Warner Bros. and the DC Comics Extended Universe have not exactly been on the same page as this universe has no real plan moving forward which have divided and angered comic book fans. 

Originally, Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder was the start for the DCEU eventually moving to Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice also directed by Zack Snyder and Wonder Woman directed by Patty Jenkins; and what would’ve been Zack Synder’s Justice League though director Joss Whedon took over the project after Zack Snyder left due to a family emergency. Zack Snyder’s plan, although flawed and divisive among the comic book community, would’ve paved the way for popular character Darkseid as the main antagonist. But, Warner Bros. has tried to erase any mention of Zack Snyder’s original plan and characters in other DCEU projects such as Shazam! directed by David F. Sandberg, Aquaman directed by James Wan, and The Suicide Squad directed by James Gunn.

The DCEU so far looks like this: Shazam!: Fury of the Gods directed by David F. Sandberg, Aquaman: Lost Kingdom directed by James Wan, Batgirl directed by Adil El Arbi Bilall Fallah, Blue Beetle directed by Angel Manuel Soto, and The Flash directed by Andrés Muschietti. The Flash is the biggest upcoming film in the DCEU as it’s adapting the iconic Flash story Flashpoint written by Geoff Johns as well as having serious ramifications to the DCEU. According to film critic Grace Randolph, The Flash will erase Zack Snyder’s original plan completely and will begin forming a new plan for the DCEU going forward.

“As I’ve told you with update: The Flash will be Ben Affleck’s final appearance as Batman and old footage of Henry Cavill as Superman will be used on TV. A new Justice League will also be formed with Supergirl as the new Superman and Michael Keaton’s Batman will work with Black Canary and choose Batgirl as the next Batman. Keaton’s Batman, Black Canary, and Batgirl stuff will obviously happen in her film to clarify.”

“It’s absolutely no fun to cover all these upcoming DC films from a hateful perspective, it’s just too draining. So, yeah, to give you my perspective. I’m gonna try my best to soldier on. This is new DC, let’s be open minded and give it a fair shot.”

While these claims haven’t officially been confirmed, these claims do line up with what’s happening in Batgirl and The Flash. It was confirmed that Michael Keaton would reprise his role as Batman for both films, and Warner Bros. confirmed that a Black Canary series on HBOMax was greenlit and actress Jurnee Smollett would reprise her role as Black Canary. 

This is concerning. Whether you’re a comic book fan or a hardcore DC Comics fan, this is concerning. It baffles me, as a comic book fan, that we’ve come to this point where Warner Bros. and president Walter Hamada just don’t seem to know where they’re taking this universe. 

Warner Bros. and Walter Hamada have everything at their disposal: characters and stories beloved by fans, yet they only seem to care about Batman and Superman. There’s an entire universe of new characters to explore and while I am happy we finally get to see Blue Beetle and Batgirl in action, the fact it took this long to branch off from Batman and Superman is disappointing. Even right now, we have two Batman running around which begs the question: why? We’ve gotten to this point where we don’t even have an official Batman in this universe. 

It’s sad and disappointing to see as a comic book fan because I want to see DC Comics be successful and have a successful universe with different characters interacting with each other, but it can’t be successful if we don’t have a plan. This isn’t a “pro-Snyderverse” or “anti-Snyderverse” thing because while Zack Snyder isn’t the best director and his DC films certainly weren’t the best; at least he had a plan.