DCU Blog - December 2023 Edition: Aquaman 2 numbers, New Pics For Joker sequel and Farewell DCEU

My final DC blog for 2023 and it's case of closing the past while signalling the future.

The DC Extended Universe has ended and now the DCU and the Elseworlds are the order of the day. Let's go over things shall we?

As of now, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom has made over 138 million in the box office so far, which isn't great but maybe it breaks even.

However, it's clear as day that Jason Momoa will no longer play the Atlantean hero but is he play Lobo? He didn't exactly say no upon being asked recently. He didn't say yes either. 

The Flash made Barack Obama's list of favourite movies for 2023, so that's pretty good.

Tim Burton recently revealed his abandoned Catwoman spin off movie would've been in black and white with Selina Kyle in a small town. 

Sean Gunn has been cast as Maxwell Lord for the DCU, making this his third role as he'll also be both Weasel and G.I. Robot for Creature Commandos.

Supergirl will appear in Superman: Legacy before we see her fly solo in Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow. Expect casting soon as well as a director confirmed for the latter movie.

Superman: Legacy will begin filming in March 2024 but we won't see a costume before filming begins.

On Christmas Day, director Todd Phillips released new pics of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga as Joker and Harley Quinn from Joker: Folie A Deux.

The Batman - Part II will apparently begin filming in August 2024. Barry Keoghan has teased returning as Joker but no characters have been confirmed for the sequel yet.

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part 1 will be released from January 9th. It'll be a three part animated movie event.

James Gunn has confirmed that Matt Reeves show focusing on Arkham Asylum will actually be set in the DC Universe instead of his Batman Elseworlds.

Various spoilers leaked for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, including a reveal for Poison Ivy.

Peacemaker Season 2 is currently being written by James Gunn and will address changes in the DC Universe.

CCXP had some promotion for upcoming anime Series, Suicide Squad Isekai, which will be released in 2024. Characters include Harley Quinn, Joker, Deadshot, Clayface, Amanda Waller, Peacemaker and King Shark.

Okay, now that the DC Extended Universe has ended, it's time to do my final ranking for this franchise. Here goes from best to worst ....

1: Wonder Woman (2017)

2: The Flash (2023)

3: Justice League/Zack Snyder's Justice League (2017/2021)

4: Shazam! (2019)

5: Aquaman (2018)

6: Blue Beetle (2023)

7: Peacemaker - Season 1 (2022)

8: The Suicide Squad (2021)

9: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

10: Shazam! Fury Of The Gods (2023)

11: Birds Of Prey (2020)

12: Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (2023)

13: Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

14: Man Of Steel (2013)

15: Suicide Squad (2016)

16: Black Adam (2022)

The end to an interesting but often divisive franchise. The DC Extended Universe was never boring but boy, does the DC Universe have a lot it needs to get right from the word go. Can it do it? Let's hope so.

DCU Blog - November 2023 Edition: Superman Major News Items, Productions Resume, Etc

Yup, the strikes are officially over and as a result, a lot of news has trickled over. Notably in regards to the future of DC. 

In terms of Superman: Legacy casting, Nicholas Hoult will be Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo will be Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio will be Eve Teschmacher and Maria Gabriela De Faria will play The Engineer.

James Gunn has also debunked certain rumours about the movie's plot that overzealous scoopers have been spreading.

The marketing has kicked in for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom but tracking for it's opening weekend isn't particularly great.

Zack Snyder has confirmed that he's done with DC but did express an interest in making a movie about The Dark Knight Returns.

The upcoming fourth season of Superman And Lois has been confirmed to be the show's last. It'll air on the CW in 2024.

There's rumours of a Korean Huntress movie being in development by Jung Byung-Gil, who will write and direct it. 

Lanterns will apparently comprise of ten episodes with Nathan Fillion appearing in three as Guy Gardner.

Harley Quinn has been renewed for a fifth season on Max while Batman will not appear in the second season of My Adventures With Superman.

Both The Penguin and The Sandman have resumed production. 

Anya Chalotra is rumoured to be voicing classic Wonder Woman villain Circe for Creature Commandos. 

The Brave And The Bold's casting isn't something to expect soon, though John Logan is now rumoured to be writing the script. 

Ana Nogueira has been confirmed as the writer for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow. 

Netflix recently released the first trailer for Dead Boy Detectives, due for release in 2024. A character from The Sandman will appear in the show.

Expect something DC related at CCXP this weekend. I'll cover it next month. Likely going to be mainly about the anime Suicide Squad show next year.

Although it did badly in theatres, Blue Beetle has been a hit for Max. Xolo Mariduena will reprise the role in the DCU.

A Lobo project is also rumoured to be in development. I bet we can guess who'll be playing that role.

That's it for this month and quite a lot to go through. It's only just beginning though.

DCU Blog - July 2023 Edition: More Heroes For Superman: Legacy, Blue Beetle Approaches and The Flash Goes Audio

Well, with both the writers and actors currently striking and studios learning the wrong lessons, we're in for a few bumpy months ahead. Anyways, here's a round up of this month, DC wise.

Before the actors strike kicked off, four additional cast members were revealed for Superman: Legacy. Nathan Fillion will play Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced will play Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi will play Mister Terrific and Anthony Carrigan has been cast as Metamorpho. 

There's a rumoured actor for Jimmy Olsen but I'll wait to see if/when that specific casting gets confirmed. It's very likely to be that actor though.

James Gunn has confirmed there are no current plan for a Suicide Squad project for the DCU but has potentially confirmed big screen animated movies.

Because of the strike, it's unlikely that any pre-production or casting will be done for The Batman - Part II this year.

