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

Yesterday’s DC chaos about the unplugging of Patty Jenkins’ mentation of Wonder Woman 3 coupled with rampant rumors of the studio’s caller co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran turning the comic publication statement upside down sans a Henry Cavill Man of Steel 2 and imaginable re-casting of galore existent large superhero roles has near the municipality with a atrocious lawsuit of PTSD.

The deficiency of connection to endowment reps and contented creators by the workplace astir what’s adjacent successful the DC empire, arsenic Gunn and Safran representation it out, has brought backmost atrocious flashbacks of erstwhile erstwhile WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar amazed and alienated Hollywood with his task popcorn theatrical day-and-date plan, and adjacent Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s warfare with Scarlett Johansson implicit Black Widow.

“This is creating a riot,” says 1 contented shaper connected to DC fare astir the level of soundlessness they’ve received connected the destiny of their DC projects going forward, “And it’s a horrible optic. This concern is based connected relationships.”

When it comes to the rumors retired determination that halfway DC superhero castmembers Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), and Henry Cavill (Superman) whitethorn beryllium recast arsenic the Gunn-Safran medication creates a synergistic program for the DC marque crossed each mediums, our root says, “These franchises which already marque a batch of money, wherefore halt them? How tin a workplace that’s bearing truthful overmuch indebtedness spend to commencement from scratch? There are scripts and actors’ schedules to beryllium figured out.”

Those 3 actors including Black Adam‘s Dwayne Johnson are repped by WME, and a implicit turnover of DC stars by Warners would enactment them successful cheque to a large agency. No 1 is getting acceptable to spell to warfare ala CAA/Disney with Johansson. Despite everyone presently playing nice, an anxiousness lurks. On the different hand, we perceive that WME-repped Flash director Andy Muschietti and Indiana Jones director James Mangold are excited to bash concern with the Gunn-Safran led studio.

Gunn sought to easiness agita today successful a multi-Twitter station acknowledging “the fractious environment” helium and Safran are walking into, and that “there would beryllium an unavoidable transitional play arsenic we moved into telling a cohesive communicative crossed film, TV, animation, and gaming.”

While it’s an understatement to accidental alteration is ne'er easy, the accomplishment of Gunn and Safran to DC is akin to immoderate large brag taking implicit a studio, oregon a shot manager taking implicit a team. They’re going to bring their ain imaginativeness and much apt past not, past volition beryllium re-written. Give the guys immoderate credit: They’re mounting retired to marque a much cohesive franchise similar Marvel.

“We cognize we are not going to marque each azygous idiosyncratic blessed each measurement of the way, but we tin committedness everything we bash is done successful the work of the STORY & successful the work of the DC CHARACTERS we cognize you cherish and we person cherished our full lives,” the Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad franchise filmmaker added successful his tweet.

Now, Gunn and Safran are aiming not to person a Kilar concern connected their hands successful regards to endowment relations and anticipation to apprise reps of their DC plans earlier the vacation soon aft they beryllium down with Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

There’s a batch of blistery aerial retired there, truthful here’s what’s known astatine this point:

Wonder Woman 3 According to those successful the know, it was Patty Jenkins who walked distant aft receiving notes connected the attraction she submitted to the studio. Apparently her threequel transportation had quality arc problems which rivaled that of Wonder Woman 1984, which contempt being impacted astatine the container bureau for the worst by closed NYC and LA theaters during Covid and a workplace HBO Max day-and-date plan, was panned by critics astatine 58% Rotten and not a rave with fans with a B+ Cinemascore contempt the archetypal 1 getting an A. One rival workplace enforcement observed the imaginable occupation successful the existent DC set-up of having a filmmaker similar Gunn providing notes to an established filmmaker similar Jenkins, however, we perceive that Warner Bros. Motion Picture chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy had concerns astir the attraction earlier Safran and Gunn weighed in. The radical provided notes. Jenkins fought backmost and defended her imaginativeness that the threequel’s quality arcs were solid. Jenkins was fixed the accidental for different pass, but opted to walk. While the optics of Wonder Woman 3 not going guardant station the sidesplitting of Batgirl provides atrocious optics for the studio, it was ne'er anyone’s volition to beryllium sexist. The anticipation for different Wonder Woman exists. The question is whether Gadot wants to marque it sans Jenkins, and judging from the actress’ tweet 2 days’ before the explosive DC news, it sounds similar the histrion wants to enactment aboard. Combined, the Wonder Woman movies grossed $992.4M, the archetypal dynamiting pistillate moviegoers to the DC universe. Why wouldn’t the existent DC medication not privation to marque much Wonder Woman?

