7 Years Later, The DCEU’s Biggest 3 Movies Make 4 Upcoming DCU Releases Look Even More Promising
3 of the biggest releases in the DC Extended Universe make 4 of the new DC Universe’s upcoming releases particularly promising. The DCEU was, sadly never consistently successful, critically or commercially, and while the franchise earned many loyal viewers, this lack of consistent success led to it being partially rebooted into the DCU. The DCU will be inspired by the DCEU in many ways, however, with some characters and storylines from the old franchise joining the new one.
Much of what carries over from the DCEU to the DCU will be from DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn’s projects. Characters like Peacemaker and Amanda Waller will retain their DCEU actors in the new continuity and the Peacemaker series itself will receive a second season in the DCU. Moreover, the DCU appears to be taking cues from the DCEU’s successes in its own upcoming releases.
The DCEU's 3 Biggest Movies Suggest Promising Things For 4 DCU Releases
Although 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had a divisive reception and a somewhat underwhelming box office performance, the film brought DC’s “big three” together in a live-action film for the first time. 2017’s Wonder Woman, on the other hand, was one of the DCEU’s greatest successes, with an overwhelmingly positive reception among critics and viewers, and a strong performance at the box office. 2018’s Aquaman would be comparably successful as well, endearing viewers to Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry and DC’s Aquaman mythos.
The DCU is already set to introduce new iterations of Superman and Batman in 2025’s Superman and the forthcoming The Brave and the Bold, respectively. While Wonder Woman herself seemingly will not appear in the upcoming Paradise Lost, the TV series will explore the DCU’s iteration of Themyscira and the Amazons. There is no word on a DCU version of Aquaman yet, but Jason Momoa will play the DCU’s Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman have each appeared in animated non-speaking roles in the DCU TV series Creature Commandos.
The DCEU's Biggest Movies Suggest The DCU Is Already Taking The Right Approach
While the DCEU was, unfortunately, often in a rush to establish itself as a bustling superhero shared universe franchise, the DCU appears to be taking a slower and more careful approach. Superman and Batman will each debut in their respective solo movies while the Wonder Woman mythos may be rebuilt from the ground up in Paradise Lost. Jason Momoa, sadly, will not reprise his role as Aquaman, but the actor will remain in DC adaptations as Lobo, a highly anticipated new role for Momoa.
- Created by
- Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
- First Film
- Man of Steel
- First TV Show
- Peacemaker
- Cast
- Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor, Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Xolo Mariduena
- Movie(s)
- Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold
- Character(s)
- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
