Fans of DC have seen a lot of news this week. The new Superman is playing in theaters and DC Studios is now working on introducing Wonder Woman and Batman into a fresh version of its movie universe. But it appears that Aquaman and The Flash, who both had movies recently, will not be seen in the new universe anytime soon.
James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, spoke about these plans in a podcast interview. He said that DC is focusing on some heroes before others. Aquaman and The Flash are not in the new DC Universe yet. Gunn explained that there are no plans to bring these characters back to the big screen for at least the next two years. The decision seems connected to how recent their last movies were and how they were received.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Flash both came out in 2023. Neither film managed to build much excitement. The Flash movie, starring Ezra Miller, faced several problems in production and in its marketing, including lots of controversy around Miller. It opened to poor audience reviews, although James Gunn called it “one of the greatest superhero movies ever.” Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which followed, also fell short at the box office after the original Aquaman had a much stronger run worldwide.
Jason Momoa played Aquaman and was well-liked by viewers during his time in the DCEU. Now, with Momoa taking another character role (Lobo) in next year’s Supergirl movie, DC seems to be waiting before choosing a new Aquaman for the big screen. As for The Flash, there may be a path for the hero’s return sooner than expected.
A version of The Flash did show up in DC’s Creature Commandos series on HBO Max. That appearance was not as Barry Allen, but as Wally West, another popular take on the superhero from the comics. This version may show up again in future projects, like the upcoming Teen Titans film, which is being written by Ana Nogueira, who worked on Supergirl.
DC Studios is moving forward with Wonder Woman and Batman reboots. Studio head David Zaslav confirmed that both movie scripts are being written now and work is progressing under the lead of James Gunn. The new Batman will debut in The Brave and the Bold, a film that features his son Damian Wayne as Robin. The plans for Wonder Woman include building on her myth and history, but details on casting or the script are not public yet.
DC Studios emphasizes that future projects will pause until scripts are complete and meet expectations. This is part of a new strategy to make sure the next wave of films is ready before they begin production.
***
English (US) · 