Warner Bros. Pictures wanted to launch their own cinematic universe to rival the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Warner Bros. owned DC Comics, this should not have been a problem, and unlike Marvel, where studios had access to certain parts of the franchise, DC had access to all their characters. They hired directorZack Snyderto direct Man of Steel and soon set him in charge of their new universe.
Update June 23, 2025: This article has been updated with even more details regarding Zack Snyder’s original plans for the DCEU.
Sadly, things did not go according to plan. 2023 marks the 10-year anniversary of theDCEUlaunch withMan of Steeland the beginning of the DCEU. It also marks the end of the franchise with the release of films likeShazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, andAquaman and the Lost Kingdomput an end to that chapter and will start over with James Gunn DCU. With that in mind, look back at Zack Snyder’s original plans for the DCEU and what went wrong.
The Original Plan
Zack Snyder was originally hired to directMan of Steelfrom a pitch byThe Dark Knighttrilogy director Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer. While Warner Bros. originally wanted Nolan to shepherd their DC films,the director had no interest. Snyder, though, had been one of Warner Bros.’s most loyal talents as the studio had committed hard to the filmmaker for films like300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,andSucker Punch.
Just beforeMan of Steelwas released, the studio announced Snyder would directMan of Steel 2. Yet following the mixed critical reaction toMan of Steel, thestudio decided to pivot and makeMan of Steel 2intoBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The reason was twofold: one was that they were now five years behind the MCU in terms of an interconnected universe and wanted to catch up to them. The other was Batman, one of the most consistent and reliable box office draws in the studio’s library, so the thought was it would elevate the box office. Pitting Superman and Batman would make the movie an event. The announcement was made on August 20, 2025, at San Diego Comic-Con. This was one month afterMan of Steelcame out.
A Plan In Motion
Just one month afterBatman V. Supermanwas announced,Ben Affleck was confirmed to be playing Batman. In December 2013, Gal Gadot was cast as Wonder Woman, which took many by surprise. It was clear what was originally billed as just a Batman and Superman movie was becoming much more. At this time, Snyder started to craft a major plan for the DCEU where he would help guide the various other heroes films through development as an Executive Producer and help work on the scripts. All of the heroes in Justice League would get their own spin-off films, withWonder Womanset before Justice League andAquamanandThe Flashafter.
On July 14, 2025, during a Warner Bros. Investor call, it was confirmed thatvarious DC films were in development and also key cast members.Suicide Squadwas set for 2016 and would be released months afterBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot, would be released in 2017, followed byJustice League. Ezra Miller would star asThe Flashin his own solo film in 2018, with Jason Momoa cast asAquamanwith his movie also set for 2018. Ray Fisher was cast as Cyborg and would get a movie in 2020. They also confirmed films for Shazam!, Green Lantern Corp, another Superman movie, a Ben Affleck-directed Batman movie, and aJustice Leaguesequel.
Justice League Sequels
Snyder had a grand pitch for the Justice League movies. The sequels would tease out some truly interesting developments.Justice League 2, which was set for June 2019, would have focused on the Injustice League. It would have consisted of Lex Luthor recruiting villains that were introduced in the other solo DC films, including Doctor Poison (Wonder Woman), Riddler (Batman), Captain Cold (The Flash), and both Black Manta and Ocean Master (Aquaman).
The film would have intercut between the League and their various lives with the villains working together. Some major plot points would have beenBruce Wayne and Lois Lane having had a relationship while Superman was deadfollowingBatman V. Supermanand Lois being pregnant with Bruce’s kid but Superman not knowing. Meanwhile, the Injustice League is working for Darkseid, with the Riddler solving the Anti-Life equation. Darkseid emerges, kills Lex Luthor, and, following Lois Lane’s death, is able to corrupt Superman, which sets up the Knightmare future teased inBvS.
The third film would have primarily taken plan in the alternate future, with Batman leading a band of rebels inDarkseid’s post-apocalyptic wasteland. The survivors included The Flash, Cyborg, Mera fromAquaman, and Deadshot fromSuicide Squad. This film would have also introduced Green Lantern to the franchise. The Flash would go back in time and bring the series full circle to warn Bruce Wayne about Lois Lane being the key. Now, instead of Lois Lane dying inJustice League 2, Bruce Wayne jumps in front of Darkseid’s Omega Beam.
Related:DC: Every Film from the DCEU and Snyderverse, Ranked by Box Office
The final action scene of the movie was very similar to what audiences would see inAvengers: Endgame. The entire world unites to fight off Darkseid and his forces. The Justice League is joined by armies from around the world, joined by the Amazons of Themisyicra led by Wonder Woman, Aquaman leading the Seven Kingdoms of Atlantis, and the Green Lantern Corp arriving. Batman sacrifices himself to save the world.
