It was recently revealed Warner Bros. is planning on releasing two more unnamed films from the DC cinematic universe in the near future.
Those dates are said to be October 5th, 2018 and November 1st, 2019.
I think there’s clearly two projects that are being fast-tracked that could be placed in those dates.
The Wrap reported that Warner Bros. is already developing the Suicide Squad sequel with a potential production start next year with writer-director David Ayer and Will Smith returning. If they’re scheduling a sequel production start and this after reshoots taking place in L.A., it makes the most sense that this comes together before Affleck’s solo outing.
We’d have to assume that Margot Robbie‘s Harley Quinn would also be apart of the sequel.
The studio is apparently quite confident Suicide Squad is going to be a box office hit for them, so fast-tracking the second installment makes sense if they’re scaling back their regular slate. Will Smith and Margot Robbie are busy people if they’re willing to shoot the sequel so soon, it’s something that WB can’t ignore.
I’m almost certain the October spot will go to Suicide Squad 2.
The November release date seems best suited for The Batman, mainly because it’s the same month that Justice League will be release next year, making it a prime candidate to get that slot.
While it’s been said that Geoff Johns and Ben Affleck have turned in a script and the studio is looking to fast-track the solo film. Affleck still has to film Justice League leading to deserved break from Batman for a while and will likely need lots of prep time to shape the next Batman film. It would be understandable why it might shoot in 2017-2018 to give Affleck plenty of tinkering time that a late 2019 release date allows.
Unlike, Suicide Squad 2 we haven’t a peep about a potential production start which gives me the impression this is the 2019 release.
We are expecting that the solo film will include Jeremy Irons as Alfred and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and rumors suggest that Jared Leto‘s Joker could be apart of it as well.
Jena Malone was said to be playing Barbara Gordon in Batman v Superman, but who knows if that’ll stick for The Batman.
Following Christopher Nolan is enough pressure as is, but WB needs to really let this one breathe and develop creatively. I’m totally on board for this, but giving Affleck all the time he needs to get it right isn’t a terrible thing. Having a set release date is better than not knowing.
I’m sure they’ll make their plans known soon, as Warner Bros. isn’t known to keep release dates secret for long.