Dark Universe Has No Crossover Plans With Other DC Films … Currently

SuperHeroHype and ComingSoon.net recently sat down with horror-fantasy luminary Guillermo del Toro and took a peek at his plans for Dark Universe — a film inspired by the Justice League Dark characters.  Since Constantine and Sandman are part of that team, the biggest question was: will his plans interfere with those characters since Constantine will be premiering in the fall and Sandman is in the works?  Here’s what del Toro had to say:

"Sandman doesn’t figure in the Dark Universe. We have Deadman, we have the Demon, we have Swamp Thing, we have Zatana, we have Constantine, but DC and Warners have been very clear that they are trying to keep those properties separate so when the time comes they can unite them, once they know they’re quantifiable. Batman, Superman, Green Lantern… everyone eventually will come together. Right now, they’re allowing us independence."

So, that answers the question about Sandman.  But what about Constantine?  If he’s in del Toro’s movie, will it be consistent with the TV Show?  [NOTE: We just reported a week ago that Geoff Johns explicitly said the DC cinematic and TV universes will remain separate]:

"No, I had that conversation when the Constantine show was pitched. I said, ‘Do I have to have continuity with that?’ and they said, ‘No, feel free to continue the way you’re going."

It seems to me that unlike Marvel Studios, DC/WB will not have any lead-ins to show that a current movie is connected to a bigger picture until the time is right.  They’re also not afraid of having multiple versions of the same character in different media — Constantine being a big example.  With this in mind, del Toro was also quiet when asked about Sandman comic creator Neil Gaiman’s Death: The High Cost of Living.  It would be difficult to bring the character of Death into the cinematic world without some tie-in to the planned Sandman movie.

If you think DC/WB has both their plates full right now, there are rumors that multiple DC movies will be announced very soon.  And when they say “very soon”, I’m taking it to mean this Saturday, July 26th in Hall H.  With plans and announcements from both DC and Marvel in the coming days, it’s only safe to assume that the next ten years will be one long Christmas for any comic book fan.