Complete DC Comics Superhero Movie Release Calendar

The DC Extended Universe is in full swing! With a healthy schedule of upcoming DC movies in development, the DCEU isn't going away anytime soon, and there's still lots to look forward to.

So, it's time to take a look at all of the DC superhero movies that will be released over the next few years. And trust us, there are a ton of them on the way, and we expect more details will be announced as we go forward. We have all the release dates for every one of 'em right here, as well as official details, the most interesting rumors, and suggestions for further reading where appropriate. Joker, Birds of Prey, and Wonder Woman 1984 will all arrive on schedule between now and the end of 2020, and The Batman and Suicide Squad 2 have been dated for 2021. And this is probably only the beginning for the newly revitalized DCEU!

Here's how this works, because the schedule is getting a little weird. We're starting with the dates that we know Warner Bros. has reserved specifically for DC superhero movies. You'll find that in some cases, there isn't officially a project attached to that date yet. Then we'll get into the stuff that we know for 100% certain is in development, but that don't have release dates for. Then we'll get into some of the long shots at the bottom.

We'll keep updating this with more information as we get it...

October 4, 2019 - Joker

The Joker, Batman's greatest villain, is getting a movie all his own. Todd Phillips (The Hangover, War Dogs) will direct, and co-write a script with Scott Silver (8 Mile, The Fighter). Martin Scorsese is producing. This is to be a Joker origin story, told as "a gritty and grounded hard-boiled crime film set in early-’80s Gotham City that isn’t meant to feel like a DC movie as much as one of Scorsese’s films from that era."

This movie is called, simply, Joker, and will feature Joaquin Phoenix (not Jared Leto) in the role, and this will not officially tie in with the rest of the DCEU continuity. It sounds like the studio is pursuing a big screen version of DC Comics'"Elseworlds" line. You can check out the trailer here and as our breakdown and analysis of it here.

We have everything else you need to know about The Joker movie right here.

February 7, 2020 - Birds of Prey

Cathy Yan will direct the Birds of Prey movie, from a script by Christina Hodson. Birds of Prey will feature Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, and Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz, and Ewan McGregor as the villainous Black Mask.

April 3rd, 2020 - Cyborg

Ray Fisher made his first (very brief) appearance as Vic Stone/Cyborg in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and played a crucial role in Justice League. At one point he was supposed to feature in The Flash solo movie, too, but it's not clear if that's still the case.

No other details are presently available, and there had been unconfirmed rumors that this one might be reworked into a movie that would introduce the Teen Titans to the big screen. But also note that there has been no movement on this project in quite some time, so don't be surprised if this loses its release date (it's currently listed as Untitled DC Film on BoxOfficeMojo) But until we hear otherwise, this is what was announced. It's almost certainly not happening, though. It's just as likely that WB moves Birds of Prey from February to April if they have nothing else to fill this slot.

June 5, 2020 - Wonder Woman 2

The most critically acclaimed DCEU movie is definitely getting a sequel. Patty Jenkins will return to direct Wonder Woman 1984, which will move Diana's story forward in time...to 1984. Expect what another adventure set in the past, this time the 1980s. Kristen Wiig will play Wonder Woman's enemy, the Cheetah.

Here's the official synopsis:

Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing an all-new foe: The Cheetah.

Here's everything you need to know about Wonder Woman 1984!

May 20, 2021 - DC Super Pets

OK, fine, this isn't a DCEU project, and it's an animated movie. But unless you have no soul, how can you resist Krypto, Streaky, Ace, Comet, and the rest of the amazing super pets? They had better be fighting the Brain Globes of Rambat in this movie, otherwise, we riot.

June 25, 2021 - The Batman

The Batman solo movie has Matt Reeves as director, and apparently has a script the studio is happy with. The problem is that it doesn't have a star, as after endless back and forth and rumors, Ben Affleck has officially departed the role. Expect a more low-key, detective focused approach to the Dark Knight than we've seen in previous movies, and perhaps multiple villains.

Aug. 6, 2021 - Suicide Squad 2

David Ayer going to be too busy with Gotham City Sirens until further notice, and now none other than James Gunn (he of Guardians of the Galaxy fame) has stepped in to write and direct Suicide Squad 2. This is now called The Suicide Squad, which indicates something of a soft reboot, but expect this to remain a DCEU project. The cast is still in flux, and scheduling issues have forced Will Smith to bow out of the project as Deadshot, but it's tough to imagine a situation where Margot Robbie doesn't at least make an appearance as Harley Quinn. John Cena has joined the cast, with Idris Elba taking on a new character, Jai Courtney expected to return as Captain Boomerang, Viola Davis reprising her Amanda Waller role, and possibly Joel Kinnaman returning as Rick Flagg.

