Warner Bros.' unofficially titled DC Extended Universe is undergoing somewhat of a soft reboot in 2019, with Shazam! and Joker paving the way for a new future of DC Comics movies on the big screen. But first, James Wan's Aquaman will release in December and become the sixth and finally DC movie from the Zack Snyder-era.
Although Warner Bros. has struggled, critically and narratively, to properly get their shared universe off the ground as they played catch-up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio has seen quite a bit of financial success. But 2019 is a major indication of their new approach - particularly with DC Films now under new leadership - which is to diversify their content and actively move away from the one shared universe goal, rather than simply trying to mimic it.
Related: The DCEU Can Start A New Type Of Shared Universe
Warner Bros. and DC Films have a few bold, exciting, and very different projects on the slate for 2019, the details of which (and the details of what they aren't doing, too) show just how they're trying to press the reset button on the DCEU.
- This Page: Aquaman & More Tonal Diversity
- Next Page: Joker's Elseworlds Beginning & No Justice League Characters
Aquaman Is The Last Project In Major Development Before Justice League
With the sequel to Man of Steel becoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, plans were firmly in place for WB to build out from there, in a sort of reverse MCU: first would come Justice League, followed by solo movies for the various members of the team, including Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, and Cyborg, with the decision made to release Wonder Woman just ahead of the team-up. Wonder Woman was a huge success, but the critical and commercial failure of Justice League has seen most of the other movies enter an almost constant state of flux as WB has made a number of attempts to course correct and change the tone (and quality) of its DC movie universe.
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The Flash has lost two directors - first Seth Grahame-Smith and then Rick Fumuyiwa - with Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley currently set to direct. The Batman, meanwhile, lost Ben Affleck as a writer and director, and almost certainly as a star as well, and no one really seems sure if or when Cyborg will happen. Other plans have been shelved too, including a true Man of Steel sequel for Henry Cavill’s Superman, and Justice League 2, meaning that Wan’s Aquaman, which hits theaters next month, is the last project that was in major, concrete development prior to Justice League’s release and the only one currently still sticking to that original plan.
Shazam! Introduces More Tonal Diversity
The first DC movie of 2019 will be Shazam!, starring Zachary Levi in the titular role and directed by David F. Sandberg. Thanks to some DC references in the trailer for the movie, and comments from the crew, it's clear that Shazam! does exist in the same universe as the previous DC movies - and yet, judging from that same trailer, it might as well exist in a whole new world.
The story of Billy Batson becoming the superhero Shazam looks like a truly lighthearted affair; the emphasis is on humor, lightness, and having a whole lot of a fun, which is a stark (and deliberate) contrast to what hasn’t typically been the modus operandi the DCEU thus far. It’s playful, zany, and self-referential, and it introduces genuine tonal diversity to the universe. That’s something the higher-ups at WB have been talking about doing for some time, especially after the criticisms of Batman v Superman, but Shazam! is going to be the first film to follow through on that promise of change.
Page 2 of 2: Joker's Elseworlds Beginning & No Justice League Characters
Joker Will Usher In Elseworlds
WB's other big DC movie for 2019 is Joker, starring not Jared Leto, but instead Joaquin Phoenix. While Leto's Joker still exists within the DCEU, Phoenix's Joker is going to stand outside of the shared universe, meaning that there will be multiple big screen versions of the same character under WB's banner - but with this one branded differently (possibly as DC Dark or DC Black).
While it's a move that may confuse audiences, it does take a page straight out of the comic playbook: DC is known for having an expansive multiverse (something The CW's Arrowverse is having a lot of fun with), and Joker is essentially serving as an Elseworlds story - in the comics, that means existing outside of the main DC Universe canon. Here, it can mean existing outside of the shared universe, which explains why there are two different versions of the Joker, played by two actors, both getting their own films (it's also worth noting here that Elseworlds is the title being used for this year's Arrowverse crossover, so it's a practice WB, as a whole, is becoming well-versed in).
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As is the case with Shazam!, Joker, which is being directed by Todd Phillips, looks quite unlike anything else audiences have seen from DC to date, with Phoenix's Clown Prince of Crime being markedly different from Leto's controversial take, and the movie itself taking its tonal and story cues from The King of Comedy. Its success may mean the floodgates will open for many more Elseworlds-type movies down the line.
Although there have been rumors that Matt Reeves' The Batman movie may not exist in the DCEU (there have even been rumors that The Batman and Joker could eventually crossover, resulting in another connected universe, separate from the DCEU), Reeves himself confirmed in 2017 that his film will remain in continuity with the other Justice League movies. Aside from the Caped Crusader's next film, though, there are plenty of opportunities to develop standalone DC movies without worrying about maintaining an official timeline. This way, writers and directors can craft bold, new stories with almost complete creative freedom.
There’s No Justice League Character Presence
At one point, Henry Cavill's Superman was going to have a cameo in Shazam!, but conflicts with his DC contract ultimately shutdown that arrangement. At another point, The Flash movie was reportedly going to arrive in 2019 (and was originally slated for 2018 before that). Wonder Woman 1984 had this year marked out as well, with an original release date of November 1, 2019, only to be pushed back to June 2020. What all of that means, then, is that, for the first time since this universe properly got rolling in 2016 with Batman v Superman, there isn't going to be any Justice League character presence in the DC movies on WB's slate.
Related: Why Wonder Woman 1984's Release Date Was Pushed Back
There has been talk that Shazam may eventually join the team, but as it stands that obviously hasn't happened, and any such possibility is a long, long way off given how unclear it is when the studio might even feel comfortable approaching the idea of another Justice League movie. There will be future appearances from the team, though: Wonder Woman is getting a sequel, Aquaman 2 might happen depending on how the first movie performs, and The Flash is still going to happen at some point, alongside the various Harley Quinn/Joker centric movies that they have in development, all which do exist within the DCEU.
But what 2019 is doing is notably moving away from the shared universe and from the Justice League itself, and the other movies - especially those with the League's members - are likewise shaping up to be even more standalone too, even if they exist loosely within that framework. Given that just a couple of years ago everything was being pinned on the back of Justice League to have zero presence in 2019, and such a marked shift in tone, character, and overall focus, is a clear sign of how much the DCEU is effectively being rebooted.
More: Removing The Snyder Movies From Canon Solves The DCEU's Problems
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