After the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League later this year, DC fans may have to endure a major dry spell. The DCEU has experienced a turbulent year after the lackluster reception to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, and it's just now putting the pieces back together with the release of Wonder Woman. The first film on the agenda after Justice League is James Wan's Aquaman, which will debut in December 2018, and after that, it looks like the next films on DC's schedule might be Justice League Dark and Batgirl.
It's worth remembering that the DC slate has shuffled several different times over the course of the last year, but things do seem to be leveling out. Now that the DCEU has started to find some traction, Aquaman will take the plate as the next solo movie after Justice League, with Justice League Dark and Batgirl currently standing as the next two DC films to begin production, although neither film has a set release date. DC appears to see the value in branching off and trying new things, and both of these films are indicative of a growing trend of bold moves in this universe.
Warner Bros. has been trying to get a Justice League Dark movie off of the ground for quite some time, and now it looks like we're closer than ever towards seeing it become a reality. Even with the recent departure of Doug Liman from the film, DC's supernatural team of gothic heroes are seemingly further along in the development process than most other projects on the DC slate.
Based on the relative success of the Justice League Dark animated film, we would bank on at least one central member of the DCEU making an appearance to help bridge the gap between the Justice League and its mystical counterpart. Smart money would be to bet on Batman, but any Justice League hero could make a good addition to this roster.
Beyond Justice League Dark, the Batgirl movie is where things start to get fascinating. Between his work on the Justice League reshoots and his attachment to Barbara Gordon's solo film, it's fairly obvious that DC has quite a bit of faith in Joss Whedon to get this project off of the ground. The film will mark Batgirl's first live-action DC movie appearance since Alicia Silverstone played the character in Batman & Robin, and the film feels like a perfect way to flesh out the Gotham corner of the DCEU without focusing solely on The Caped Crusader.
Having said that, Batgirl isn't the only Bat-Family project currently in development. Matt Reeves is in the process of developing Ben Affleck's solo Batman movie, and LEGO Batman Movie director Chris McKay is also attached to helm a Nightwing film as well. DC's bread has always been buttered in the Batman corner of the DC mythos, so we can't say that we're surprised to see the company fall back on a proven commodity.
Again, it's worth repeating that this report from THR could change at some point in the near future. The DC slate has proven incredibly fluid over the course of the last year, and this could easily receive another update depending on the reception Justice League receives later this year. That said, this is a strong direction in which to take the DCEU, and we're incredibly excited to see what happens with Justice League Dark and Batgirl after the release of Aquaman.
For now, make sure to check out Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, which is currently in theaters. Justice League will debut later this year on November 17, and Aquaman will premiere next winter on December 21, 2018.