We have more details on The Suicide Squad right here.

Dec. 16, 2022 - Aquaman 2

After it made a billion dollars at the box office, you bet your trident that Aquaman 2 is happening! Right now the plan is for James Wan to remain involved and start developing the movie, but he won't decide whether or not to direct it until there's a script in place. Fair enough.

You can keep up with all our Aquaman 2 news right here.

Now, let's get into the projects that are in the works, but don't have release dates yet. We've grouped these roughly in the order we expect to see them based on how far along they are.

Black Adam

Originally slated to be the villain of Shazam, Black Adam will instead be played by Dwayne Johnson in a solo movie. The character is certainly strong enough to sustain his own movie.

There's no release date set for the Black Adam movie, and this is the kind of thing that could work as a nifty prequel to further flesh out the mystical world of Shazam if they choose to go that route. We're currently on the lookout for more info, but expect things to move quickly now that Shazam was a hit, and it's expected to film this year.

Adam Sztykiel (Due Date, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul) is writing. We have a little bit more info right here.

Green Lantern Corps

Fairly or unfairly, Green Lantern has the most working against him. The 2011 film failed to kickstart the DC Universe as planned, and received a lukewarm (at best) critical and box-office reception. There are, of course, ways around this.

One way is to simply not make Hal Jordan the central Green Lantern of the movie. This one may focus on as many as three Green Lanterns, with the main focus on a kind of buddy/cop movie with John Stewart and Hal Jordan. Geoff Johns is writing the script, but there's no director in place yet, although Rupert Wyatt's name had been linked to the job at one point. Rumors that Tom Cruise would play Hal Jordan appear to have been premature.

We have more details on the Green Lantern Corps movie right here.

The Flash: Flashpoint

Jonathan Goldstein and Jon Francis Daley are directing this one, from a script by Joby Harold. Unless, of course, the studio decided to go with one by Ezra Miller and Grant Morrison. This project has had a really rough road.

Ezra Miller will reprise his Justice League role as Barry Allen. Kiersey Clemons is Iris West. It's possible that we'll get a guest appearance from Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, as well.

Maybe not, though. This movie has had an extraordinary amount of trouble getting off the ground, at one point it was said to be based on the Flashpoint story, but that might not be the case any more.

In any case, here's everything we know about The Flash movie so far.

The New Gods

Ava DuVernay will direct a movie based on Jack Kirby's New Gods. It's not clear yet whether this will fit into the traditional DCEU, but really, it doesn't need to. The New Gods is a cosmic story of such incredible scale that there's no reason to try and connect this to earthbound concerns.

The New Gods is the story of two worlds, the warlike Apokolips and the peaceful New Genesis, each populated by immensely powerful beings with fantastic technology. Darkseid is the evil dictator of Apokolips, and he swaps sons with Highfather, the leader of New Genesis, and each child is raised on the opposite world. Darkseid's son, Orion, becomes a troubled champion of New Genesis, while Highfather's son (raised by Darkseid) revolts and becomes the super escape artist, Mister Miracle. This barely scratches the surface of what this movie is about. We tried to get into more detail about it here.

The Trench

Aquaman director James Wan and producer Peter Safran are working on developing other corners of Arthur's world in addition to Aquaman 2. The Trench will focus on the terrifying piranha-like beasts seen briefly in the first film, and will be a smaller-scale, more horror-focused movie, and one that won't feature any of the main characters from Aquaman. A different approach to superhero movie worldbuilding, for sure. Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald are writing.

Blue Beetle

There's a Blue Beetle movie in the works. And unlike the character potentially appearing in the Booster Gold movie (more on that down below), this one would focus on Jaime Reyes, the magical tech powered teenage hero who wields the scarab of original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (Miss Bala) is writing the script. No other details are available...yet.

Plastic Man

This one is a little further off in the future as all they've done is hire a writer. But there is definitely a Plastic Man movie in the works, with Amanda Idoko (ABC's The Mayor) working on a screenplay. We have some more details on it right here.

Blackhawk

Steven Spielberg has long wanted to make a Blackhawk movie, and he's finally going to get his wish. And if it was your wish to see Steven Spielberg direct a DC movie, you're also in luck. David Koepp is writing the screenplay. We have more details on this one here.

