Since October, DC Studios has been restructuring like there’s no tomorrow. Just beforeJames GunnandPeter Safrantook over, it was announced thatHenry Cavillwould be returning as Superman in more upcoming DC film projects afterBlack Adam. Sadly, this news was retracted only two months later as plans for a newSuperman feature film without Cavillwere revealed, with Gunn writing the screenplay. At the same time,Patty Jenkinsexited the development of a now-defunct thirdWonder Womanpicture. Even thoughShazam! Fury of the Gods,The FlashandAquaman and The Lost Kingdomare all still expected to be released in 2023, it seems like DC Studios is hoping to phase out the 10-year DC Extended Universe that began withZack Snyder’sMan of Steelin favor of a brand new DCU. Or, at least an adjusted one.
As Gunn, Safran, and company work to rebuild the cinematic DC Universe into something that may eventually rival the likes of the MCU, it seems that more and more heroes from the “Snyderverse” may not be seen again, at least not as they stand now. In fact, it’s been rumored thatAquamanstarJason Momoamay be recast as the anti-hero Lobo, a character that admittedly would suit the formerGame of Thronesstar better than the King of Atlantis. Likewise, despite the fact that Henry Cavill was let go from the role of Superman, James Gunn has stated thatthey’re open to casting Cavillin a non-Superman capacity. This, of course, is all on the tail end ofBen Affleck’s upcoming return as Batman inThe FlashandAquaman and the Lost Kingdom, though it seems thatGunn would rather see him directthan return to the cape and cowl.
What the DCU Doing Is Not Groundbreaking
Corporate and creative restructuring is nothing new in the world of Hollywood. Studios do this all the time and even successful franchises are often rebranded to reach new audiences. With the insane number of reboots and remakes we’ve seen even since the turn of the century, it’s almost a wonder that the DCEU wasn’t rebooted sooner. Heck, the poorTerminatorfranchise was rebooted twice in the meantime! Other franchises have hit the reset button in recent years after commercial and critical failures such as the latestSnake Eyesfilm, a soft reboot for the live-actionG.I. Joeseries, and 2018’sBumblebee, which began a new era forMichael BayTransformersfranchise to be continued withTransformers: Rise of the Beaststhis summer. As Netflix works toreviveThe Chronicles of Narnia, Hasbro scripts a newPower Rangersreboot, and even aHarry Potterreimagining is rumored, it’s clear that for better or worse, this is just how the film business operates.
When Disney bought Lucasfilm, the entireStar WarsExpanded Universe of comic books, video games, novels, and more was removed from the overall canon. This meant that everything outside ofGeorge Lucas' originalStar Warssaga andStar Wars: The Clone Warswas obsolete, which allowed Disney to re-build the greaterStar Warsuniverse from the ground up without having to worry about breaching continuity errors in preparation for what would become the sequel trilogy. But just because the Expanded Universe was rebranded as “Star Wars Legends” didn’t mean that it had no effect on the franchise going forward. In fact, quite the opposite has proven true, especially as time continued and shows likeThe Mandalorianbecame popular.
BecauseStar Wars: The Clone Warsexisted years before the buyout, parts of the Expanded Universe canon had already crept their way into the Cartoon Network series, which meant that even if the Legendsbrand was no longer canon, parts of it still were. As shows likeStar Wars RebelsandThe Mandalorianexpanded on whatThe Clone Warsstarted, more and morematerial from the original EUwas re-inserted back into the canon, albeit with new twists. Among these reintegrations included the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn, an Imperial warlord who originated from the highly praisedTimothy Zahnnovels set post-Return of the Jedi. In recent years, Thrawn has become a massive presence within Disney’sStar Warscanon, with parts of his initial backstory still intact. In fact, Timothy Zahn even wrote a newThrawntrilogy of novels to re-introduce the Grand Admiral back into continuity (with more on the way), and the character is set to re-appear inthe upcomingAhsokaseriesfollowing his arc onStar Wars Rebels.
But what does this have to do with what’s going on over at DC Studios? How does the Star Wars Legends canon relate to Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe? Don’t worry, we’re getting to that.
James Gunn Can Take a Page From Disney’s Book
James Gunn has made it clear that going forward, DC Studios is planning on exploring both a new shared cinematic universe - one somewhat inspired by how the animated seriesJustice League UnlimitedandYoung Justicefunctioned - as well as standalone “Elseworlds” stories. Recently, Gunn confirmed thatMatt Reeves’The Batman, and the spin-offs associated with the Caped Crusader’s most recent outing,will not become a part of the greater DCUand will remain standalone “Elseworlds” stories. Likewise,Jokerand its upcoming musical sequel (co-starringLady Gaga) can be assumed to still be their own thing. So, what does that mean for the shared DC Universe?
