The DCEU (DC Extended Universe) is young, but already it has given us some gems (well, if you ask me). Man Of Steel was a great modern re-imagining of a Superman movie, Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice gave us some of the world’s finest heroes on the big screen together for the first time (as well as fleshing out a larger cinematic universe waiting in the wings), and Suicide Squad managed to successfully bring to life some of DC’s best underworld characters.
And they’re just getting started. Wonder Woman is coming out in the summer, and then we are getting Justice League in November. After that, Aquaman and The Flash will be making their way into theaters in 2018, before they release Cyborg and Green Lantern Corps in 2020. Add in Shazam and their Justice League Dark adaptation somewhere down the road, too. The point: this is going to be a very large extended universe of films from DC, and really, there’s no end in sight (thank god).
So, we know what we’re getting, at least in the immediate future. What about after that? DC Comics has a bottomless well of cool properties to pull from, so they won’t be short on ideas. We have a few suggestions, so here is a list of films we’d like to see get made within the larger tapestry of the DCEU at some point. Click ‘next’ to check ’em out.
Hellblazer
John Constantine: attempted by many, but never really successfully adapted outside of the Vertigo comics. I’m a fan of the 2005 film, in which the cunning mage is portrayed by Keanu Reeves, but it didn’t really feel like it did the source material complete justice. Same thing for NBC’s short-lived television series. Matt Ryan was good with the limited material he had to work with, but it was ultimately a show that represented untapped potential. Constantine is going to be featured heavily in the Liman Justice League Dark movie, and while I love that property, it isn’t exactly Hellblazer. Hopefully something like this can spin out of that. What we need is a stand-alone feature in this new comic-friendly era, and all the resources that come with it, to truly make a great Hellblazer adaptation.
Spectre
I’ve always been fascinated with the Spectre. An entity of god’s more vengeful, Old-Testament temperament that looks really creepy and has zero tolerance for criminals. Trippy, right? John Ostrander wrote some great stories in the early 90’s exploring the reason for Spectre’s existence and the character’s growing self-awareness, and DC just had a really great modern look at the holy ghost in Gotham By Midnight. Both of those platforms could be great places to look for building blocks for a film. This is a great character that could really add to the supernatural side of the DCEU. He’s kinda like the Punisher, except he is literally the wrath of god personified.
Zatanna
Besides Constantine, Zatanna is the MVP of DC’s magical side. Before I go any further, no, not everyone on this list is in the magic/supernatural genre, don’t worry. She is also going to feature front and center in the Justice League Dark movie, I’m sure, so you would probably do her film in the vein of the current Wonder Woman situation. That is, it would be a flashback origin of sorts. Her father is the great magician Zatarra, a storied character himself in DC Comics, and if you managed somehow to do some sort of Doctor Fate thing like in Young Justice, this origin would be really exciting.
Green Arrow
I am aware that Oliver Queen currently has a TV series on The CW…but, I mean, if they can do it for The Flash, why not Green Arrow? Arrow is fine for what it is, but Green Arrow is a character that deserves a place in the DCEU, side by side with the Justice League characters. He doesn’t have to be in the league: I think it would be better suited for Mr. Queen to have a standalone film and story, with the odd interaction with the League every now and then as an added bonus. You could have characters like Black Canary, Shado, and Count Vertigo show up too; there is a whole world you can build around him. This would also be taking advantage of an area that Marvel has yet to conquer: a solo film for the company badass archer.
Nightwing
I really feel like this would be so perfect in the current DCEU. The setup is already there: we have an older Bruce Wayne, so Dick Grayson has already been on his own as Nightwing for a considerable amount of time. He is his own man already, an established hero, so we wouldn’t have to stutter with the father-son angst breakaway from Batman here. They would still have a sort of father/son, or at least mentor/pupil relationship, but all the grudges are in the past as they are both seasoned vets by this time. It would be a story focusing solely on Nightwing, but when the inevitable fight scene alongside Batman comes around, it would be amazing.
Shade, The Changing Man
This one would get weird, but it could be really special if pulled off the right way. If you are unfamiliar with Shade, The Changing Man, check out this one-minute animated short from DC Nation. It’s a bit hard to explain: Rac Shade is a Changing Man, sent to earth to stop madness from engulfing it. He wears what is called an M-Vest, which can warp reality. The thing is…it quite often does warp reality to the point where reality can become obscured, and Rac doesn’t always win the struggle against this madness. I was bummed out when there was no mention of Shade being in either the animated or live-action Justice League Dark features (he is a founding member in the comics), because he had become my favorite character in the books. This movie would be like an acid trip on steroids (think Doctor Strange‘s reality-warping scenes and multiply them by 10), but it would be an opportunity for something truly fresh, new and different from what we’ve seen in these types of films. This is probably the one I would like to see the most, honestly.
So there are some movies we’d like to see brought into the fold in the DCEU. What do you guys think? Like the picks? Want something else? Let us know in the comments section below.
