A few days ago, Jason Momoa walked out of Warner Bros Studios after taking a meeting with the new heads of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran. Momoa was gleefully excited, praising the duo and WB studio head, David Zaslav. This was a different tone than we've seen recently from DC actors coming out of their Gunn and Safran meetings. Dwayne Johnson announced after his meeting with the studio duo they would not be moving forward with him as Black Adam at this time. Before that, the Batgirl movie that was being made for HBO Max will not be released. Zaslav supposedly feels the film wasn't good enough and would serve the studio better as a tax ride-off. Wonder Woman 3 is not moving forward, and Superman, Henry Cavill, is not coming back for another pass as the Man of Steel. All these things add up to the end of the DCEU that will finish with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December. But if Jason Momoa is no longer going to be the King of Atlantis, why is he so giddy?
Let me start off by saying I think Zach Snyder is decent director. But when he was picked to direct a Superman movie, I looked at his previous work and knew this was not the character for him. Warner Bros put him in charge of creating a cinematic universe to rival Marvel, but when the audience response didn't go how they wanted, or the box office numbers, they decided to play hopscotch with reworking The Suicide Squad and Justice League. By then, the damage was done. In the eyes of general audiences DC's cinematic universe was less than Marvel's, despite having more heavy hitters like Superman and Batman. After years of trying to recover, and new leadership at WB, the DCU looks like it's about to get a fresh start. Zaslav's first priority was establishing its own studio for DC, much like Marvel had got years ago. Then, putting two superhero movie veterans in charge of it, director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran. Safran has been helping make DC movies for Warner Bros the last few years, and James Gunn is a geek God with films like Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker.
So, what could these two have planned? James Gunn is very active on social media and has been talking about the importance of both Superman and Batman in their plans. We know they are looking for a younger actor than Henry Cavill to play a new Superman, in perhaps a Year 2 storyline like The Batman was. We also know these plans involve Jason Momoa and his mile-wide grin. And we know that Gunn and Safran are meeting with The Batman director, Matt Reeves, and his plans for future related films. Gunn has also stated that a few (not all) things they are planning will be announced by the end of January. With a little over a week to go, I think I'm part of the group that is drooling to find out what is to come. But here are some of my ideas.
Superman. Clark Kent. Kal-El. The Man of Steel. The Last Son of Krypton. The Man of Tomorrow. The Big Blue Boy Scout. I think WB and Zach Snyder were right to start their cinematic universe with a Superman movie. He's the most important hero of them all. But what they failed to do was capture the hope and fun of the character. The only time I saw Henry Cavill smile in those three films was when he was beating up Steppenwolf, or in a bathtub with Lois. Superman is about inspiration. He doesn't want to lead; he wants us to strive for a better world. Hope. That's what was missing from Zach Snyder's films, and that's what a Superman movie should be about. Hope. The first job I think Gunn and Safran are going to do is put the Big Blue Boy Scout back at the top of the DC food chain. Seeing Superman reveal himself to the world will not open the door for other heroes to step out into the light, but also draw enemies to Earth to face the challenge of the Last Son of Krypton.
Batman. Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. I'll start off by saying, I love The Batman. And I think he has a big enough rogues gallery, and allies, to stay separate from the other DC characters. And that could be what they will do with Reeves Batverse, seeing how it's grounded in a world without super-powered aliens and mythical Gods. But my fear is that Battinson will get the ax just like all the rest. Of course, Batman will have to mix it up with the Justice League, but it won't be Robert Pattinson, and are we going to get two Batman character franchises running at the same time? I would like to see Reeves build on his version of The Caped Crusader, but I can see how it could end for the good of starting a new cinematic universe in the DCU.
Jason Momoa. Aquaman. The King of Atlantis. At least he will be till the end of this year. As an Aquaman enthusiast, I understood why Momoa was cast in the role years ago. He broke the stereotype of what Aquaman was perceived as. I get it and I liked Aquaman. But let me put it to you like this, if Cavill doesn't get to stay, nobody does. I think the grin on Momoa's face after his DC meeting is because they gave him another part. A meatier, juicer, part. Lobo the space bounty hunter. Google Lobo and tell me that doesn't look like Jason Momoa. Watch any media with the character and tell that's not Jason Momoa. He could be the perfect Lobo, and a linchpin in a new DC cinematic universe. My introduction to the character was in Superman: The Animated Series. In the episode, Lobo was hired to capture the Last Son of Krypton for an intergalactic collector, who collects rare things. I'd say the lone survivor of a dead world counts. Lobo could come to Earth looking for a young Sups, then drag him out across the galaxy, thus opening Kal-El's eyes to all the beings and threats in the universe. And Lobo is the exact kind of character James Gunn loves to play with. If Gunn is writing a Superman movie, I'd say this kind of story may be something he'd write.
And if we step out into the galaxy, we're going to run into space cops, The Green Lantern Corps. Like Batman and his supporting characters, I think the GL's have enough for their own separate franchise. They are so diverse in their membership even if you just include the Earth Lanterns. And don't get me started on the other color corps's. This mythology is ripe for the telling.