Blue Beetle is due for release this upcoming month (August 18th) and in a turn of events, even Zack Snyder and David Ayer have tweeted/posted in support of the movie, with Xolo Mariduena in the lead role.

Overall The Flash has made $268.1 million from the box office but managed to get number one upon its digital release for it's first week.

Zachary Levi has also spoken out about the criticisms surrounding Shazam! Fury Of The Gods while also admitting to being uncertain about his future within the DCU.

Prior to production shutting down on the second season of The Sandman, it was revealed that Indya Moore had joined the cast in an undisclosed role.

Michelle Gomez had voiced concerns that Max might not release the final episodes of Doom Patrol though James Gunn has assured they will be released later this year.

Carmen Ejogo's character, Eve will be a love interest for Oswald Cobblepot for The Penguin series on Max.

Max Greenfield was cast as Barry Allen for the audio series, The Flash: Escape The Midnight Circus, which was released this month.

The 2024 DC Animated movies will be Watchmen and Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths.

A prequel comic series for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom will be released from October. 

The final episode of Superpowered: The DC Story will be released on Max from August 3rd and air on SkyShowcase from August 7th at 11.30pm.

That's it for this month. As always, let's see what happens next month.

DCU Blog - June 2023 Edition: Superman: Legacy Cast, The Flash Disappoints And SDCC News

Well this month certainly delivered some harsh blows and some potentially exciting stuff. It's really never a dull moment for DC fans, one way or the other.

The Flash finally debuted on the big screen and sadly it hasn't been the hit we'd all hoped. So far it's made over $210 million at the box office with it heading to digital from July 18th.

Ezra Miller did however attend the LA premiere of the movie on June 12th and even talked to some of the press about the character.

It was also revealed that two different endings had been filmed, prior to the one we ended up with. 

Andy Muschietti however has been locked in to direct The Brave And The Bold for now. Ezra Miller and Sasha Calle's futures are yet to be confirmed.

However the biggest news to end the month was James Gunn confirmed that David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan will play Superman and Lois Lane for Superman: Legacy. Filming won't start until 2024 for a July 11th 2025 release.

Both Alex Skarsgard and Bill Skarsgard have been considered for the role of Lex Luthor. That casting will be confirmed in due course.

Members of The Authority will also appear in the movie as will other heroes.

More reshoots happened this month for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom with Jason Momoa posting about it on social media. The film will be released from December 20th.

It's been confirmed that while Blue Beetle isn't a DCU movie, the character is supposed to be the first character for the new era as well. The movie will be released in theatres from August 18th.

James Mangold has recently talked about working on Swamp Thing. However the movie will be a while before it happens.

James Gunn has also confirmed that they're miles away from casting the DCU Batman.

DC will have a panel of sorts for SDCC for comics and animation. In terms of the DCU having a panel there, it's not looking likely.

Season 2 of The Sandman has begun filming with Netflix releasing it in 2024. Ruari O'Connor has been cast as Orpheus.

The CW have renewed Superman And Lois for a fourth season of 10 episodes with only Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Michael Cudlitz, Alex Garfin and Michael Bishop remaining as regulars. Gotham Knights however was cancelled after one season.

Animation fans have the debut of My Adventures With Superman from July 6th on Adult Swim/Max and Season 4 of Harley Quinn from July 27th on Max. A three part documentary called Superpowered will premiere on Max from July 20th.

Russ Bain has been recently cast for Creature Commandos while The Penguin has halted filming until the writers strike has been resolved.

Again a very busy month for DC and it's fans in general. It'll be interesting to see what the second half of the year brings

DCU Blog - May 2023 Edition: The Flash Fan Screenings, CW Shows On Bubble And More

Yup, another eventful month for DC fans as we head towards the make or break movie making its debut, future castings and the possible ending of remaining CW Shows. Buckle in folks.

For the last week, fan screenings for The Flash movie have been taking place all over (including at Cannes) and the reception has been largely positive. 

Some cameos have been leaked but I'm not mentioning them here out of respect but the last few minutes of the movie will be unveiled upon screenings from June 12th onwards.

A final trailer was released, which revealed the return of Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth. Saoirse Monica Jackson and Rudy Mancuso have confirmed to be playing Patty Spivot and Albert Desmond respectively.

Meanwhile the trades have revealed that several actors have been considered for key roles for Superman: Legacy.

For Superman himself, the following actors seem to be in consideration - Nicholas Hoult (also rumoured for Lex Luthor), David Corenswet, Tom Brittney, Andrew Richardson and Jacob Elordi.

For Lois Lane, the actresses being considered are Samara Weaving, Phoebe Dynevor, Emma Mackey and Rachel Brosnahan.

Funko Pops are on the way for the upcoming Blue Beetle movie (August 18th). Carapax and Victoria Kord are the main antagonists.

Although it may largely depend on the success of The Flash movie, Andy Muschietti was a tad coy when asked about possibly directing The Brave And The Bold.

Mike Flanagan recently shut down rumours of directing a solo project focusing on Clayface. There's currently a Hollywood writers strike.

A trailer for Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom should be coming within the next few weeks.

Both Superman And Lois and Gotham Knights are on the bubble with both shows likely not to get renewed by the CW as they merge with Nexstar and reduce scripted content.

The CW have also passed on the Diggle spin off, Justice U.

Max (formerly HBO Max) have confirmed that The Penguin series will be a limited series. Filming had been halted due to the writers strike.

Netflix have confirmed the third season of Sweet Tooth will be it's last season.

That's it for this month. Join me next month to see what gets unleashed as the DCEU's final days beckon.