We’ve known for a while that DC Comics and Warner Bros. have big blockbuster plans set up in the next couple of years, but today those plans got even bigger. It was officially announced that the two companies now have eleven titles set to come out between now and 2020, with new unidentified projects being dated for October 5, 2018 and November 1, 2019. Sadly, there aren’t any details available regarding precisely what these films are going to be, but having seen what the movies have to offer so far and have planned coming up, we have a few guesses as to what they could be.
With The Flash, Aquaman, Shazam, and Justice League: Part Two all set to also come out in 2018 and 2019, those two years will definitely be huge for the DC Cinematic Universe, and certainly limit certain possibilities. That being said, we have ideas for six different features that could wind up taking over the announced release dates:
A Solo Batman Movie
This is perhaps the most obvious direction DC and Warner Bros. could go in for either of the two new release dates – though we would bet that a new solo Batman movie would be a pretty perfect fit for October 5, 2018. It’s true that the character got a bit of a divisive reaction for his role in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but the good news is that most fans took more issue with the characterization than the portrayal – with Ben Affleck getting high marks for his performance.
This would be the eighth solo Batman movie that we’ve seen going back to Tim Burton’s take from 1989, but the truth is that there’s an endless number of new directions for the project to go in. Certainly one candidate would be a take on the famed "Death In The Family" storyline, which saw The Joker murder Jason Todd a.k.a. Robin. This famous comic book event was teased in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, though it would require the solo film to either be a prequel or feature a whole lotta flashbacks.
Lobo
If Warner Bros. and DC decide that they would like to have their own Deadpool-like feature, which focuses more on the funny and adult-oriented content than big scale action, Lobo would be a fantastic direction for them to turn. It’s probably a story that doesn’t need to be told until after all of Justice League plays out – pinning it for the November 1, 2019 slot – but it would be a great way to introduce a new flavor and tone to the continuity while also keeping things on the darker side.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Lobo is an alien mercenary/bounty hunter who travels around the stars on his special motorcycle doing missions and causing chaos. Thanks to his alien origins, he is not just your typical immoral, cigar-chomping pain in the ass for Justice League members, but an immortal pain in the ass as well. In addition to its long history of development, here’s been recent buzz about this project’s forward motion, and it’s not hard to imagine the studio taking it to the finish line.
Suicide Squad 2 Or Some Form Of Spin-Off
Given its diverse ensemble of characters, Suicide Squad is an obvious candidate in the early slate of DC Cinematic Universe films to get a direct sequel, though there are two major potential roadblocks that stand in the way: the critical and financial success of David Ayer’s movie. If the August release winds up being successful in one of the two areas, we could easily see a Suicide Squad 2 or a related spin-off movie coming on November 1, 2019.
So what do I mean by the "or" option here? Well, by the nature of being a team film, Suicide Squad 2 could easily be a whole new adventure featuring an entirely new lineup of stars; but because of the presence of important characters like The Joker and Harley Quinn, it’s possible that one of the standouts of the first Suicide Squad could wind up getting their very own solo movie. Trailers have already given us enough reason to believe that a Harley Quinn feature starring Margot Robbie could be a blast.
Booster Gold and The Blue Beetle
Like Lobo, this is another project that could be used to slightly course-correct the larger tone being established within the DC Cinematic Universe. Booster Gold is a showboating con-man from the future who used time travel, stolen technology and knowledge of history to make himself look like a superhero; and Blue Beetle is a genius scientist who built his own supersuit and is a brilliant spy. The two men are the best of friends, and their adventures together could make for an amazing feature to come out on October 5, 2018.
Not only could a Booster Gold And The Blue Beetle movie make for a great superhero take on a buddy movie, but being between Justice League Part 1 and Part 2 could also position it as a big part of the second half of the blockbuster story. Perhaps the titular team finds that they still need more help against the foe they are fighting and reach out to more team members – including the men in gold and blue. There’s been buzz about this project for a while now, and this would be a fantastic moment for Warner Bros. and DC to start serious development.
Teen Titans
There is a section of DC fans who have had a beef about the direction the comics have taken Cyborg in recent years, using the New 52 relaunch from a few years ago to reintroduce Victor Stone as a founding member of the Justice League instead a core member of the Teen Titans (as he had been for decades). As hinted at in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, this controversial change has been included in the DC Cinematic Universe as well, but there is a way for Warner Bros. and DC to potentially have their cake and eat it too: make a Teen Titans movie November 1, 2019 and having Cyborg play some kind of a role.
The timing here is a bit tricky, as the release date is sandwiched between Justice League Part 2 and the Cyborg solo movie scheduled for April 2020, meaning that actor Ray Fisher would potentially be playing his superhero character in three straight DCCU movies, but that could turn out to be a great thing if he winds up being super popular amongst fans. Above all, though, it's a great way to introduce characters like Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl and more - albeit with their characters slightly tweaked to better fit everything that's been happening in the larger continuity.
Legion Of Super-Heroes
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has the adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy as a way to step away from the larger continuity and tell some cool sci-fi stories, and that’s exactly what Legion Of Super-Heroes could provide for the growing lineup of DC Comics-based films. If positioned on October 5, 2018, between the first and second Justice League titles, the future-set story could be a nice reprieve from everything that’s going on while also set up the potential for a special in-universe crossover.
The Legion of Super-Heroes were first introduced to the comics as a group of time travelers from the 30th and 31st centuries who occasionally visited Superman when he was young (a.k.a. Superboy), but within their own series the group had more than their own fair share of special adventures. A potential issue with this project is the fact that the CBS series Supergirl has recently teased that they could be doing their own version of the team on television, but the small screen isn’t stopping the DCCU from making a big screen version of Barry Allen, right?
