The Batman - Part II
Release Date: October 1, 2027
Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Matt Reeves and Mattson Tomlin
Cast:
• Robert Pattinson – Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Colin Farrell – Penguin/Oswald Cobb
• Andy Serkis – Alfred Pennyworth
• Jeffrey Wright – Commissioner Gordon
At the same time that the DCU will be charging full steam ahead with James Gunn’s new trajectory, Warner Bros.’ DC division will still be producing unrelated DC superhero movies, that they have calculatingly called DC Elseworlds. The Joker and Batman franchises fall under the purview of this extrinsic universe.
The Batman was slightly divisive among hardcore DC fans, but in the end, it earned enough revenue to warrant a sequel for the studio. The strangest part about this Batman series is how Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne revival in The Flash was only a few years ago, while Ben Affleck ended up hanging around for longer than expected, and someone new may even sign on for the DCU. One of Gunn’s projects in the pipeline is The Brave and the Bold with Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian. So, we will have four different actors playing Bruce Wayne in DC films this decade.
There are still a lot of unknowns about The Batman Part II, however we returned to that Matt Reeve’s universe in the spinoff show The Penguin. While that HBO Max limited series bridges the gap between the two cinematic features, the show is more of a deep character study for Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb. Aside from Penguin, one could also surmise that the Joker (not Joaquin Phoenix’s version) will be involved in the sequel; he was teased at the end of the original, so perhaps Barry Keoghan’s Joker will be promoted to lead villain for Part II.
Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date: December 17, 2027
Directors: The Russo Brothers
Writers: Stephen McFeely and Michael Waldron
Cast:
• Pedro Pascal – Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards
• Robert Downey Jr. – Doctor Doom/Victor von Doom
• Vanessa Kirby – Invisible Woman/Sue Storm
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach – Thing/Ben Grimm
• Joseph Quinn – Human Torch/Johnny Storm
“Secret Wars” was just as popular, if even more so, than the “Infinity Gauntlet” run of Marvel comics over 30 years ago. Preceding “Infinity Gauntlet” by several years, “Secret Wars” brought together a plethora of Marvel heroes and villains on a scale never seen before. While a lot takes place in its twelve issues, the plot simply follows the Beyonder transporting superpowered individuals to an inescapable planet so that they can battle each other for his entertainment.
With this kind of setup, there is the potential to include any (even every) Marvel superhero or villain throughout the Secret Wars storyline. This is clearly being explored by Kevin Feige and The Russos Brothers, as the X-Men characters from an alternate reality are being brought over to the MCU for Doomsday. Secret Wars will continue the trend of crossing over with other franchises. Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine have proven this tactic could yield massive success.
In Avengers: Secret Wars, Beyonder will likely be replaced by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. The rest will start coming together for the 6th Avengers epic after Avengers: Doomsday comes out. As the release date approaches, we are sure to gather more evidence as to who the inciting players might be and how a Secret Wars-like event could come into play.
Be sure to keep checking back in for updates in the upcoming superhero movie schedule, as more release dates are revealed.