Joker
Release Date: October 4, 2019
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beets, Robert De Niro, Marc Maron, Frances Conroy, Glenn Fleshler, Shea Whigham and Bill Camp.
What We Know So Far: This is a weird one. In the wake of Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, and with Wonder Woman proving to be a massive success, Warner Bros. began changing up its plans for the DCEU. One idea is to kickstart a new arm at WB that will develop and produce one-off DC Comics adaptations not connected to the DC Extended Universe, meaning filmmakers can come in, try something really radical, and not have to worry about setting up a franchise or fitting into an established timeline.
The lead actor would not be Jared Leto, but someone else entirely.
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Release Date: February 7, 2020
Director: Cathy Yan
Writer: Christina Hodson
Cast: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, and Ewan McGregor
What We Know So Far: This project hit the fast track at Margot Robbie‘s urging, as the Harley Quinn actress lobbied Warner Bros. an DC to put together a female-centric DC movie based on the Birds of Prey comics. The studio not only put this together, but hired Cathy Yan direct based on the strength of her indie feature Dead Pigs. The idea is to potentially introduce a few DC comics characters in this film, like Batgirl, which would then pave the way to their own solo films a la Black Panther and Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War.
Jurnee Smollett-Bell plays Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is Huntress, and Rosie Perez is The Question, while Ewan McGregor plays villain Black Mask.
The New Mutants
Release Date: April 3, 2020
Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Alice Braga, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga
What We Know So Far: Writer/director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) had been attached to direct New Mutants for a while, but 20th Century Fox finally moved this thing into production after the success of Deadpool and Logan. The film is both YA-esque and horror-tinged in tone, revolving around a group of much younger mutants in the X-Men universe than the adults from the proper X-Men movies. The story will also ditch traditional superhero costumes and supervillains in favor of telling a story about these young mutants locked up together in some facility, mirroring a horror haunted house vibe.
Black Widow
Release Date: May 1, 2020
Director: Cate Shortland
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle and David Harbour
What We Know So Far: A standalone Black Widow movie has long been requested by fans, and Marvel Studios finally pulled the trigger, locking in this past-set standalone movie as the first film of the MCU’s Phase Four. Scarlett Johansson handpicked indie filmmaker Cate Shortland to direct after an exhaustive search, and the most recent draft of the script was written by Jac Schaeffer. Florence Pugh plays Yelena, who comics fans know as a character who eventually takes on the mantle of Black Widow, while David Harbour plays Red Guardian, the USSR equivalent of Captain America.
Wonder Woman 1984
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig, Chris Pine, and Pedro Pascal.
What We Know So Far: Very little, but Wonder Woman marked a major turning point for the DCEU with wildly positive reviews and massive box office, so anticipation is high. Patty Jenkins returns to direct a story that takes place in the year 1984 against the backdrop of the Cold War (timely!), with Kristen Wiig playing the villain Cheetah and Chris Pine somehow reprising his role as Steve Trevor.