Nightwing

The Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay has been tapped to direct a Nightwing movie. Bill Dubuque (The Accountant) is working on a script. No other details are currently available, and this one doesn't have a release date yet.

Batgirl

Joss Whedon was originally supposed to write, direct, and produce the Batgirl movie, one that was reportedly based on Gail Simone's recent New 52 take on the character. He has exited the project and now Christina Hodson is writing.

Supergirl

Oren Uziel is working on a script for a Supergirl movie. It's not clear what kind of ties this will have to the currently dead Man of Steel franchise, especially given the uncertain state of Henry Cavill's future as Superman.

Deathstroke

Joe Manganiello has been cast as Slade Wilson, known to DC fans as Deathstroke. Long rumored as the villain of The Batman solo movie (that is no longer the case), Deathstroke is now going to get a solo film, written and directed by The Raid's Gareth Evans. At the moment, there is no release date.

Justice League 2

Justice League 2 isn't terribly likely to happen at the moment given how the first film underperformed at the box office, but don't count it out yet! We have some ideas about how Justice League 2 could still move forward right here.

Justice League Dark

At one time this was called Dark Universe, until Universal came along and ruined that name with their failed horror movie shared franchise. This one will feature the supernatural characters from the DC Universe. Characters like Swamp Thing, Demon, Deadman, Zatanna, and possibly even John Constantine.

Guillermo del Toro was attached to this one for quite some time, but had to leave the project. Then it was Doug Liman. Now it might be Daniel Espinosa or Gerard Johnstone. This will probably remain slow going.

And now for the long shots...projects mentioned, rumored, or that haven't had any movement in a while.

Man of Steel 2

Never officially announced, with no director or writer ever attached...don't get your hopes up for a solo Superman movie any time soon. Especially considering that Henry Cavill appears to be finished as Superman.

Harley Quinn

Yes, there's also another Harley Quinn movie in development! Whether this is a solo project or something else remains to be seen. Your guess is as good as ours!

Gotham City Sirens

David Ayer is looking to direct a Harley Quinn and friends "girl gang" movie. Geneva Robertson-Dworet is writing, with Margot Robbie producing. It's not clear where this stands on anybody's priority list, especially with Birds of Prey, a Harley Quinn solo movie, and other projects in development.

Booster Gold and Blue Beetle in DC Comics

Booster Gold (and maybe Blue Beetle)

Flash and Arrow executive producer Greg Berlanti is going to executive produce and possibly direct a Booster Gold movie. Zack Stentz (Thor, X-Men: First Class) will write the script.

Early reports described this as a "superhero buddy cop movie" that would involve Blue Beetle. We'll get you more updates on this as they become available.

Deadshot

Warner Bros. knows they have one of the biggest stars in the world already in costume, so they're reportedly considering a Deadshotsolo movie, as well. But with Smith now having left Suicide Squad 2 this project seems like it may not ever materialize. Unless, of course, switching Idris Elba's role (he was originally intended as Smith's replacement as Floyd) means they're keeping the door open for him.

Lobo

Back on the schedule after years of being dormant, the Lobo movie may attempt to be the DCEU equivalent of Deadpool. Jason Fuchs must have impressed Warner Bros. with his work on Wonder Woman, because he's on board to write the script for this one. Michael Bay might direct. But with Lobo set to be a major player onKrypton season 2, this might be less of a priority for the studio now.

We have some more info on the project here.

Joker & Harley Quinn Movie

There's another Joker-centric flick in the works this one, a Joker and Harley Quinn movie is absolutely part of the DCEU, and would pick up where Suicide Squad left off. There are currently on additional details available on this one, either. This may not happen, however, as it appears that Warner Bros. is less intent on pursuing multiple Joker projects.

Not to be confused with...

Jared Leto Joker Movie

Honestly, we're having trouble keeping track of all these, but yes, there was also yet another Joker solo movie in development focusing on Jared Leto's version of the character. Apparently, this has been canceled.

Sandman

Sandmanisn't a superhero movie, and it isn't a DC Universe movie that will have any bearing on future DCEU films. But it is one of the most successful, enduring comics of all time.

The latest news on this isn't encouraging, though. It appears to be a dead project. Maybe they'll finally come to their senses and make this an HBO series instead.

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

The DCEU continues to expand with Shazam, Wonder Woman 2, Joker, Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad, and more!