Warner Bros.' DC COMICS Film Slate - 10 Upcoming Releases Ranked From Least To Most Anticipated

WB has TEN DC movies tentatively scheduled for the next five years, but which should you be most excited about? Here, you'll find the answer to that along with everything we know about them so far...

By JoshWilding - Apr 02, 2016 09:04 AM EST

Filed Under: Justice League

While the critical response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice isn't what Warner Bros. wanted, the movie has been a box office hit, and that means that the DC Films Universe is here to stay. Will some changes be made as time passes? I don't doubt it (expect to see more..."fun"?), but that aside, and with a total of ten adaptations on the way between now and 2020, it's a very exciting time to be a comic book fan. However, of all the movies the studio has planned for us, which is the most exciting?

That's debatable, but what you'll find here is what I consider to be a definitive ranking of each of these movies from the least to most highly anticipated. Along with the reasons for why that is, you'll also find a breakdown of everything we know about what's to come in them, who's working on them, and why those things are either good or bad news. If all of these pan out, Marvel Studios may want to start worrying, and there's a few which definitely stand a chance of outshining their Phase 3 plans...

10. Cyborg (April 3rd, 2020)

I still have a hard time believing that Cyborg is going to happen, and it's tough to escape the feeling that the main reason it was included on the DC slate is so Warner Bros. could say that they too have a movie on the way with a black lead.

Ray Fisher could be a highlight of Justice League, and if that is the case, that would no doubt massively increase everyone's interest in this movie. However, I see it becoming something along the lines of Teen Titans, because it's damn near impossible to imagine a scenario where Cyborg as a lead would work. There's every chance it might, but until we learn more about the hero, I can't get excited.

Still, Fisher's comments about Cyborg having to fight to hold onto his human side are definitely intriguing (especially now we know he's paired with a Mother Box).

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Warner Bros. has pencilled in a second Justice League movie already, but is it actually going to happen?

According to some sites, Warner Bros.' original plan was to have Brainiac take centre stage in the first instalment before introducing Darkseid in time for the second, but with rumours of plans to shoot these movies back to back proving to be false, it seems like the studio is now focusing solely on the first instalment (Chris Terrio has confirmed that he's only written Part One and may not be back for Part Two).

Zack Snyder seems mostly committed to this movie, but that could change after the response to Batman v Superman - and Justice League next November - while comments from the producers about no Green Lantern have definitely dulled my enthusiasm.

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8. Shazam (April 5th, 2019)

As a huge fan of both wrestling and The Rock, I feel bad about not being overly excited about Shazam, but there are simply too many unknowns at this stage.

One major concern is the fact that New Line are heavily involved, especially after Joseph Gordon-Levitt recently departed his long in development adaptation of Sandman after butting heads with them (they also clashed with Cary Fukunaga over his vision for a new take on Stephen King's It, a potentially worrying trend).

While Dwayne Johnson is always fun to watch, he's made many dubious choices, so him praising the script doesn't inspire much confidence! Throw in the fact that the actor is likely to overshadow the titular hero (despite being the villain), and Shazam is definitely a movie which will either go horribly wrong or be a surprise hit.

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7. Suicide Squad (August 5th, 2016)

After those awesome trailers, I'm betting you expected this to place higher, right? The problem is that director David Ayer is very hit and miss, and for every Fury, he has a Sabotage!

The fact that the latter arguably has so much in common with Suicide Squad is definitely cause for concern, and the bold choices the filmmaker has made with characters like The Joker and, to a lesser extent, Deadshot, make me think that there will be no happy medium with this movie; it's either going to be a horrible mess or a Guardians of the Galaxy style hit.

That aside though, and making a movie entirely about the bad guys is going to be a huge challenge for Ayer. If he doesn't have the story just right, Suicide Squad could fall apart, and while I definitely think it looks great, so did Green Lantern back in 2011.

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6. Aquaman (July 27th, 2018)

I like Jason Momoa, but man, the guy is kind of forgettable. He didn't make a huge impact on me in either Game of Thrones or Conan the Barbarian, and while I definitely seem to remember enjoying his presence in both of those, I'm still not entirely sure whether he's someone you should build a franchise around.

