When Zack Snyder first made Man of Steel with Henry Cavill in the lead, he had no intention of making it into a cinematic universe. However, the DC executives were eager to catch up to their rival Marvel’s successful MCU. Several missteps were taken in this rushed approach and it often resulted in the studio making course corrections and canceling several projects.
Furthermore, with the DCEU being restructured as DCU under new CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, many anticipated DCEU projects were canceled. The studio has so far canceled or abandoned 25 such projects.
DC Canceled Sequels To Justice League, Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel, And Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman
#1 Justice League Part 2 – Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio initially conceived Justice League as a two-part film. However, when it was decided as a self-contained film, Snyder was left with ideas for a second film. With Snyder’s departure and the poor performance of Joss Whedon’s version, it was certain that Justice League 2 was not happening.
#2 Man of Steel 2 – According to Snyder, Henry Cavill‘s Superman would have fought Brainiac in this second film. The sequel would have eventually happened, if not for the restructuring of DCEU into DCU under James Gunn.
#3 Wonder Woman 3 – Despite its success in the DCEU, a third Wonder Woman project was canceled after the DC restructuring, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Patty Jenkins confirmed that the project was dead, and the new DCU will not feature Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.
#4 Ben Affleck’s The Batman – Ben Affleck’s Batman movie was part of the original DCEU roster. However, the reception of Batman v. Superman and the controversies surrounding Justice League made the task difficult for Affleck, who was also affiliated as the director.
#5 Deathstroke – Gareth Evans was attached to a solo film featuring Joe Manganiello’s character from Justice League. Before the solo film, the character was supposed to feature in Affleck’s Batman. Despite a planned budget of $40 million, Manganiello confirmed to THR that the project was canceled.
#6 Nightwing – Originally announced in 2017, the film about Batman’s first sidekick was intended as a spinoff of Affleck’s Batman movie. In 2023, director Chris McKay hinted at carrying the story into DCU. However, sources suggest that the project is dead.
#7 Cyborg – The Cyborg film was also part of the original DCEU slate, but Ray Fisher’s experience on the Justice League set made the possibility of him returning for a solo film highly unlikely.
#8 Green Lantern Corps – The first Green Lantern project in the DCEU was announced in 2016, before the Batman v. Superman premiere. However, no creative team was attached to the project. A show was later in WBD’s plans, but it also went nowhere.
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WB Discovery’s Restructuring Resulted In Many Cancelations Including A Completed Batgirl Film
#9 Batgirl – Batgirl fell victim to the new WB Discovery regime’s tax write-off scheme. The film is the only completed film on this list to get shelved. It was scheduled for an HBO Max release in 2022, but its cancelation was reported in August 2022 by the New York Post. The film featured Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, alongside J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, and Michael Keaton.
#10 Justice League Dark – A Justice League Dark movie was initially planned by Guillermo del Toro. In 2016, Doug Liman took over the directing duties from del Toro. Liman left the movie a year later. J.J. Abrams was approached for a TV project after three more years. In February 2023, plans for both the movie and the HBO Max series were canceled.
#11 Zatanna – It was a spinoff project announced in the Justice League Dark universe. Academy Award-winning writer Emerald Fennell was hired to write the script. The project was canceled in October 2022, following WB Discovery’s decision to scrap expensive HBO Max projects (via The Hollywood Reporter).
#12 Wonder Twins – Riverdale fame KJ Apa and 1883 fame Isabel May was attached to this HBO Max movie announced in February 2022. It was also canceled as part of scrapping expensive streaming films.
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Several Suicide Squad Spin-Offs Were Canceled
#13 Harley Quinn vs The Joker – Margot Robbie and Jared Leto were set to return in this Suicide Squad spinoff, which explored their relationship and break up. The film, announced in 2017, hired Glenn Ficarra and John Requa as the writers, but no further updates came out of the movie.
#14 Jared Leto’s Joker – A solo Joker movie, with Leto returning, was reported by Variety in 2018, but Warner Bros. instead went ahead with Todd Philips’ project with Joaquin Phoenix.
#15 Gotham City Sirens – David Ayer tweeted a picture of Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Ivy Poison in 2016, signaling a Gotham City Sirens movie in development. He followed it up with other cryptic tweets, including a picture of the villain Black Mask, but the project never happened.
#16 Deadshot – Will Smith confirmed a solo spinoff movie for his character from Suicide Squad in 2018. Reports suggested that the film didn’t happen due to Smith’s huge salary demand of $20 million.
#17 Black Canary – The film was a spinoff of Birds of Prey, intended to be released on HBO Max. Jurnee Smollett-Bell was set to return to her role as Dinah Lance / Black Canary. The last update on the project came in May 2022, but the DCU reboot may have essentially canceled the project.
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Other Canceled Or Abandoned Projects
#18 Batman Beyond – Michael Keaton was set to play a dark and gritty version of a retired Batman in this film. The story explores Keaton’s Batman training Terry McGinnis, the next Batman. The film was canceled in January 2023 after the new regime took over.
#19 The Trench – Based on one of the kingdoms of Atlantis from James Wan’s Aquaman, The Trench was announced in 2019. Wan was attached as a producer, but the studio later announced the cancellation of the project in a 2021 press release (via The Hollywood Reporter).
#20 New Gods – Announced in 2018, the film explored the world of parademons introduced in Justice League. Ava DuVernay was attached as a director and was set to co-write the script with comic book author Tom King. Its cancellation was also announced in the same press release as The Trench.
#21 Static Shock – The project was announced at the DC FanDome in 2020, with Michael B. Jordan attached as the executive producer. The latest update in 2022 suggested that the project was in development, but it is highly unlikely that Static Shock will be part of the DCU.
#22 Hourman – The Hourman film was announced by WBD in March 2021 about a superhero who can use his power only one hour at a time. Gavin James and Neil Widener were attached as the writers, but the movie did not take off.
#23 Lobo – Warner Bros. had been trying to make a movie about the alien bounty hunter since 2009, and a $200 million movie was planned at one point at DC. Rumors suggest that Gunn might revive the character for the DCU, potentially casting Jason Momoa in the role.
#24 Plastic Man – The film was first announced in 2018, but news came in 2020 that the movie may gender-swap the hero. There were no further updates about the movie.
#25 Val Zod – Another project with Michael B. Jordan attached as an executive producer was Val Zod. Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters were attached as the writers on the HBO Max show. It appears that Val Zod will not make it to James Gunn’s DCU.
