We're finally in the year 2016, the year where Warner Brother's and DC attempt to launch a shared cinematic universe for their comic book characters. We will finally see a film universe in which iconic characters such as Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor and The Joker all share the same plane of existence. I'm incredibly excited to see what WB have up their sleeve, and after viewing various clips from the CW special "DC Films presents: The Dawn of the Justice League", my excitement levels have just gone through the roof.
Wonder Woman
With director Patty Jenkins kindly agreeing to showcase some brand new footage from the Wonder Woman movie, set for a June 23rd 2017 release, we get our first proper look at the Amazon Princess in her own solo outing. What this footage confirms to me is that after we meet her character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we will get to find out more about her and learn exactly who she is and what motivates her. It seems that her arc in this film surrounds the idea of whether or not humanity is worth protecting, causing her to go on a quest into the human world to find out the answer to that question. I believe the time frame for this film is during World War 1, so around the year 1915.
I was pleasantly surprised not just by the look of Wonder Woman herself, but the general aesthetic of the action sequences showcased. My only concern for this film is Gal Gadot herself, whether she has the acting chops to bring this iconic female superhero to life. Hopefully after Batman v Superman, I'll be itching to see more of her.
Flash
Along with an extended look at Wonder Woman, the CW special gave us some early glimpses at the other 3 characters who will make up the Justice League roster, one of them being The Flash. This incarnation of the character is separate from the Grant Gustin one currently on TV, but the actor portraying him in the movies (Ezra Miller) is confirmed to be Barry Allen and not Wally West.
It seems that The Flash's character arc is constructed in a similar way to the TV show; his mother is killed, his father falsely blamed for it, Barry becomes obsessed with forensic science to find out the truth before being struck by lightning and gifted incredible speed powers. But what intrigues me most is the possibility surrounding this character. In fact, I think at one point Geoff Johns and Ezra Miller suggested his speed powers allow him to break free from the space-time continuum and enter alternative dimensions. How cool is that? We will see Ezra Miller's Flash a tiny bit in Batman v Superman before expanding his role in both Justice League movies and his 2018 solo outing.
Aquaman
It's been known for a while that Jason Momoa's Aquaman will make a small appearance in Batman v Superman, but this TV special offered us a greater look at his costume as well as a compelling character arc to expect from him. Arthur Curry is a son of a lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, and as a result feels as if he doesn't belong in either world.
Despite the fact he may not belong ideally in either world, he has a great sense of morality and feels a responsibility to protect both the world under the waters and above it. Another fascinating aspect of his character I really hope to see them explore is the fact he is incredibly inexperienced dealing with powers he doesn't entirely understand. That makes for both a compelling protagonist and a vulnerable hero you want to route for. Bring on Aquaman, who I think is going to blow audiences away and stop all of the petty popular culture jokes once and for all!
Cyborg
Skip to the last third of the above clip to her Geoff Johns and Kevin Smith discuss the character of Cyborg, who might be the most relatable, compelling character introduced to us so far. Cyborg is constantly connected to the Internet, awake 24 hours a day constantly absorbing data, and for that reason could prove to be a valuable asset to the Justice League in such a digital age. I feel audiences will liken to him as a result.
But what makes me so excited is the potential character arc I think they're going to run with in the movies. Victor Stone, after his accident, is left fatally wounded and can only survive if transformed into a machine. What I think the movies will revolve around is Stone trying to hold on to his humanity whilst his body becomes more and more artificial. It's a great idea from DC here, and proves that what they're doing is creating movies which take care with their title characters. We'll meet a load of these heroes in The Justice League part 1 or maybe even Batman v Superman, but their solo outings will delve deeper into the characters and let us as audiences know exactly who they are.
My major question concerning Cyborg is when will we see his transformation? Is there enough room in Batman v Superman to add in this side plot? I'm not sure, but again only time will give us the answers.
Green Lantern(s)
I can't find the actual clip, but during the CW special Geoff Johns confirmed that Green Lantern would be joining our heroes in The Justice League part 1. However, it won't just be Hal Jordan. In fact, the Green Lantern Corps is suggested to play a big role in the upcoming 2 part Justice League film. So we will have our Justice League comprising of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and the entire Green Lantern Corps fighting beside them.
The Corps are a group of intergalactic police, and the fact they will appear in these movies as well as a planned solo outing in 2020 suggests DC are listening to what the fans want to see.... people like John Stewart and Kyle Rayner alongside the most famous GL Hal Jordan. But if in the Justice League movies the JL have to fight huge intergalactic threats such as Brainiac or Darkseid, it could easily tie the GL Corps into the story.
The Suicide Squad and the DC villains
At the end of the special, we were treated to a brand new Suicide Squad trailer during which the worst of the worst of DC villainy jump from shenanigan to shenanigan, edited perfectly to the beat of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. From this new trailer, I took out the following:
- Harley Quinn still looks like the scene stealer with some gut busting lines of dialogue.
- Her origin and how that ties into The Joker will probably be the main focus point of the movie even if it isn't marketed as such. I feel her current predicament and The Joker's are tied to Ben Affleck's Batman's past. Maybe after the 2 were incarcerated and the death of a certain Robin occurred, that's when Bruce hung up the cape and cowl. Now the 2 are roaming "free" again, Bruce has another reason to come out of retirement besides kicking Superman's ass!
- The film may link into a future trilogy of solo Batman films, with the "Under the Red Hood" storyline being almost a certainty to occur. We'll have to wait and see.
- The movie is going to be knowingly light hearted and willingly funny, something other DC films have been criticised for lacking.
- Joel Kinnamen's Rick Flagg doesn't actually look too bad. "What is wrong with you people?!" is delivered so well by him that it's actually my favourite line of the trailer.
- They're holding back on Jared Leto's Joker, whose hopefully great interpretation of the character is kept under wraps until we go and see the movie in August of this year.
- This movie, if it is both commercially and critically successful, will spawn off a whole entire sub section of the DC Extended Universe during which the villains, not the heroes, take centre stage. The possibilities are endless!
Add on top of all of these projects a new saga of solo Batman films, a possible Superman standalone and a Shazam movie starring The Rock as Black Adam, we have a lot to look forward to in the DC Extended Universe. And it's coming sooner rather than later!
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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