With Marvel’s Cinematic Universe dominating the silver screen lately, it may have been easy to miss the updates on what DC have been doing in the run up to what could potentially be some of their best works.
Firstly, Suicide Squad:
The Joker
The first image released was one of the most iconic comic book villains of all time: The Joker. Despite the fact that Joker is not technically meant to be in the Suicide Squad, many fans were excited at the news, though not so much by the image that was released.
Marilyn Manson, anyone? Despite criticism however, many fans were also pleased by this new tattooed villain that’s taken Joker in a more “modern” direction. There has been some debate over the legitimacy of this image however, as some sources have suggested that this must be an image purely designed to celebrate Joker’s birthday, as the on-set sightings reveal that Leto is not tattooed at all, but scarred.
The Squad
An official shot has also been released of the full Suicide Squad – of course with Harley Quinn drawing the most attention.
From left to right, the villains seen are: Slipknot, Captain Boomerang, Enchantress, Katana, Rick Flagg, Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Killer Croc, and El Diablo.
Harley Quinn and Deadshot have so far proved themselves the most popular amongst fans who have seen the image, though overall there seems to be few criticisms of the gritty bunch.
Suicide Squad is set to be released in August 2016.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
The most hype for this greatly anticipated film was created two weeks ago with the release of this dark and gritty trailer:
There have already been countless videos and blog posts made analysing every second of the trailer for hints at what we’ll be getting from the film, though if you prefer remaining spoiler free, we recommend you stay away from tumblr.
As well as this, there have been a few images posted to suggest what kind of infamous Wayne technology the new film will feature. If you follow Umberto Gonzalez on instagram, you may have seen some of the sneak peaks he has been delivering to fans. He has so far revealed art for the Batwing, two batsuits, and Wonder Woman in a cape.
Some B-roll footage has also made it’s way online, giving fans a close up at the new Batmobile:
Although the footage isn’t the best, it still shows that the Batmobile is following a military style design for the new film.
Surprisingly enough, there hasn’t been much released in regard to the other protagonist of the film: Superman himself. What we know so far seems to mostly consist of the fact that Henry Cavill is definitely returning to the role, and he is bringing Jessie Eisenberg to play his arch nemesis Lex Luthor. We also know that this film will be introducing Wonder Woman for the first time, as well as possibly Cyborg (played by Ray Fisher) leading up to the Justice League films.
Batman V Superman is set to be released in March 2016.
Wonder Woman
Although not much is known about the first female-led superhero film for years, there has already been controversy surrounding the creation of Diana Prince on screen. The first director, Michelle MacLaren left not long into the project after having “creative differences” with Warner Brothers, and the project has now been gifted to Patty Jenkins – previously rumoured to work on the second Thor movie for Marvel Studios.
What fans know so far is that Wonder Woman will be making her debut appearance in Batman V Superman in 2016, though follow onto her own movie the following year. The casting of Gal Gadot originally received some criticism as the actress also used to be a model, causing fans to worry of a male-gaze approach to the iconic female hero, though the released shots of Gadot as Wonder Woman seem to have satisfied the fans that her character is being taken seriously.
Wonder Woman is set to be released June 23rd 2017.
Aquaman
With no set release date for Aquaman, fans really don’t have much to go on. At the moment, most of what is known about this film is speculation and rumour. James Wan is currently expected to direct (he directed Saw and Insidious), though due to his current project line-up the director is not predicted to be free until 2019 – so we might be waiting a while to see what can be done with this heavily criticised superhero. Other sources suggest, however, that Warner Brothers would like the film to be released in 2018 which would cut Wan from the possible directors list.
What is known for certain though is that Jason Momoa will be playing the King of the Atlantis, with Kurt Johnstad and Will Beall writing the scripts for the Aquaman movie. Aquaman is also set to star in the Batman V Superman 2016 film alongside Wonder Woman and other members of the Justice League.
The Justice League Part One and Part Two
The Justice League films, set to be directed by Zack Snyder with Chris Terrio as his script writer, are predicted to be released in 2017 and 2019 respectively. It would be logical to presume that the upcoming films will feature all members of the Justice League, though so far only Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have been officially confirmed to appear in this group movie. Green Lantern is also thought to feature, though he hasn’t has stand alone film announced, it is uncertain on how the hero will be incorporated. As well as this, despite the fact that The Flash is currently starring in his own eponymous TV series, he is thought to be involved in this project due to his film being released in 2018. Overall, it seems that if a hero has featured in the Justice League comics, they’re probably going to get a part in the movies as well as their own stand-alone film.
We hope that the DC film line-up proves as successful as it is promising to be.
Words by Charlie Ginger Jones.