DC Studios successfully rebooted their shared cinematic superhero universe (known as the DCU) this year, kicking off a 10-year initial plan referred to as “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.” But just as that plan comes to fruition, could Batman and Superman wind up in Marvel’s MCU? It’s possible.
David Corenswet stars in “Superman.”
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Batman And Superman Set Things Up
Things are going terrific so far for DC Studios. Superman, written and directed by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, got the DCU ball rolling with a $615 million blockbuster result this summer. Next year brings Supergirl from director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Ana Nogueira, plus the Batman tie-in Clayface from director James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini.
Then, 2027 brings the one-two punch of Gunn’s Superman follow-up Man of Tomorrow and writer director Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II with co-writer Mattson Tomlin.
Additionally, a Wonder Woman script from scribe Nogueira is in the works and that project is now a big priority. And of course, there’s the ever-present Batman: The Brave and the Bold project in development, amid speculation that the DCU and Reeves’ Batman franchise might just merge, despite recent statements confirming the current plan (at least publicly) is to proceed as if the DCU will have its own separate Batman.
With an imminent buyout of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery and studios like Paramount and Netflix preparing bids, there’s question as to how much of the existing DCU plan will survive the ownership changes, especially with regard to Batman’s cinematic future, as I discussed at length this week. So it’s possible that there could be some delays and foot-dragging until the situation becomes clearer, since a blockbuster future for the DCU depends on getting Batman as right as they got Superman.
It’s likely we’ll have a Wonder Woman movie by 2029, and either The Brave and the Bold (the DCU new Batman movie) or The Batman: Part III by 2031. There should also be a few more additional live-action DCU feature film releases in that time, plus the animated Dynamic Duo movie and several streaming series like Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Lanterns, and others.
So by the early 2030s, we should have between eight to ten DCU movies already, setting up the final leg of “Gods and Monsters” for whatever capstone project (I suspect a Super Friends movie at the moment, but it’s early) sometime between 2032 and 2035, completing the establishment of the foundations of a successful shared DC universe across all mediums, finally at long last giving DC the same scope and success Marvel Studio’s own MCU has enjoyed.
Batman and Superman: Free Agents?
Unfortunately for DC Studios, this grand achievement will come to fruition at exactly the worst time. Because in 2034 and 2035, Superman and Batman (respectively) are scheduled to enter the public domain.
That’s right, in less than 10 years, the earliest incarnation of Superman will be available for use by anyone, essentially. And a year later, in 2035, Batman’s very first iteration will become publicly available for use. This has been discussed for a while, since the countdown has started on the final decade as DC Studios tries to work its magic on the big screen, but most conversation has centered around the notion of Zack Snyder starting his own DC movie universe, fans generating AI versions of their own ideas (and inevitably overstepping by using aspects of the characters not in the public domain, setting off lawsuits galore), or the rush of low-budget exploitation horror movies using the superheroes.
I think the much bigger deal is that Marvel will be able to introduce Superman and Batman into their own comics and movies, and that the timing is just when DC should be riding high with no worries, assuming their own DCU continues to succeed (which I do assume). Instead, Marvel will have had years to plot their own adaptations of those characters and will have a chance to use that for undercutting DC’s own position in the marketplace.
Every year, more and more of each character’s world, villains, and modernized changes will become available, as will other DC superheroes like Blue Beetle, the Spirit, Flash, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. Within about half a year after the DCU’s “Chapter One” ends, Marvel will have access to a large set of DC’s most popular superheroes.
On the flip side, the only really notable or “usable in their early forms” Marvel characters who could become available for DC to use in their own stories are the Sub-Mariner, the original Human Torch, Captain America, and Bucky. Those are some good ones, but notice it’s a small list and only includes one truly top-tier MCU hero.
So it will be a one-sided situation where Marvel quickly accumulates access to all of the biggest DC superheroes in a relatively short period of time starting in 2034, at the moment when DC will be trumpeting the victory of their “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.”
Barry Keoghan stars in a deleted scene from “The Batman”
Source: Warner Bros.
It’s true that “Gods and Monsters” might wind up concluding a year or two earlier, or a year or two later, but the proximity and overlap makes it a wash. The outcome is that either the end of the DCU’s “Gods and Monsters” or the start of the DCU’s “Chapter 2″ will come when Marvel gets Superman and Batman.
If you’re Marvel, you simply cannot ignore such a convergence of opportunity. Batman is a prime character and brand around the world, Batman will be riding a wave of popularity from the DCU, Batman is suddenly available to put into the MCU films, the use of Batman in the MCU will inherently attract attention for Marvel instead of just DC, and any Marvel use of Batman will inherently be negative for DC.
It’s not that they have animosity toward one another the way the Marvel-DC fandoms do. It’s that in any studio business if a competing studio has a top brand and you can also use that brand to improve your own position but also weaken a competitor’s position, then you do it. Because there are a limited number of total tickets sold each year to a limited number of people, and every movie is competing against every other movie for those ticket sales. After all, the average person only sees three or maybe four films each year, and every movie wants to be chosen.
Marvel’s Batman And Superman
So yes, as soon as Marvel can make Batman movies, Marvel will surely make Batman movies. If they don’t, then investors should revolt, because this is a no-brainer. The same with Superman, there’s every reason to use him and zero reasons not to. Marvel could literally even start their own separate superhero shared world just for the DC superheroes as they enter public domain, and from 2034 til about 2040 they’d probably have enough of the primary set of DC heroes to fill out a standalone shared universe and do a Justice League movie.
This sounds crazy, except in less than 10 years it starts happening. Marvel would surely know that everybody will want in on that action, but that nobody has the advantages and ability to jump to the head of the pack like Marvel does, with their built-in fanbase and massive outreach and unmatchable merchandising and PR machines at their disposal through their parent company.
DC’s shared-universe struggles have resulted in Warner Bros.’ reputation of being their own worst enemy, because their biggest obstacle is so often themselves. It’s ironic that, when they finally succeed in establishing their cinematic universe, their biggest competition might once again be themselves, with their biggest brands – Batman and Superman.
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