Wednesday, June 13, 2018

DCEU Updates: A Young Batman? Joker and Flash Shooting Dates & More!

bho June 13, 2018 0 Comments

DCEU: A young Batman? Joker and Flash shooting dates & more!

This morning news broke about the start of filming on the newly-titled Wonder Woman 1984 with Chris Pine returning. Now a new article in Heat Vision takes us inside the reformed DC Extended Universe division at Warner Bros. under new president Walter Hamada, including a potentially young Batman, Joker and Flash movie shooting dates and more!

First up comes news that The Batman writer/director Matt Reeves (Planet of the Apes franchise) has turned in the first act of the screenplay to the studio, and that it will focus on a younger Dark Knight. This could result in the twenty-year crime fighting vet Batman that Ben Affleck portrayed out of the picture, although potentially leaving the door open for a bookend sequence with a contemporary Batman ala the opening and closing scenes of Wonder Woman, though that’s just speculation on our part. Whether the film will be a period piece or a modern day reboot remains to be seen, but Reeves has stated in the past that the film will be part of the DCEU continuity and not a standalone film.

As for the slew of Joker related movies in development right now, the one set in the DCEU and starring Jared Leto has only just begun development recently. The separate solo movie being directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix is further along, apparently gearing up to start shooting in the fall on a $55 million dollar budget, a fraction of what superhero films normally cost. It will also be released under a distinct, separate label along the lines of “DC Dark” or “DC Black,” similar to the adult-oriented Marvel Knights label that previously came and went with just two releases, Punisher: War Zone and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Finally comes word of The Flash solo film, which is no longer titled “Flashpoint” but will still take its cues from that popular comics run and is also reportedly inspired by the time travel comedy stylings of Back to the Future. It will begin shooting in early 2019 with Ezra Miller starring and the Game Night directing duo of John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein apparently steering clear of the darker tone that permeated previous films.

As has already been reported, a Birds of Prey film starring Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and directed by Cathy Yan is in active development, and a Batgirl script is currently being worked on by Bumblebee screenwriter Christina Hodson after the departure of Joss Whedon in February. As of now the upcoming slate of shot films includes James Wan’s Aquaman this Christmas, and Shazam! and Wonder Woman 1984 in 2019.

One major thing Hamada will be avoiding as he attempts to steer this ship is a writer’s room, the approach of developing properties with a large group of well-paid screenwriters, more akin to television. This approach has been used to middling success on such properties as Paramount’s Transformers series, Legendary’s Godzilla properties and Universal’s now-scuttled Dark Universe monster movies. With his success overseeing The Conjuring franchise at New Line, Hamada may be DC’s best and brightest hope as he attempts this reorganization of one of the most valuable IPs in Hollywood. DC had a strange 2017, scoring both their biggest success (Wonder Woman) and their biggest failure (Justice League). With Geoff Johns now taking a more hands-on creative role moving forward, and a move away from the grimdark sensibilities of Zack Snyder, could this finally signal the course correction the franchise so desperately needs?

What do you think of a young Batman in Matt Reeves’ solo movie? Are you excited for Joker and The Flash films gearing up to start shooting? Let us know in the comments below!