The release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom marked the end of the DCEU as we knew it. While new co-CEOS James Gunn and Peter Safran are crafting a new shared universe, fans still have some questions about the last one (which can be streamed with a Max subscription). Many of those queries revolved around Zack Snyder's trilogy, and his two planned Justice League sequels that never got produced. And the filmmaker recently explained why he jumped into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, rather than producing a sequel to Man of Steel.
Batman v Superman was released in 2016, as Snyder basically created an entire cinematic universe, including the introduction of the Justice League. It was thrilling to see the two title characters come to blows, including that infamous Martha scene. While speaking with GQ about his career, the 300 director shared why he was compelled to explore the character Batman. In his words:
Once you talk about the fact that Bruce Wayne exists in the same world as Superman, right? Then you are into a Batman concept. You have to finish that thought. Now, Man of Steel 2, if you were to make it, you know with Brainiac or whatever you're gonna do, which it certainly could have been...and maybe that's it, you hold it off for a movie, and that's possible. I just felt like I needed to know what Bruce's take on this was, like, Bruce's take on the near-destruction of the world. And it really depends on how important you think Batman is in the Trinity.
There you have it. While Man of Steel 2 seemed like a logical continuation of the story, it sounds like Snyder wanted to get into the psyche of Batman, as well as introduce Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman. Fans who spent years watching the DC movies in order know this is the Holy Trinity aka the biggest three heroes in DC lore.
Because of this fast work, the DCEU became a huge place from the jump, rather than the methodical way the MCU expanded its scope throughout its early Phases. And ultimately Man of Steel never got a sequel, although Henry Cavill would appear in all three of Snyder's films as Superman.
Zack Snyder is very clearly a comic book fan himself, so there were plenty of places he could have taken the DC characters after Man of Steel's ending. He name drops Braniac as a possible villain, and it would no doubt have been thrilling to finally see that character on the big screen in live-action.
Unfortunately, it's unclear if/when that'll happen. The new DCU's first slate of projects is called Gods and Monsters, and will be kickstarted by James Gunn's Superman movie. For his part, the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker has already clarified that Lex Luthor will be the primary antagonist.
While Zack Snyder isn't attached to any upcoming DC movies, but he's got a new sci-fi movie with Rebel Moon on Netflix. For now, check out the 2024 movie release dates.
