Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros.’ DC superhero movies rebounded after "Aquaman," and are moving forward with a new strategy.
- Seven upcoming movies have official release dates between now and 2022, including "Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman" sequels.
The DC movie universe seemed stalled after "Justice League," but it rebounded with the success of "Aquaman" last year, which made over $1 billion worldwide.
What’s known as the "DC Extended Universe" got off to a bumpy start with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "Suicide Squad" in 2016, which performed well at the box office but were trashed by critics. "Justice League" put the nail in that particular coffin when it underperformed critically and commercially.
But now Warner Bros. is going all in on its DC superhero movies with renewed confidence and a new strategy that’s focused more on standalone stories rather than a connected universe. 2017’s "Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman" proved the strategy could work, and the upcoming movies will likely capitalize on that.
The studio has seven release dates set for DC movies that range from sequels to origin stories to whatever "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" will be. More movies are in development beyond that that don’t have official release dates yet, such as an "Aquaman" horror spin-off about the Trench creatures.
Among the upcoming movies are James Gunn’s "Suicide Squad" sequel and Matt Reeves’ "The Batman," which will recast the Dark Knight.
Below are seven upcoming DC movies with official release dates:
"Shazam!" — April 5, 2019
Warner Bros.
James Wan made the move from horror hits like "Saw" and "The Conjuring" to blockbusters like "Furious 7" and "Aquaman." Director David Sandberg, known for "Lights Out" and "Annabelle: Creation," is doing the same with "Shazam!" in April. The movie follows a young boy named Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel) who gains the ability to turn into an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levi) by shouting the magic word "Shazam." Watch the latest trailer here.
"Joker" — October 4, 2019
Warner Bros./Todd Phillips
"The Hangover" director Todd Phillips is directing this origin story based on Batman’s deadliest foe, the Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix. The movie is expected to be a gritty crime drama (Martin Scorsese was once attached to produce), and has no connection to previous movies.
"Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" — February 7, 2020
Warner Bros.
Margot Robbie is reprising her "Suicide Squad" role of Harley Quinn. But this time, she’s teaming up with an all-female crew of Gotham City vigilantes such as Huntress (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) to take down the crime boss Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, ranked from worst to best
- James Gunn’s ‘Suicide Squad’ sequel strategy represents the grander ambitions of the DC movie universe
- The biggest box-office hit the year you were born
Source: Business Insider – tclark@businessinsider.com (Travis Clark)