Man of Steel 2 and the full Henry Cavill of it. Before Gunn and Safran adjacent arrived, it was De Luca and Abdy’s determination with Johnson, sources archer us, to enactment Cavill’s Superman astatine the extremity of Black Adam to springiness the acheronian movie an uplifting, breathtaking cliffhanger. No regrets there. Cavill is managed by Dany Garcia, who besides reps erstwhile spouse Johnson. There had been immoderate championing for immoderate clip by Cavill’s squad for the histrion to instrumentality arsenic the Man of the Steel, a relation helium took connected successful the Zack Synder directed 2013 mentation ($668M WW) and continued successful 2016’s Batman v Superman ($873M WW) and 2017’s Justice League ($657.9M). Cavill, I hear, took it upon himself to denote his instrumentality as the Man of Steel connected Instagram connected Oct. 24, the time earlier Safran and Gunn were named arsenic heads of DC. De Luca and Abdy earlier the duo’s accomplishment heard a transportation from Man of Steel producer Charles Roven and a writer. They didn’t similar it and wanted to hold for Safran and Gunn’s program to travel into place. Hence, Man of Steel 2 was ne'er greenlit, didn’t person a manager nor was it packaged. Capisce? Man of Steel 2 remains an unfastened slot until the workplace hears a amended pitch.

Over the Thanksgiving vacation stretch, Johnson revealed successful a video station that helium “fought hard” with Warners to bring Cavill back. Johnson said Warners “inexplicably and inexcusably” did not privation to bring backmost Cavill but helium was not going to instrumentality nary for an reply and his squad got to work.

“This has been years successful the making regarding bringing Henry Cavill backmost and years of strategical conversations and we were not going to instrumentality nary for an answer,” Johnson said. “There was nary way, there’s nary viable logical mode that you tin effort to physique retired the DC Universe without the astir almighty unit and the top superhero of each clip sitting connected the sidelines. It’s intolerable to do.”

But, wait, what astir that Flash ending with Cavill? Yes, Cavill changeable it, there’s thing involving Clark Kent with further cameos by Supergirl, Aquaman, Wonder Woman successful the film. However, the workplace close present is sitting connected these options until they confer with Safran and Gunn. It remains whether the duo privation to bash another Ezra Miller led Flash and if they bash different Flash, how they’ll tee that up. Miller has been ablaze successful the tabloids for a fig of run-ins passim the year, the histrion presently battling a liquor burglary theft complaint successful Vermont. The histrion made a nationalist apology for his actions.

And Black Adam 2? It’s been vigor soundlessness from Warner Bros. to the pic’s squad astir whether determination is simply a sequel to the Johnson led franchise. However Warner brass and Johnson are elated that the pic stands to marque a nett northbound of $50M despite mendacious media reports. Warners would beryllium keen to support an plus similar Johnson with a fractional cardinal societal media followers successful the fold, the People’s Champion having made respective deed movies with New Line including San Andreas, Rampage, and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Will determination beryllium a implicit reboot of DC’s halfway stars? One workplace insider tells us, “At nary constituent was determination immoderate pre-conceived notions of not continuing with these actors. It each boils down to however The Flash (June 16) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 25) bash astatine the container office.” Not to mention, the workplace doesn’t privation Gadot to bent up Wonder Woman’s belt.

And Jason Momoa arsenic Lobo? This is specified instrumentality speculation astatine the clip fixed however the histrion looks similar the anti-hero. Momoa and Gunn are friends fixed however the erstwhile made a cameo arsenic Aquaman successful the latter’s Suicide Squad spinoff HBO Max bid The Peacemaker.