Warner Bros. aims to put out four DC movies a year, plus HBO Max series

Whereas every movie and TV show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is part of the same world, DC is taking a looser approach.

2020 has been light on new superhero movies, with Wonder Woman 1984 being one of the only major releases of the year. But next year…we’re not ready for next year. Marvel alone has Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals all ready to go, not to mention lots of Disney+ series like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki. Sony will be putting out Venom 2 and Morbius, and Warner Bros. is polishing up The Suicide Squad and Black Adam. This time next year, we could be sick of the spandex clan.

But the studios are hoping we won’t. Marvel has plans for new movies and shows for years into the future, and after a rough beginning, Warner Bros. is trying to catch up. Speaking to The New York Times, DC Films head Walter Hamada said he wants to roll out four new movies per year starting in 2022, with attendant HBO Max spinoffs.

But don’t expect a repeat of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unlike Marvel, where every one of its movies is set in the same world, DC movies will be set in the multiverse. That means that while some DC movies take place in the same world — Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam! all take place in what’s come to be known as the DCEU, for instance — others don’t. The Oscar-winning Joker may be a DC movie, but it’s not a DCEU movie, so don’t expect Joaquin Phoenix to face down Henry Cavill’s Superman anytime soon.

Hamada sees a future that allows for that kind of variety, where lots of movies are coming out all with very different tones. “I don’t think anyone else has ever attempted this,” he said. “But audiences are sophisticated enough to understand it. If we make good movies, they will go with it.”

That said, the movies can still connect a bit. Ezra Miller’s upcoming solo The Flash movie deals with the multiverse explicitly, with Barry Allen visiting lots of different universes, including one where Michael Keaton is still Batman. There may even be room for a Crisis on Infinite Earths movie in the future, but let’s pace ourselves.

On the HBO Max side, the studio already has a couple of projects in the works. Peacemaker will star John Cena as the titular character, who will be introduced in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. And there’s also a show coming set in Gotham City, the same one we’ll see in Matt Reeves’ upcoming Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson. “With every movie that we’re looking at now, we are thinking, ‘What’s the potential Max spinoff?’” Hamada said.

So Warner Bros. has big plans, but it still has a ways to go if it wants to be as prolific as Marvel.

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