The DC Extended Universe is not quite the shared cinematic universe fans were expecting when it first debuted with Man of Steel, and after a few missteps that have already led to reboots, the DCEU is a dying entity as the studio has started to focus more on standalone films like Joker, which recently brought home a couple of Academy Awards.
However, when the DCEU was still going strong there were a number of spin-off films rumored and announced that we would still love to see make it to the big screen alongside other DCEU films like the recently released Birds of Prey and the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984.
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS
Margot Robbie starred as Harley Quinn in 2016’s Suicide Squad, and while the film didn’t impress critically, Harley was a hit and a number of spin-off films were rumored such as Harley & Joker, which would have reteamed Robbie with Suicide Squad’s Jared Leto as Joker.
While Harley would eventually factor heavily into the recently released Birds of Prey film, we’re all still waiting for David Ayer’s rumored follow-up to Suicide Squad, which would have followed Harley Quinn as she worked alongside fellow villains Poison Ivy and Catwoman in Gotham City Sirens. The film is still rumored though it seems unlikely after Birds of Prey.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
Fans have been waiting for the long-rumored adaptation of Justice League Dark since we heard the first whispers of a shared cinematic DC universe. The JLD is the supernatural wing of the Justice League and features characters like Zatanna, Deadman, John Constantine, Swamp Thing, and recent versions of the team have even been led by Wonder Woman.
We’ve heard all kinds of names attached to the project from horror legend Guillermo del Toro to most recently J.J. Abrams, who revealed plans to bring the JLD to theaters as well as TV. While it’s reassuring to see movement after so many years, we’re still hoping to see a horror-fueled take on Justice League Dark.
THE TRENCH
The DCEU moved a bit quicker than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which set the bar as it slowly introduced the various characters that would make up The Avengers. Warner Bros. went the opposite route by teasing the various members of the League first in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and then rolling the characters out in solo films, such as 2018’s Aquaman.
James Wan’s solo film introduced the deep-sea monsters known as The Trench, who featured in a horrifying scene in the film but are ripe for further exploration on the big screen. Wan has stated his desire to revisit The Trench though we haven’t heard much about the film since.
BATGIRL
Plans for a Batgirl film began even before the release of Justice League when Joss Whedon was brought on board to write and direct the film. Whedon would eventually go on to finish Justice League after Zack Snyder’s departure, though he shortly announced his departure from Batgirl.
The film has largely been in limbo as Warner Bros. went ahead with another Batman reboot, though recent casting rumors placing Kaitlyn Dever in the role and possible ties to The Batman have made Batgirl a possibility once again.
CYBORG
Initial plans for the DCEU after Justice League saw solo films for each of the main characters like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, though a Flash film starring Ezra Miller went through a number of difficulties and has only recently renewed production. Ray Fisher rounded out the main cast of Justice League as Victor Stone/Cyborg, who was also slated for a big-budget solo film.
Unfortunately cuts to Justice League minimized Cyborg’s origins and plans for his own film morphed into a buddy movie with the Flash until they fell off the slate altogether. While a new version of Cyborg has appeared on DC Universe’s Doom Patrol, we still want to see Ray Fisher’s Cyborg explored the way Zack Snyder had originally intended and beyond.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS
Even DC’s plans for Justice League changed prior to the release, as initial promos featured a “Unite The Seven” tagline yet only six members appeared in the film, with the seventh largely believed to have been Green Lantern. While a GL did appear in a flashback scene in JL, it wouldn’t see the galactic force appear until Green Lantern Corps.
Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to go, as Green Lantern Corps is likely going to miss its original 2020 release date after Warner Bros. and DC Films altered their release plans. The movie is allegedly still being developed by Geoff Johns, though the announcement of the upcoming Green Lantern series on HBOMax has put the film’s future in question.
NIGHTWING
It’s unclear whether the Nightwing movie that was announced in 2017 is connected to the former DCEU universe, the upcoming The Batman reboot, or will act as a standalone like Joker, but director Chris McKay has been attached to the project for a while.
With so many separate Bat-projects in the works, it would be easy to see one fall behind as DC Films moves forward in new directions, and with Nightwing’s appearance in DC Universe’s Titans series, it would make this project most likely to be on the chopping block. However, we’re still holding out hope we get to see the action-heavy story-driven film McKay wanted to make.
NEW GODS
We’ve seen quite a few post-Justice League reveals from director Zack Snyder, which have teased a different villain for the original two-part film. Darkseid would have proven to be a much more memorable villain for the League to face off against, and he would have introduced the larger world of the New Gods, which was only teased by Steppenwolf and the Parademons.
Thankfully DC Films announced that director Ava DuVernay was attached to a New Gods film focusing on the characters first created by Jack “The King” Kirby and teased briefly in Justice League. The last we heard DuVernay was working with Mister Miracle author Tom King on the script, and we’re hoping to hear some solid news about the film soon.
DEATHSTROKE
Following the appearance of Deathstroke in a post-credit scene of Justice League, a solo film for the character was rumored with Joe Manganiello set to reprise his role. The Raid director Gareth Evans even revealed he had pitched a gritty action film to DC, though his official involvement was never announced.
Manganiello’s short stint as Deathstroke may be one of the greatest casualties of DC Films’ move away from a shared cinematic universe, as the character was clearly included in Justice League to set up his future involvement in that franchise alongside Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. While these characters’ future in the DCEU is murky at best, we’d still love to see Manganiello’s Deathstroke.
SUPERGIRL
A standalone film for Supergirl was announced with Oren Uziel set to pen the script, though rumors of a Supergirl film in the DCEU have been brewing since Man of Steel revealed an open stasis pod on the Kryptonian ship that crashed on Earth, though the present film plans wouldn’t necessarily work with this possible beginning.
If we’re being honest here, the movie we really want to see is a Man of Steel sequel that brings Henry Cavill back to the role and potentially introduces a new version of Supergirl to then spin-off on her own, as a stand-alone movie will tread much of the same ground as Man of Steel and the Supergirl TV series.
