James Gunn may be wiping the slate clean over at DC. It was just announced that Wonder Woman 3, which was previously in development, will not be moving forward. Additionally, a Black Adam sequel and Henry Cavill's return as Superman may not be part of Gunn's new plans for the DC Universe.
Gunn was appointed co-CEO of DC Films alongside Peter Safran about a month ago. In that time frame, it's been unclear how Gunn and Safran would be running the DCE moving forward. Wonder Woman 3 had previously been a sure thing because the Wonder Woman franchise was considered one of the brighter spots in DC's cinematic universe, and director Patty Jenkins seemed to be a steady presence within it. Wonder Woman '84 had not performed as well as the first film, but the sequel had dropped during the height of the pandemic, meaning its underperformance was nothing shocking.
The Hollywood Reporter dropped a report about the status of Wonder Woman 3. In the article, the publication reported that the film was not moving forward in its current form due to the new creative director at DC Studios rather than financial costs (Jenkins was set to make $12 million and Gal Gadot was set to receive $20 million). Gunn and Safran are reportedly due to speak with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav next month to discuss their plans for the studio, which are not yet finalized.
Some of these plans were reportedly leaked to The Hollywood Reporter, which stated that one course of action involved shuttering the so-called "Snyderverse" and recasting every character. For instance, Aquaman would no longer be played by Jason Momoa, and Henry Cavill, who was recently set to return as Superman, would probably not be back either. Both had shot cameos for The Flash, which is set to release next year. Momoa, however, would return in this new DC Universe as the mercenary character Lobo.
Reportedly, The Batman is safe and will continue to exist in its own universe. A sequel to Black Adam, which Dwayne Johnson was very excited about, also appears unlikely. This is amidst speculation about the film's financial haul, which may not have been enough to justify bringing Johnson or the character of Black Adam into this fledgling universe. The character appeared to be one whom Johnson wanted to have a big part in the DCU moving forward.
Also unclear is the fate of the Shazam series. Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be released in March 2023, and its performance could mean that the character and actors would return down the road. Meanwhile, the Blue Beetle movie, which recently had a poster unveiled by Gunn, might stick around as well, depending on its performance. That film does not appear to have too many connections to the wider DCEU, so it would not be a stretch to include it in DC Studio's new plans.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
