Last weekend was huge for DC entertainment. The film slate, and a few of the television series, showcased footage and panel presentations to get fans hyped about what’s to come, which helped us get very excited about the next stage in DC storytelling. We knew that a few of these movies were coming. Movies like Wonder Woman 84 and The Suicide Squad have actual release dates. But DC FanDome also allowed us to start beating the drum for projects that were in early stages of pre-production, and everyone brought the marketing heat.
We wanted to run down the six DC movies that we’re more excited about following their presentations at DC FanDome. These movies hooked us either with their footage, the passion displayed by a director or cast, or a combination of the two. Tell us which DC movie you walked away from DC FanDome feeling the most excited about as we head into the waiting period.
The Flash
The Flash seems like a troubled production. It has changed directors numerous times, and has shuffled through multiple script attempts, without moving forward. Irony, for a story about the fastest human on the planet. So it was incredibly encouraging to hear specific details about The Flash from current (and final) director Andy Muschietti, who previously has helmed both IT and IT Chapter Two for Warner Bros.
The panel followed up on some exciting news breaks heading into DC FanDome, notably that both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton would be returning to their respective versions of Batman as Ezra Miller’s Flash runs through the Multiverse. In addition to that, though, Muschietti unveiled concept art for The Flash’s new suit, which would be designed by Bruce Wayne (Affleck). The Flash can’t get here soon enough.
The Suicide Squad
When James Gunn took over the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise for Marvel Studios, no one knew what to expect from borderline unrecognizable characters such as Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Groot (Vin Diesel). Now? They are a team almost as beloved as The Avengers. Gunn has become a filmmaker who fans follow, and they’re following him across the street to DC for what looks like a colorful and explosive Suicide Squad story.
We got a long look at all of the bizarre characters who will populate Gunn’s first DC movie… and it looks like his indie drama SUPER, but more of a budget. And if you thought the Guardians were unknowns, wait until you see what Gunn can do with the likes of Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), Savant (Michael Rooker), Weasel (Sean Gunn), The Thinker (Peter Capaldi) and King Shark. Having Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) back in the fold only helps.
Black Adam
Right now, Black Adam basically has two stars to lean on in its marketing campaign. But when one of them is The Rock, that gives the movie a very muscular leg up on the competition.
We didn’t expect Black Adam to have any footage. The production remains in its earliest stages. But during their DC FanDome presentation, The Rock and co-star Noah Centineo showed off concept art of the main hero, and also revealed the characters who are going to be part of The Justice Society – including Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher (Centino). So it’s sounding like an expansive entry into this corner of the DC universe, and that was a surprising reveal.
The Batman
Matt Reeves’ The Batman looks like David Fincher’s Se7en, only with Batman (Robert Pattinson) and Detective Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) instead of Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman). And that sounds genius. We knew that Reeves was an excellent choice to take on this franchise. But his approach at making The Batman into a true detective noir patterned after Chinatown, The French Connection, and more gems from the genre basically have us salivating at the idea of this movie.
Then, there are the villains who will be standing up to Battinson. We get looks at very early stages of Penguin (Collin Farrell), Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) and The Riddler (Paul Dano), and they truly are unlike anything we’ve seen before in the Batman lore. Yes, it looks gritty, dark and brooding. But it’s Batman… and it looks like it’s in amazing hands.
Aquaman 2
This was another DC FanDome panel that really just relied on creatives discussing their approach to an upcoming project that really hasn’t gotten off of the ground (or, in the case of Aquaman 2, into the pool). But director James Wan and co-star Patrick Wilson rehashed some of the things that they loved about collaborating on Aquaman, and shared a few insights into what will make the sequel better.
For one, they routinely hinted at the fact that the sheer size of the ocean allows for in-depth world building and exploration – something Wan admits he really loves about filmmaking. And Wilson kept joking about his character, Ocean Master, being imprisoned the whole time, so expect him to break free and cause chaos. But Wan also called the sequel more “serious” and “relevant” to some major cultural issues, so we’re psyched to see where he’d like to steer the franchise.
The Snyder Cut of Justice League
I saved the best for last. The saga of the “Snyder Cut” of Zack Snyder’s Justice League deserves its own movie. For three years, Snyder’s rabid fans fought long and hard to get Warner Bros. to release the cut of Justice League that Snyder was working on in 2017, before he had to leave the project. Now, he’s back, with four one-hour episodes that are coming to HBO Max in 2021.
And judging by the footage, this is the sequel to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that SnyderVerse fans have been waiting for. We get a resurrected Superman (Henry Cavill). We get the Batfleck back in action. We get less jokes, and more epic combat. And we appear to get an emotional character arc for Victor Stone (Ray Fisher), whom Snyder call the heart of his Justice League movie.