His passion for the character is fantastic to see though, and I definitely have confidence in director James Wan; after doing great things in the horror genre with movies like Saw and The Conjuring, he managed to seamlessly make the leap to action blockbusters with the batsh*t crazy Furious 7, one of the most enjoyable instalments in that franchise to date.

If they can solve the whole breathing underwater issue, I'm sure Aqauman has the potential to be a good - and very unique - movie.

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5. The Flash (March 16th, 2018)

While most of you are worried about The Flash because of who they've cast as the Scarlet Speedster, it's writer/director Seth Grahame-Smith who I think is cause for concern.

The writer of Dark Shadows and mediocre novels turned crappy movies like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The LEGO Batman Movie will be his big test, but based on the trailers, he does seem to have nailed a really fun tone there. In fact, everything we've heard about The Flash so far points to it being the lightest movie in the DC Films Universe, and that could be a welcome break after the other far more serious efforts.

Plus, no matter what you might think of Ezra Miller, he's a fantastic actor (see: We Need to Talk About Kevin) and has recently bulked up for the role, looking a lot more like Barry Allen as a result.

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4. Green Lantern Corps (June 19th, 2020)

Green Lantern was a horrible mess, but amongst the mediocrity were hints of a movie which could (and should) have been great.

Having learned from past mistakes, Warner Bros. has the opportunity to do something amazing with Green Lantern Corps, and providing they don't repeat past failings, we could be in store for something truly special here. Never mind this being DC's Guardians of the Galaxy; it has the potential be their Star Wars if handled properly and with two or more human Lanterns likely to take centre stage, it already sounds like a lot of fun.

The movie is so far away that we know pretty much nothing about it right now, but the title offers some clues, and it might be worth keeping Green Lantern out of Justice League if it means we get a full on space adventure come 2020.

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3. Wonder Woman (June 23rd, 2017)

Before seeing Batman v Superman, I could have probably happily gone without a Wonder Woman movie. I don't have anything against the character, but I'm not a huge fan either, and that World War I setting didn't have me overly excited.

However, Gal Gadot was so fantastic in that Zack Snyder helmed release that I now can't wait to see more of her in action, and I find myself desperate to learn more about both Diana' origin and what it was that led to her retreating into hiding (and as a result, that 1918 setting is suddenly infinitely more exciting).

Of course, a movie as big as this one is a huge departure for Patty Jenkins, but Marvel have taken plenty of risks on lesser known filmmakers and those gambles have almost always paid off, so there's a good chance the same will happen here.

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2. The Batman (TBD)

The Batman doesn't have a release date (something tells me it soon will after the response to Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman and that movie's box office success), but it does have a dream team in the form of its director and writer.

Affleck and Geoff Johns are actually working together on the screenplay, and regardless of whether this is a prequel - arguably the more interesting option - or a story which takes place after the events of Justice League, I can't wait to spend a solid couple of hours watching this version of the Dark Knight take centre stage.

Rumours point to The Batman adapting the Under the Hood storyline, and if that's true, we'll get to see Affleck squaring off with Jared Leto's Joker AND fan-favourite vigilante the Red Hood. If you're not excited about that, what more will it take?!

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1. Justice League Part One (November 17th, 2017)

As many of you know, I really liked Batman v Superman, and that's why the first Justice League movie takes the #1 spot. I can't wait to see the Caped Crusader going after each member of the team in a bid to recruit them against an unknown threat (it has to be Darkseid, right?), while attempting to figure out the method of the Man of Steel's resurrection is causing me to lose sleep!

There's a lot to be excited about here, with the way these characters interact with each other sure to be a highlight. However, it's essential that Warner Bros. ensure that Snyder doesn't shoot another four hour movie which is then cut down to a two and a half hour mess, while at least a few moments of levity will have hopefully been added after those reviews.

Still, I think this will be a potential Avengers beater...

Which of these upcoming DC Comics adaptations are you most excited about? Do you agree with this ranking of them? As per usual, head to the comments section to let us know your thoughts.

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