DC Disruption Has Town Jittery: What’s Next For ‘Man Of Steel’ And Other Sequels After ‘Wonder Woman 3’ Jolt

Yesterday’s DC mayhem over Patty Jenkins’ version of unplugging Wonderwoman 3 coupled with rampant rumors about the studio’s new co-heads, James Gunn and Peter Safran, rocking the comic book label without Henry Cavill Man of steel 2 and potential recasting of many current major superhero roles has left the town with a serious case of PTSD.

The studio’s lack of communication with talent representatives and content creators about what’s next in the DC empire, as Gunn and Safran chart it, has evoked bad flashbacks of when former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar surprised and alienated Hollywood with his project popcorn theatrical day-and-date plan, and even Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s war with Scarlett Johansson is over Black Widow.

“This is causing a riot,” says a content creator connected to DC Fare about the silence they’ve received about the future fate of their DC projects, “And it’s a terrible optics. This company is based on relationships.”

When it comes to the rumors circulating that main cast members of DC superheroes Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Henry Cavill (Superman) may be recast as the Gunn-Safran government develops a synergistic plan for the DC brand creates all media, our source says: “These franchises that are already making a lot of money, why stop? How can a studio with so much debt afford to start from scratch? Scripts and schedules of actors have to be devised.

Those three actors included Black Adam‘s Dwayne Johnson is represented by WME, and a full turnover of DC stars by Warners would put them under the control of a major agency. Nobody prepares for war ala CAA/Disney with Johansson. Despite everyone playing nicely at the moment, there is a certain fear lurking. On the other hand, we hear that WME-repped Flash director Andy Muschietti and Indiana Jones director James Mangold is excited to do business with the Gunn-Safran-led studio.

Gunn tried to ease agita today in a multi-Twitter post acknowledging “the tricky environment” he and Safran find themselves in, and that “there would be an inevitable transition period if we’re going to tell a cohesive story across film, TV, animation, and gaming.”

While it’s an understatement to say change is never easy, Gunn and Safran’s arrival in DC is akin to a big boss taking over a studio, or a football coach taking over a team. They are going to bring their own vision and more likely than not, history will be rewritten. Give the guys some credit: they’re planning on making a more cohesive franchise like Marvel.

“We know we won’t make every person happy every step of the way, but we can promise that everything we do is in service of the STORY and in service of the DC CHARACTERS that we know you cherish and that we have cherished all our lives,” de Guardians of the Universe and Suicide Squad franchise filmmaker added in his tweet.

Now, Gunn and Safran aim to have no Kilar situation regarding talent relations and hope to notify representatives of their DC plans for the holiday shortly after speaking with Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

There’s a lot of hot air out there, so here’s what’s known at the moment:

Wonder Woman 3 According to experts, it was Patty Jenkins who ran away after receiving notes about the treatment she had received at the studio. Apparently, her threequel pitch had character arc issues that rivaled those of Wonder Woman 1984, which despite being hit worst at the box office by closed theaters in NYC and LA during Covid and a day-and-date plan from studio HBO Max, was panned by critics with 58% Rotten and despite no critical acclaim with fans with a B+ Cinemascore the former got an A. A rival studio executive noted the potential problem in the current DC lineup of having a filmmaker like Gunn take notes for an established filmmaker like Jenkins, but we hear that Warner Bros. Motion Picture chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy were concerned about the treatment before Safran and Gunn ventured into it. The group provided notes. Jenkins fought back, defending her view that the threequel’s character arcs were solid. Jenkins had the chance for another pass, but chose to walk. While the optics of Wonder Woman 3 do not continue after killing bat girl provides a bad look for the studio, it was never anyone’s intention to be sexist. The hope of another Wonderwoman consists. The question is whether Gal Gadot wants to make it without Jenkins, and judging by the actress’s tweet two days before the explosive DC news, it sounds like the actress wants to stay on board. combined, the Wonderwoman films grossed $992.4 million, the first dynamic female moviegoers in the DC Universe. Why would the current DC administration not want to earn more Wonderwoman?

Man of steel 2 and the whole Henry Cavill of it. Before Gunn and Safran even arrived, it was De Luca and Abdy’s decision with Johnson, sources tell us, to leave Cavill’s Superman at the end of Black Adam to give the dark movie an uplifting, thrilling cliffhanger. No regrets there. Cavill is managed by Dany Garcia, who also represents ex-husband Johnson. Cavill’s team had been advocating for the actor’s return as the Man of the Steel for some time, a role he took on in the 2013 Zack Synder-directed version ($668 million WW) and continued in the film. from 2016. Batman v Superman ($873 million WW) and that of 2017 Justice League ($657.9 million). I heard Cavill took it upon himself to announce his return as the Man of Steel on Instagram on Oct. 24, the day before Safran and Gunn were named as heads of DC. Before the arrival of the duo, De Luca and Abdy heard a pitch from Man of Steel producer Charles Roven and a writer. They didn’t like it and wanted to wait for Safran and Gunn’s plan to be carried out. Hence, Man of steel 2 never got the go-ahead, had no director, or was packaged. Haircut? Man of steel 2 remains an open slot until the studio hears a better pitch.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday season, Johnson revealed in a video post that he “fought hard” with Warners to bring Cavill back. Johnson said Warners “inexplicably and unforgivably” didn’t want to bring Cavill back, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer and his team got to work.

“There have been years of work to bring Henry Cavill back and there have been years of strategic talks and we didn’t want to take no for an answer,” he added. “It was impossible, there is no viable logical way to try to build out the DC Universe without the strongest force and greatest superhero of all time sitting on the sidelines. It is impossible to do.”

But wait, what about that Flash end up with Cavill? Yes, Cavill taped it, there’s something about Clark Kent with additional cameos from Supergirl, Aquaman, Wonder Woman in the film. However, the studio is currently sitting on these options until they consult with Safran and Gunn. It remains whether the duo wants to do another one Ezra Miller led Flash and if they do another Flash, how they will finish it. Miller has been ablaze in the tabloids all year for a number of run-ins, the actor is currently battling a liquor theft charge in Vermont. The actor publicly apologized for his actions.

And Black Adam 2? It’s been radio silence from Warner Bros. to the team of the picture on whether there will be a sequel to the Johnson-led franchise. However, Warner Brass and Johnson are elated that the picture will make a profit of more than $50 million despite false media reports. Warners would like to keep an asset like Johnson with half a billion social media followers, the People’s Champion has made several hit movies with New Line including San Andreas, Rampage, and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Will there be a full reboot of DC’s core stars? A studio insider tells us, “At no point was there any preconceived idea not to continue with these actors. It all comes down to how The flash (June 16) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25) do at the checkout.” Not to mention, the studio doesn’t want Gadot hanging Wonder Woman’s belt.

And Jason Momoa as Lobo? This is just fan speculation at the time given how the actor looks as the anti-hero. Momoa and Gunn are friends seen as the former made a cameo as Aquaman in the latter’s Suicide Squad spin-off HBO Max series The peacemaker.