The movie would have ended with a jump twenty years later with Clark Kent and Lois Lane bringing their son to Gotham so he could take on his genetic father’s identity as Batman. This is not only similar to the ending ofThe Dark Knight Risesbut also would have seemingly put an end to the entire story.It was an epic tale that Snyder had planned outand an ambitious one, so what happened?
Why It Did Not Happen
OnceBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justicehit, Warner Bros.' confidence in Zack Snyder was shaken. The movie was a box office hit but was seen as a disappointment by Warner Bros. as it failed to gross $1 billion at the worldwide box office. It had a massive opening weekend but then had one of the worst drops in box office history. Both the critical and audience word of mouth on the movie was extremely negative. Warner Bros. had committed to a franchise plan that audiences just were not connecting with.
The studio quickly decided to pivot.Suicide Squadunderwent massive reshoots and re-edits to lighten itself up, but the movie was still a tonal mess and also received largely negative reviews.Director David Ayer assures that the director’s cut is betterthan what was released, but it was clear that WB was in crisis mode.
Justice Leaguewas set to begin filming just one month afterBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justiceopened, andthe film underwent massive rewriters before filming began. Snyder filmed the movie, but the studio was not happy with his cut of the film. They brought onThe Avengersdirector, Joss Whedon, to do some punch-ups on the scripts. Snyder, by this point, was tired of fighting with the studio. In March 2017, he tragically lost his daughter. Snyder pulled out of the project in May 2017, with Joss Whedon stepping in to replace him as the director.
Warner Bros. forced Whedon to massively changeJustice Leaguefrom Synder’s film. The movie underwent massive reshoots, and the film was trimmed down to a two-hour runtime. While the skeleton of Snyder’s film was there, much was changed, which led to behind-the-scenes problems with Whedon and the other actors. Many were miserable with their experience filmingJustice League. The attempt to salvage the film was for nothing as the movie opened in November 2017 and received slightly better reviews thanBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justicebut was still negative. It was also a notable box office bomb. Fans were dissatisfied with the final project, which led to a divide in the DCEU.
DC’s Pivot
FollowingJustice League, Warner Bros. pivoted their DCEU plans. While it would still be an interconnected universe, they focused on more stand-alone projects. Some of these were box office hits, likeAquaman, which was the first DCEU film to gross $1 billion. Others likeShazam!andBirds of Preywere respectable hits and earned very positive reviews. Yet the franchise never truly found a way to properly interconnect itself, and the one attempt that tried wasBlack Adam, and that was a major misfire.
Meanwhile, fans of Zack Snyder had been campaigning online for Warner Bros. to release the “Snyder Cut” ofJustice League. While many people were just passionate about seeing the director cut of the movie, there were also many who took it too far and started making death threats and targeted harassment campaigns, both Warner Bros. executives and anyone they deemed as not being on board with the cut.
Related:DCEU: Every Movie That Was Canceled (or Never Made)
With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a stop to all productions, Warne Bros. decided that since they had a basically finished version ofJustice Leaguethat could be marketed as a new release available, gave Snyder the resources to complete his cut of the movie and let it finally be released. In 2021,Zack Snyder’s Justice Leaguepremiered on HBO Max. It was 4 hours like Snyder wanted, and the director even directed some additional scenes to give audiences a hint at what could have been and maybe also galvanize his fanbase to keep the momentum going to “Restore the Snyder-Verse”.
Snyder Elements Left Over
What is interesting is how some elements from Zack Snyder’s long-term plans remained in the DCEU.The Flashnotably shiftedfrom being a movie with Captain Cold as the villain to a multiverse movie that would be used to reset Snyder’s own DCEU. Yet notably, Snyder zeroed in on the Flash’s ability to time travel as important for changing history, which was carried over into his film.
HisJustice League 2script also saw Orm and Black Manta held in a desert prison. The trailer forAquaman and the Lost Kingdomdoes confirm that Orm is being held in a desert prison. The film also would have shown Aquaman fighting the lost 7th Kingdom in the film, with that idea now serving as the basis for the Aquaman sequel and Black Manta stepping into the role of Seventh King in that villain.
Ben Affleck’s Batman movie originally was going to introduce the Riddler. While that film would later shit into an out-of-continuity film,The Batman, notablyRiddler as the villain remained in that film.
End of the DCEU
In October 2022, it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be the new heads of DC Studios, and announced their new film and television slate of interconnected stories would be called the DCU. With a new Superman and Batman set to take center stage, it appears the DCEU days are over and will conclude with the release ofAquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
It will be interesting to see if James Gunn’s long-term plan for the DC characters works out better than Snyder’s. What will be the same, what will be different, remains to be seen. Just like fans will wonder what might have been from Tim Burton’sSuperman LivesandGeorge Miller’sJustice League: Mortals, fans will wonder what might have been with Snyder’s full DCEU plans.
