Call it DC Rebirth or DC: Genesis. Maybe call it Identity Crisis or Flashpoint. These titles from past DC Comics event series aptly describe the state of Warner Bros.’ DC movies that are on the cusp of a new era, but not before a potentially chaotic transition period.
A slate clean is common when a new executive team is brought in to run a studio or department, but there’s probably little precedent for the amount of Clorox James Gunn and Peter Safran might spray as they prepare to to found DC Studios and direct the superhero films for the next half decade and beyond.
The duo have flown back to Los Angeles from the snowy town of Aspen, Colorado over the past few days, where they’ve been deep in planning and now, like holy figures descending from the mountaintop, commandments or a DC Bible in hand. Or at least a working blueprint.
Gunn and Safran are expected to meet next week with David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, which radically transformed the media company and hired the duo in October to head up a newly formed film and television division. The couple will reveal a plan to Zaslav that aims to outline his vision. Though much of their plan, which insiders say is still in the works and pending approval, is being kept deep within the Batcave, details are trickling out about several possible avenues forward. And at least one path that is not followed has also been uncovered.
Multiple sources tell that Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 isn’t progressing and is presumed dead in his current incarnation.
Sources say that Jenkins recently submitted her treatment, which was co-written with Geoff Johns, and that Gunn and Safran, along with Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs and co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, told the filmmaker the news delivered. telling her that the project – as it was – didn’t fit with the new (but still evolving) plans. Jenkins directed and co-wrote the previous two films starring Gal Gadot, released in 2017 and 2020. No decision has yet been made on the next steps.
And while cost isn’t a factor — insiders say DC Studios won’t have undue financial constraints — the studio could end up saving tens of millions of dollars by not making the third installment. According to sources, Gadot was on course for a $20 million payday for Wonder Woman 3, while Jenkins would have received $12 million. These numbers do not include possible backend bonuses.
Warners had no comment.
It’s unclear how a future Wonder Woman film and Gadot’s portrayal of the hero would fit into DC’s new plan. In somewhat mind-bending timing, Gadot tweeted Out of the blue, she thanked fans Tuesday, saying she was grateful to play the heroine and role model, adding, “I can’t wait to share her next chapter with you.” It was unclear whether the actress knew the project was toe tagged.
The rest of the DC slate stays in flux, or at least is kept deep in a pocket of Gunn’s own supply belt but there are several rumors and possible scenarios to consider ahead of next week’s meeting.
The first, building on the closure of Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3, is the closing curtain of the Snyderverse and the heroes cast by filmmaker Zack Snyder for his Justice League. This sees the Man of Steel 2 shutdown with a returning Henry Cavill and no more Aquaman led by Jason Momoa.
These characters will have cameo appearances in Flash, the highly anticipated time travel adventure film, due out on June 16th. Cavill filmed his part of the cameo in September. But sources say there is debate within the studio over whether or not to keep the cameo and whether its recording promises something the studio has no intention of delivering.
A Warners insider warns that no plans have been finalized and that Flash remains an unsealed picture.
The situation with Cavill is more than a little dicey, as the actor made a cameo in Black Adam, the DC-centric movie that was released in October. On the Monday following the film’s premiere, Cavill posted a video to Instagram announcing, “I wanted to make it official — I’m back as Superman.”
And then he wasn’t wrong. Warner Bros. was actually developing a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel and was actively meeting with writers. Flash director Andy Muschietti even expressed interest in being behind the camera for something that would have sounded similar to the hopeful and heroic colors of Richard Donner’s 1978 film, which is considered the benchmark in comic book adaptations . In fact, the current executive team at Warner Bros Pictures – Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy – wished for another mess of the Snyderverse heroes, possibly even another Justice League movie starring these actors.
But that was before Gunn and Safran began formulating their new (and still in flux) plan.
Also unlikely is a sequel to Black Adam. Despite the hype surrounding the film for starting a New Corner of DC, much of it spearheaded by star Dwayne Johnson, the film has grossed just $385 million worldwide, and insiders at the studio say the film has grossed more than $190 million -$ in production (two sources put the actual cost at $230 million, excluding marketing) will be happy to break even, even after factoring in the ancillary earnings. Even if the film rakes in minimal profits, the rising costs associated with each follow-up cloud the prospect of a sequel.
Johnson hoped to carve out his own piece of the DC pie, but multiple sources say his proclamation of a returning Cavill and his own involvement with DC may not endear him to new management. Johnson and Cavill are both directed by Dany Garcia, who is also Johnson’s producing partner. The perception of whether or not Adam makes a profit is a conflagration that is now being waged in public, with Johnson going to tweet the film over 50 million dollars after a Variety story said the film would go down over $50 million at the cinema.
Momoa, meanwhile, could become a key player in the new plans, according to multiple sources. In one scenario, the actor would wrap up his days as undersea hero Arthur Curry with Lost City, due for release on December 25, 2023, the last released film made by the previous regime. But it wouldn’t spell the end of the actor’s involvement with DC, as sources say the actor would be directing another film or franchise. The character of Lobo, a foul-mouthed cigar-chomping intergalactic bounty hunter, was mentioned in connection with Momoa.
Whether or not Momoa is playing everyone’s favorite bastich, Lobo, who emerges as an up-and-coming character early in the conversation, could be indicative of the type of characters the Gunn-Safran team might be focusing on. The character is an outsider, an anti-hero, and sticks to Gunn’s specialty of taking the offbeat and whimsical and turning it into audience-friendly fare.
Part of the plan could include a real fresh start and no baggage from previous regimes as they set out to reset the way DC movies and shows are made. However, that doesn’t take into account the potential success of movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17, 2023), in which Safran is a producer, and Blue Beetle (August 18, 2023). Would that plan involve moving forward without the actors who inhabit these characters and recasting them even if these films prove to be box office hits?
Observers are convinced that the plan calls for an interconnected story universe, and there are rumors of the establishment of a creative brain trust. The Brain Trust may already be rolling in some ways, as sources say Safran has been meeting with writers at his Los Angeles home for the past few weeks to refine the presentation and gather feedback and ideas for the plan.
One part that the Gunn Safran agenda is unlikely to touch, at least for now, is Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, in which Robert Pattinson wears the Caped Crusader’s hood. Reeves is writing the sequel to The Batman, which premieres March 4th. The filmmaker is also overseeing the launch of two Batman series derived from his film, including The Penguin.