Ben Affleck: DC Universe going to be “massive”

In an interview with Variety, Ben Affleck, future Bruce Wayne and Batman, has promised a “massive” DC Extended Universe – which is good, because we were all scared that DC’s response to the gigantic MCU was going to be small. Right?

But, no. It turns out that DC’s challenge to Marvel is going to go toe-to-toe. In the interview with Variety’s James Rainey, Ben Affleck has said that DC is apparently developing what he calls “probably the single greatest under-exploited IP asset in the entertainment business, the DC comic world.”

Cool.

“And now they have started to exploit that and you are going to see that blossom,” Affleck said. “And, when it does, it’s going to be massive.”

We’ll walk away from talking of “exploiting” the DC universe for a moment and instead concentrate on the good things. Currently, DC has fifteen titles in development (one more than Marvel’s fourteen) along with at least one television property – David S Goyer’s often discussed Krypton. What we’re really excited about though is the fact that DC has eight properties that they are talking about adapting, properties like the Legion of Superheroes, Green Arrow, and Hawkman, properties that have had plenty of representation on television over the past ten years or so but have never had a film presence. That’s not even mentioning the possibility of a live action adaption of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

The current DC Universe projects at time of writing are:

Films officially in production:

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 25, 2016)
Suicide Squad (August 5, 2016)
Wonder Woman (June 23, 2017)
Justice League Part One (November 17, 2017)

Films in development:
The Flash (March 23, 2018)
Aquaman (July 27, 2018)
Shazam (April 5, 2019)
Justice League Part Two (June 14, 2019)
Cyborg (April 3, 2020)
Green Lantern Corps (June 19, 2020)
The Sandman (TBD)
Superman (TBD)
The Batman (TBD)
Booster Gold & Blue Beetle (TBD)
Justice League Dark (TBD)

Properties being discussed for potential adaptations:
Teen Titans
Green Arrow
Lobo
Hawkman
Metal Men
Deathstroke
Fables
Legion of Super-Heroes

Cynicism and sarcasm aside, we’re very happy that DC is finally getting into gear and planning serious competition to Marvel’s hegemony over the genre. Competition can only drive up quality, and after all, variety is the spice of life.

As always we will keep you informed as more news comes in.