This past weekend at SDCC, Warner Bros spent their Hall H panel focusing on their two 2022 DC releases, Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
Fans attending and those online got to see trailers for both, and while they were beaten by Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, they did a decent job selling their movies.
The Shazam sequel picks up where we left them, and it looks like another fun, entertaining movie with two fantastic villains in Helen Mirren and Lucy Lu.
The CG and Gyula Pados’ cinematography looks bright and excellent. Plus, I’m looking forward to seeing Djimon Hounsou having more to do and being a mentor to Asher Angel’s Billy.
As for Black Adam, it’s awesome (as the continuous showman) Dwayne Johnson rocked up in the suit, and we got to see a little bit more of the film.
This sneak peek was the best footage they’ve shown and I don’t have any doubt this movie will be a hit.
However, this didn’t seem good enough, especially compared to what Kevin Feige unveiled later in the day.
WB and DC clearly dropped the ball and highlighted the studio’s importance in hosting a DC FanDome this year.
Compared to Disney and Marvel, they used SDCC as a launching pad to announce their next two phases, with Phase 6 having eight free spaces. Feige revealed that he would state which projects will take those places at Disney’s own convention D23 in September.
Ideally, DC FanDome should be the same and happen in either October, including one final push for Black Adam that’s coming on the 21st, or in November.
Instead of a massive green screen, have the convention within the Warner Brothers lot presented from different parts of the DC wing and create a physical Hall of Justice inside one of the available stages.
The studio would be able to reveal the trailers of Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom and The Flash without live public reactions and be a way for James Wan and Andy Muschietti to get fans and the public onside.
They can talk, alongside their cast, about how hard they’ve worked on creating these pictures and, in a subtle way, saying not to see the film for the two problematic cast members. Instead, in the case of The Flash, for the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman, Ben Affleck’s final performance as the Dark Knight and the introduction of Supergirl played by Sasha Calle.
Additionally, it would be a perfect time to get our first tease of Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes and an idea of the Blue Beetle plot.
Then there’s Batgirl with filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah alongside lead star Leslie Grace to discuss what fans will expect from Barbara Gordon’s first-ever standalone.
Todd Phillips could make a surprise appearance to briefly talk Joker: Folie à Deux announcing the casting of Harley Quinn. Possibly at a push, Matt Reeves show up to give the smallest of updates on The Batman sequel.
Finally, you can have Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav joined by new WB co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy to reveal the head of the newly formed DC Studios.
If Zaslav has liked what he’s seen since becoming CEO and the success of The Batman (but still think it hangs on the two 2022 releases being successful), the right person to lead DC Studios is Walter Hamada.
The current DC Films chief can reveal the plan with the DCEU will end with The Flash. Before announcing, the “DC Universe” will begin a rebirth with Blue Beetle and Batgirl.
Stating it’s called “DC Universe” because the Robert Pattinson-led comic book movie proved, DC needed a fresh start and the freedom to tell whatever stories they liked without being chained by the need for an inter-connected universe.
So while Phillips continues to tell his unique Joker stories and Reeves works on building out Batman in Earth-2. The “Rebirth Universe” will be where the likes of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman live in the same world as Reyes, Gordon and Supergirl.
Additionally, next year will see three movies in production for a 2024 release. Those being Joker 2, Wonder Woman 3 and another Suicide Squad directed by James Gunn (depending on when he finishes editing Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and if he wants a break) or someone else.
Hamada could end by announcing that “after nearly 10 years of trying to find the right approach, we can confirm Superman will be returning for a new solo adventure.” Joining the new DC maestro will be the director and writer, with the cherry on top – Henry Cavill returning.
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