie trilogy that began with Man of Steel. The Batman/Superman movie is currently scheduled to open in theaters in May 2016, while the Justice League feature may arrive by 2018 – though, there are conflicting claims on that front, as Snder is rumored to shoot both films back-to-back for release in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Beyond that, however, it’s not entirely clear yet what lies ahead for the world of DC comics-based live-action cinema. David S. Goyer – who is confirmed to be working on a number of gestating DC movie/TV shows in development – has said that WB/DC doesn’t have a concrete plan for building a “cohesive” universe, unlike how Marvel Studios has its shared universe roughly mapped out to 2028. Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox and Sony have an organized timeline for Marvel movie releases on through to 2018, with additional superhero films having already been touted by executives (who’re no doubt keen to learn which of these films are of the greatest interest to the paying public).
In the past, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson has likewise name-dropped several DC comic adaptations – The Sandman, Metal Men, Fables, Justice League, and Aquaman to be exact – as (among other things) a way of gauging whether or not there’s really a significant demand for such projects – in particular, the ones based on niche properties. According to The Wall Street Journal, DC currently has a total of eleven comic book film adaptations in some form of active development right now (not including any upcoming DC TV shows, mind you).
![Warner Bros. Has 11 DC Comics Movies in Development](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Dwayne-Johnson-DC-Movies-Batman-vs.-Superman-2015.jpg)
Besides Justice League and Batman vs. Superman, that list (according to WSJ) for sure includes the aforementioned Metal Men and Fables movies, as well as 100 Bullets and Shazam. That the latter is moving forward is of particular interest, as on this week’s Screen Rant Underground Podcast our editors discussed how the Shazam character – once also known as Captain Marvel – is a possibility for the DC character that Dwayne Johnson is eyed to play, going by the actor’s list of qualities for his mystery role in the DC movie universe.
Seeing how The Sandman is also confirmed to be in development right now (with Joseph Gordon-Levitt possibly directing), that leaves four other developing DC movies unaccounted for. Here are a few of the more obvious potential titles that could be on that list:
- Justice League Dark, a film about a team of supernatural-powered superheroes and/or character associated with the occult (John Constantine, Swamp Thing, etc.) that Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pacific Rim) has been talking about making for the past couple years.
- Wonder Woman, a movie that Gal Gadot – who is playing the titular character in Batman vs. Superman – is reported to be contracted for. Besides fans having demanded a solo vehicle for the Amazonian warrior for years, this project is one that WB executives have spoken about publicly within the past 6-7 months (no doubt, in part the name-dropping has been to test the waters for such a project).
- Aquaman, which is another solo vehicle for a Justice League member that WB heads have been “casually” hinting at during conversations with the press in recent times. The question now is who will play the Atlantean superhero – with Jason Momoa rumored as a possibility, assuming that he has, in fact, signed on for a role in Batman vs. Superman (which isn’t confirmed yet).
![Wonder Woman Art Stars](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Wonder-Woman-Art-Stars.jpg)
There are other feasible titles that could be on the list of 11 DC movies in active development, such as Suicide Squad and Deathstroke – projects that were heavily rumored to be happening last year, when reports started making the rounds that WB could begin to churn out multiple lower-budgeted DC film adaptations on a yearly basis on the future. All in all, it’s quite the eclectic collection of potential DC comic book properties that might conceivably be making their way to the big screen sometime in the foreseeable future.
How about it – which DC movies are you hoping will be made over the next 5-10 years (and beyond)? Which ones do you suspect are included as part of the aforementioned 11 DC films?
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Batman vs. Superman is currently scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on May 6th, 2016, followed by Justice League some time thereafter.