DC Comics

It has been forever since star Jason Momoa and director James Wan were initially linked to DC’s Aquaman franchise, and now its second movie is set for release on December 20th.

Following The Flash and Blue Beetle, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now set to close out DC and Warner’s old comic book universe before the new James Gunn-led one starts with Superman: Legacy in 2025.

Filmmaker James Gunn shared the news on Instagram last night (via Deadline). Sorkin had a long acting career in Television, most notably as Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series.

In fact, the character existed because of her. No, really — Paul Dini, who brought us the series, based the character on a scene from Days of Our Lives featuring Sorkin in a clown suit.

First impressions? While it’s certainly different from Harley Quinn’s jester-like appearance in the old comics and ditches the more playful look of the one played by Margot Robbie, it seems to match Joker’s more mature vibes.

The supernatural show, which is based on a DC comic by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, was supposed to make its debut on HBO Max — but it apparently didn’t mesh with the company’s vision for the DC Universe, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

That’s how Netflix wound up with the rights to the Greg Berlanti-produced series, where it might fit better among other shows from the producer, like The Sandman and You.

Last year, Batgirl, originally intended for HBO Max and then later intended for theatrical release, was shelved. Some people claimed it just sucked that bad, others claimed it was for tax reasons. While taxes likely contributed to the calculus here, new DC Studios head Peter Safran told Variety:

[T]he film just was not releasable. It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace; it was built for the small screen.

Basically, Warner Bros. Discovery wants all its movies on the big screen first, and this one would have always looked better at home.

If you’d asked just a few weeks ago what the future held for Warner Bros. Discovery’s live-action DC superhero movies, a reasonable person might have told you to expect to see more of Henry Cavill’s Superman and Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam beating the stuffing out of one another.

But that’s all changed under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios which — after sidelining Cavill’s Man of Steel in favor of a younger take on the character — is now planning to mostly retire the Rock’s magical man in black.

In a surprisingly optimistic post to his Twitter account this evening, the Rock announced that after a recent meeting with Gunn, it’s been decided that his Black Adam “will not be in [DC Studios’] first chapter of storytelling,” as the studio focuses on pursuing Gunn’s new vision for the studio’s future.

Johnson elaborated saying that while his take on the character will be taking a step back for the time being, his Seven Bucks production company is still committed to exploring Black Adam projects involving him “in future DC multiverse chapters,” which feels like it could mean anything from a DC League of Super-Pets follow-up to a small cameo in future films.

Judging from the way Henry Cavill left The Witcher and made a rather momentous cameo appearance in Black Adam, it very much seemed like the Man of Steel actor was getting ready to get back to playing Superman for Warner Bros. Discovery.

But according to a post on Cavill’s Instagram, those plans have been unexpectedly canceled as the studio’s moving forward with a new Superman film written by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn. There’s currently no director attached, but Gunn tweeted that the movie will focus on a younger version of the character, and added that Cavill might still appear in future DC Studios projects.

First Batgirl and now this? According to The Hollywood Reporter, the live-action Batman Beyond spin-off would’ve had Michael Keaton reprise his role as an elderly Bruce Wayne and might’ve even featured an appearance by Catwoman.

It’s been a rough year for Batfans, but at least the directors of the rumored film didn’t get the chance to start filming (although Christina Hodson reportedly did start writing the screenplay).

While we still haven’t gotten an official look at Xolo Maridueña as Blue Beetle, the film’s first poster gives us an idea of what to expect.

It shows off the bright-colored (and very shiny) alien scarab that attaches to Blue Beetle (aka Jaime Reyes), granting him ultra-strong armor and a set of superhuman abilities, such as strength, speed, and flight.

Kevin Conroy, the legendary voice of Batman, has passed away. Earlier this year, he was featured in DC’s Pride Anthology penning a story about how the role of Batman helped him come to terms with his struggles as a gay man. It is a poignant and gutwrenching story that DC has made available to read for free online in the wake of Conroy’s passing. Check it out.