With ‘Batgirl’ Cancelled, and a Ten Year Plan in Place, What is the Future for the DCEU?

When news came that Batgirl was to not see the light of day in either theaters or HBO Max, it came as a shock to pretty much everyone.  The move comes during a time when the future of the DCEU was left highly uncertain; while Aquaman : The Lost Kingdom will release with a heavily reduced role for Amber Heard, following the defamation trial earlier this year, The Flash has seen delay on top of delay, with reports of heavy amounts of reshooting taking place.  It seems that practically everything is going against this film in particular; the controversy with Ezra Miller, multiple delays and reshoots, and a high budget rivaling that of 2017’s Justice League, as opposed to Batgirl’s $70-$90 million budget, it seems like there is no easy answer for what to do with this seemingly misguided franchise.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery

However, new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, David Zaslav, has recently come out after Batgirl’s cancellation to assure fans that under this new regime, the franchise will see a refresh, with legacy characters such as Superman and Batman being given proper attention, with a new ten year plan in place.  As Zaslov states, “You look at Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman — these are brands that are known everywhere in the world.  We have done a reset. We’ve restructured the business where we are going to focus, where there is going to be a team with a 10-year plan focusing just on DC. We believe we can build a much more sustainable business.”  Zaslov would later go on to state that more emphasis would be put upon quality, and ensure no film is released before it is ready.  This is reportedly part of why Batgirl was cancelled, as reports have come out that the quality of the film left much to be desired.

In light of this, many have started to wonder what is to become of this franchise moving forward.

Courtesy of HBO Max

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room; that being the concept of the Snyderverse, which would continue Zack Snyder’s initial vision for the DCEU.  While there were recent reports that suggested that there has been no intention to continue with, or even recognize it, much of the same rhetoric was used when addressing the Snyder Cut during the #ReleasetheSnyderCut days, with multiple articles and executives either denying it’s existence, or stating there were no plans to release it, until that all changed in 2021, when Zack Snyder’s Justice League released on HBO Max.  Upon the film’s release, the 4 hour epic was considered vastly superior to the butchered 2017 cut released in theaters, and it proved to be a hit on HBO Max.  Given the positive reception of the film, it seemed odd for the previous regime to not want to capitalize on it in any capacity; even when detractors of Snyder’s vision initially, praised the Snyder Cut, finding it to improve upon the director’s previous films in the DCEU, Man of Steel and Batman V Superman : Dawn of Justice.  

Credit to Warner Bros.

Rumors and reports suggested that the upcoming The Flash film was indeed set to retcon and reset the DCEU, specifically going against Snyder’s vision.  There is reason to believe this, with it having the return of General Zod, played by Michael Shannon, as well as it being the final appearance of Ben Affleck’s Batman, before being replaced by a returning Michael Keaton.  Henry Cavill’s Superman was set to be released by Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, although Jason Mamoa and Gal Gadot would have returned as Aquaman and Wonder Woman respectively.  While this, admittedly, wouldn’t be hard to believe under the previos regime, with the recent news that Ben Affleck would appear in the second Aquaman film, in addition to the reported heavy number of reshoots The Flash is set to go through, perhaps plans have changed to see Ben Affleck continue his time as the cape crusader.  In addition, given the popularity of Cavill’s Superman, and Zaslov’s previous comments, it’s not unlikely that the new regime may find a way to work with Cavill and Affleck more in the future.  Perhaps it may even lead to a long-awaited Justice League sequel, one which will see the iconic team finally take on Darkseid and his forces from Apokalypse, which fans finally got to see in live action thanks to Zack Snyder’s Justice League.  Even if Snyder doesn’t return as director, there isn’t anything keeping Warner Bros. Discovery from utilizing his ideas and planned storylines, making the necessary adjustments for films which have come out since Zack Snyder originally filmed the movie, and given the similarities to Thanos that Darkseid presents, it makes sense to build up to the character in the long run, especially given the fact that a New Gods film was cancelled largely because of the character’s appearance in the Snyder Cut.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery

Another, possible direction, one that seems more likely for the near future, involves a certain anti-hero/villain played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.  Black Adam is set to release later this October, with it being promised to change the DCEU moving forward.  Considering the character’s relationship with Shazam, a character who will return for Shazam : Fury of the Gods just a few months later in December, it seems like Black Adam is being set up to be something of a Thanos like character, a multimovie threat that will require a team up to take down.  This seems likely as Johnson has expressed interest in facing off against Cavill’s Superman, and there have been discussions on who else the character could face off against, such as Wonder Woman.  This may yet be the plan that Zaslov has in mind for the near future.  Given the fact that it was established in Shazam that the titular character knows Superman personally, with the character making a cameo appearance at the end of the film, it’s likely that the major team up to be seen will be that of Superman and Shazam to stop a rampaging Black Adam, with other character’s like Wonder Woman thrown into the mix.

Of course, the future of the DCEU is still in flux, but many fans are relieved to see a new regime take control of the DCEU with a long-term plan, one that seems to have a clear sense of direction and is dedicated to revitalizing it’s most beloved character’s in the public eye and providing them with a second lease on life.