Warner Bros. is currently trying to keep things together with their DC Extended Universe, after bothSuicide SquadandBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justicewere trashed by critics. One of the largest problems facing the DCEU has been the treatment of Superman. That being the case, Warner Bros. has madeMan of Steel 2a priority, and they will need to find a director to take it on. A new rumor suggests that the studio may be eyeingStar Wars: The Force AwakensdirectorJ.J. Abrams.
This needs to be taken with a serious grain of salt, but the DC CinematicRedditpage recently posted a leak from 4chan, which claims thatAbramsis on the shortlist to directMan of Steel 2, along withDoug Limanand perhaps most suprisingly,Edgar Wright. The latter two choices seem much less likely, asLimanis quite busy, andWrightwalked away fromAnt-Manlast year, and likely wouldn’t want to get into a situation where he has so little creative control. So, if this report is at all true,Abramsseems like the most likely choice for aSuperman sequel, and probably the most logical for the movie.
Abramsis a very busy guy, but in terms of directing, he is open, as far as we can tell. He also wrote a script calledSuperman: Flyboyin 2002, which was to be directed by McG. So, he has some history with the character and can definitely tackle a movie of this scope, and he can definitely breathe some life into a franchise.Abramswould be a very logical choice, at least on the Warner Bros. side. It’s just a matter of if he would actually want to do it or not.
Even though Superman is currently spoilers dead in the DCEU thanks to his fight with Doomsday at the end ofBatman V Superman, we know the character is going to return.Zack SnyderbroughtHenry Cavillout during the Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con, pretty much confirming that he will be featured inJustice League. What’s more,Cavilltook to his Instagram recently to tease Superman’s black suit from theDeath and Return of Supermancomic book storyline.
The 4chan leak also had a lot of other speculative details about upcoming DCEU projects. The info claims thatSam RaimiandShawn Levyare the top contenders to direct theShazam!movie,George Milleris supposedly directing aNew Godsmovie, and new release dates for a few upcoming movies, likeBen Affleck’sBatmanmovie, andSuicide Squad 2, which will supposedly feature Deathstroke and see the return of directorDavid Ayer. The report also claims thatWonder WomandirectorPatty Jenkinsis in talks to direct theJustice Leaguesequel, and thatAlfonso Cuaronis the top choice forGreen Lantern Corps. Here is the full alleged release date schedule.
“Wonder Woman- June 2nd, 2017 Justice League- November 17th, 2017 The Flash- April 13th, 2018 Aquaman- July 27th, 2018 Man of Steel 2- October 5th, 2018 Shazam- April 5th, 2019 Batman- June 14th, 2019 Suicide Squad 2- November 1st, 2019 New Gods- April 3rd, 2020 Green Lantern Corps- July 24th, 2020 Justice League II- October 2nd, 2020”
There was also mention of Ocean Master appearing in theAquamanmovie but claims that Black Manta will indeed be the main villain, as well as some TV projects that could connect to the movie side of the DCEU.TitansandSecret Sixwere mentioned by name. If the leak is to be believed, Warner Bros. will be making these announcements sometime in September. The report claims that thisSuperman solo adventurewill land June 21, 2025. Will it be directed byJ.J. Abrams? We will have to wait and see.
