Warner Bros is Getting Real Serious About DC Movies

According to an allegedly leaked list of Comic Con announcements, we’re going to be seeing a LOT of DC Comics movies very soon.

Nikki Finke broke the big DC/ Warner Bros news late last week– according to her report, we will be seeing a whopping SEVEN DC movies in the next four years!  It’s a very ambitious roster, all apparently building off Batman vs. Superman:

May 2016 – Batman v Superman
July 2016 – Shazam
Xmas 2016 – Sandman
May 2017 – Justice League
July 2017 – Wonder Woman
Xmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up
May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2

I do admit, I like the list, and I’m happy to see Warner spacing out Justice League at least a little bit, to give their franchise world-in-the-works at least some time to breathe.  I’d guess Sandman won’t be directly tied in to the super hero movies, but Shazam certainly might be… and since Jason Momoa was just cast as Aquaman in Batman vs Superman, I think it’s another safe bet he will also be part of the on-screen Justice League.

It’s also interesting that DC is actually making a for real, legit Man of Steel sequel, too… But the thing that gets me the most fired up is the Flash/ Green Lantern Team-Up movie.  This is breaking new ground, pulling another trope straight from the comics.  Yes, a super hero team like The Avengers or Justice League on the big screen is impressive, but there have always been countless, smaller scale pairings and team-ups.  I love the idea of seeing one of those become a movie on a slightly smaller scale than a full-on Justice League.  And if Green Lantern is teaming with the Flash… can their fellow hard-traveling hero Green Arrow be far behind?

Sadly, DC doesn’t seem super-interested in tying all their media outlets together, but in a perfect world I’d love to see the small screen Arrow and Flash carry over into the movies.  This would also give DC and Warner a much-needed leg up on Marvel Studios; while those guys are the kings when it comes to comic book movies, thus far they haven’t been able to tie things together with a strong TV presence.*

DC has a hit with Arrow and The Flash looks promising, so why not play to their strengths, bring Stephen Amell and Grant Gustin to the movie universe?  It allows an organic way to connect and cross-promote the big and small screen stuff, and they could probably get both actors for not much money, comparatively.

We’ll find out at Comic Con (if not sooner) if this news is all truly legit.  But if so, even a diehard Marvel lifer like me has to give DC and Warner props for being so ambitious.  It’s brave, bold news like this– and the promise sparked by some of these concepts– that really get me excited.

Source: Nikki Finke

*It’s worth noting, this statement is only based on the mediocre Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  I think Marvel is smart enough to learn from their mistakes, and I am very hopeful both Agent Carter and the Netflix shows will be a BIG step up for the studio.