Admittedly, we don’t know what Gunn and Safran’s plans for the greater DCU are quite yet, but just like how Disney reset the board when it came to continuingStar Wars, it seems like DC Studios is doing something similar with their cinematic universe. We also know that the upcomingThe Flashfilm was inspired by theGeoff Johns' comic bookFlashpoint, in which the Flash changes the entire universe by traveling through time, only to return to a new, altered reality that’s different from his own. This seems like the perfect launching point for Gunn and Safran to rewrite the DCU, though only time will tell what exactly that’ll look like. Multiverses are big now, and so even if the reality of the Snyderverse is rewritten or ignored, there’s always hope that these characters could one day return, just asBrandon Routh’s Superman fromSuperman Returnsshowed up in the Arrowverse’sCrisis on Infinite Earths. Ironically,Ezra Miller’s Flash cameoed in that crossover too.
But just as how theStar WarsExpanded Universe (now Star Wars Legends) is still beloved by fans today, so willZack Snyder’s Justice Leagueand a host of other DCEU projects continue to be appreciated moving forward. Despite the fact that Henry Cavill is no longer wearing the red cape,Ezra Miller could exit following The Flash, and Jason Mamoa may be recast, not every Justice Leaguer has been confirmed to be exiting the universe or their roles in it. For now, Ben Affleck is still somewhat involved as Batman, andShazam!starZachary Levi, a friend of James Gunn’s, claims that he isn’t going anywhere either. Although a thirdWonder Womanfeature was canceled,Gal Gadothasn’t officially announced whether she’ll be returning for future projects or not - and this is all completely ignoringThe Suicide SquadstarsViola Davis(Amanda Waller),Margot Robbie(Harley Quinn), andJohn Cena(Peacemaker), who seem to be sticking around for the time being.
RELATED:The ‘Birds of Prey’ Characters Deserve Another Chance Amid DCU’s Purge
Having Multiple Universes Within a Franchise Could Help the DCU
While the DC Universe may be shifting, just likeStar Warsbefore it, not everything is changing for the worse. It seems that some of these heroes, such as Batman, Shazam, and possibly Wonder Woman, are here to stay. Though Superman, Aquaman, and The Flash may be rebooted, not unlike how Thrawn continued to exist inStar Warscontinuity with some minor changes, different versions of the Snyderverse heroes may be alive and kicking in James Gunn’s new DCU. Though many, including this author, are heartbroken that Henry Cavill’s Superman will never get a standalone sequel and that Zack Snyder won’t have the chance to complete his epicJustice Leaguetrilogy, it’s now inevitable. And maybe that’s not a bad thing.
In truth, a newly formed DC Universe will allow for a cohesive, well-integrated story to be told, hopefully focusing just as much on the individual characters as it does on building a universe. IfJustice League UnlimitedandYoung Justiceare truly the models for how Gunn and Safran are approaching the new cinematic universe, there’s still hope for individual characters like Batman, Superman, and a host of others to shine through. Plus, DC Comics are known for alternate timelines and universes, so there’s no reason to believe that the Snyderverse will be fully dead and buried.
Nevertheless, if DC Studios wants to tell well-made, character-driven stories, its focus on Elseworlds films as well as shared universe ones will set it apart from Marvel Studios. Having bothRobert Pattinson’sThe Batmanuniverse and a mainstream DCU Batman might actually work wonders for DC Studios. And again, who’s to say that old stories couldn’t be revisited again in some way or another?
DC Isn’t the Only IP Giant to Do This, the MCU Is Doing It Too
Just asStar Warshas been able to successfully reincorporate elements from some of the greatest non-canon stories back into the mainstream narrative, Marvel Studios has in recent years too. Miraculously, Marvel successfully brought back former Spider-Men inSpider-Man: No Way Home, alternate universe X-Men inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and even re-castedCharlie Coxas a different variant of Daredevil inShe-Hulk. Somehow, they were able to use old “Marvel Legacy” films and characters to better expand their universe (with more rumored to be on the way), and if they’ve been able to do it, there’s no reason DC Studios couldn’t give it the old college try themselves. Especially since the CW shows already pulled it off a few years back when they revived characters fromSmallville,Birds of Prey,Batman, the ‘90sThe Flashseries, and evenSuperman Returns.
No doubt, there’s still hope that James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios will be able to recreate this same magic going forward. Whether that means restoring the best parts of the Snyderverse into the upcoming cinematic universe or just possibly exploring this world again one day through the DC Multiverse, there’s still hope. To this day, old Star Wars Legends stories are still in print andadored by fans around the world. For many, theseStar Warsstories are more canon to them than anything Disney has done, and the same will likely be true for some regarding the old DC Extended Universe. But until we know anything for sure, we’ll just have to wait and see, and hope for a better tomorrow.
