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89-484: The character made his cinematic debut in the 2020 DC Extended Universe film, Wonder Woman 1984 , portrayed by Pedro Pascal . A new iteration portrayed by Sean Gunn will appear in the upcoming DC Universe (DCU) franchise, starting with the film Superman (2025). Maxwell Lord IV is the son of Maxwell Lord III, a successful businessman and head of the Chimtech Consortium. Maxwell III set out to be

178-477: A Green Lantern , as well as Granny Goodness . Arthur Curry , a half- Atlantean assistant lighthouse keeper, sets out to lead the underwater kingdom of Atlantis against his half-brother, King Orm , who seeks to unite the seven underwater kingdoms against the surface world. Jason Momoa was cast as Arthur Curry / Aquaman in June 2014. By August, Will Beall and Kurt Johnstad were writing competing scripts for

267-790: A Superman film. In March, Idris Elba joined the cast. He was initially hired to replace Smith as Deadshot , who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, but was later decided that Elba would play a new character so Smith could return in the future. Robbie, Kinnaman, Courtney, and Davis reprise their roles from Suicide Squad . Production began in September 2019 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta , with additional filming following in Panama , and concluded in February 2020. The Suicide Squad began its international release on July 30, 2021, in

356-593: A central villain of DC's Shazam franchise. The character was intended to be introduced in Shazam! , but Johnson convinced the film's production studios to divide the narrative to focus on Black Adam's origin, with Black Adam and Shazam instead set to cross paths in a future film. Adam Sztykiel was hired as screenwriter. Jaume Collet-Serra was hired as director in June 2019, with Johnson, Beau Flynn , Hiram Garcia, and Dany Garcia attached as producers. By September 2020, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani had written

445-473: A con-artist. Originally a normal human, Lord is one of many people on Earth gifted with superpowers during the Invasion crossover, when a Gene Bomb is exploded by alien invaders. This bomb activates Lord's latent metagene, granting him the ability to control the minds of others, albeit at great difficulty. Despite being a metahuman, Lord never identifies as one. Instead, at the urging of his mother to act for

534-464: A film based on the female superhero team Birds of Prey was in development, with Christina Hodson signed on as screenwriter. By April 2018, Warner Bros. selected Cathy Yan as director, with Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad . Robbie also acted as producer alongside Sue Kroll and Bryan Unkeless. The film is the first theatrical R-rated installment in the DCEU and has

623-422: A four-part miniseries, it was ultimately released as a four-hour film, twice the length of the theatrical version. Snyder stated this version is intended to not affect the future of the DCEU continuity, but that it takes place in a slightly alternate universe. The new cut cost an estimated $ 70 million to complete, primarily for visual effects and additional photography. Some actors returned to their roles for

712-401: A good example for his son by striving to always do what was right. When Maxwell IV was 16, he came home to find his father dead in an apparent suicide. His father had discovered that his company had produced a carcinogenic product, and could not bear the guilt . Lord's mother was convinced by her husband to employ a similar practice, cajoling heroic metahumans to help Lord. Thus, he sparked

801-588: A hostage, since her magic word — " Shazam! " — does not work in Hell (since the wizard Shazam himself is not present in that plane of existence). Ralph uses his stretching abilities to help foil the demons' plan to torture the Buddies. To the amazement of both Fire and Gardner, the Super Buddies discover Ice , another former JLI member, among the denizens of Hell. Sickened by Fire and Gardner's displays of sorrow,

890-570: A late-2022 restructuring. Certain DCEU characters, such as Peacemaker , Amanda Waller , and Blue Beetle , will be moved to the DCU, while the second season of Peacemaker will take place in the new universe. Upon announcement of the film series, the universe was commonly called the "DC Cinematic Universe" (DCCU) by fans and the media, in keeping with the naming convention of the already established Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Keith Staskiewicz, writing for Entertainment Weekly , jokingly coined

979-514: A modern context. Impressed with Goyer's concept, Nolan pitched the idea to the studio, who hired Nolan to produce and Goyer to write based on the financial and critical success of The Dark Knight (2008). In October 2010, Zack Snyder was hired to direct the film, and Henry Cavill was cast as Clark Kent / Superman in January 2011. Principal photography began in August 2011. Man of Steel

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1068-443: A murderous Ice, now a stripper using the name Tiffany, an even stupider version of Booster working as a bartender, and bouncer Metamorpho. The Fire of this universe had been killed by Tiffany and Sue had divorced Ralph. Doctor Fate finally brings the team back to their correct dimension after they have to do battle with doppelgängers of themselves. Most of the battle takes place on the hairy, insect-infested body of G'nort himself. It

1157-514: A new company named Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) with David Zaslav as CEO. Zaslav sought to overhaul the DCEU, and began searching for a creative leader akin to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead DC's film and television projects. James Gunn and Peter Safran were subsequently announced as the co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios, the successor to DC Films. In 2023, the duo unveiled their slate of ten DC projects which were to be part of

1246-632: A new draft of the script. Filming began in April 2021 and wrapped that July. Black Adam was released in the United States on October 21, 2022. The film features the Justice Society of America , consisting of Aldis Hodge as Hawkman , Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher , Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone , and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate . Reprising their roles from previous DCEU media are Davis as Amanda Waller, Djimon Hounsou as

1335-411: A post-credits scene. The divisive reaction to the theatrical cut of Justice League , with Snyder leaving directorial duties and the final cut of the film in the hands of Whedon, led to a fan-driven campaign for a "Snyder Cut" of the film. Arguments were made that Snyder's vision would be more cohesive to the previous films. In March 2019, Snyder confirmed his original cut does exist, and stated that it

1424-792: A powerful threat, in exchange for clemency. In February 2009, prior to the development of the DCEU, Warner Bros. was developing a Suicide Squad film, with Dan Lin producing and Justin Marks writing the script. Warner Bros. announced Suicide Squad in October 2014, with David Ayer as director, also serving as screenwriter. The main cast included Will Smith , Margot Robbie , Jared Leto , Jai Courtney , Jay Hernandez , Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje , Karen Fukuhara , Cara Delevingne , Viola Davis , and Joel Kinnaman . Principal photography took place from April to August 2015 in Toronto . Suicide Squad

1513-488: A project about the superhero Shazam , formerly known as Captain Marvel. Johnson was revealed to be portraying the antihero Black Adam , Shazam's nemesis in the film, with Darren Lemke set to write the script in September. In October, Warner Bros. announced Shazam as a film in its upcoming slate. By January 2017, Henry Gayden was working on the script. In July, David F. Sandberg was hired to direct Shazam! . Johnson

1602-503: A scheduled 2018 release date, and that Ezra Miller was cast in the starring role. A new story treatment was being written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller the following year in April. Over the next two years, Seth Grahame-Smith and Rick Famuyiwa had individually dropped out as director due to creative differences with the studio. Joby Harold was hired to do a page-one rewrite of the script in January 2017, which previously had drafts written by Grahame-Smith and Famuyiwa. In July,

1691-572: A screenplay by Jason Fuchs the next month. MacLaren left the project the following year in April due to creative differences, and Patty Jenkins was hired to replace her. Filming occurred from November 2015 to May 2016 and took place in the United Kingdom , France and Italy . Wonder Woman was released in North America on June 2, 2017. Motivated by Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday , Batman and Wonder Woman assemble

1780-465: A seriously injured (and radioactively leaking) Captain Atom to a hospital, the others find that Manga Khan , L-Ron's former master, has come to Earth to reclaim the robot. Khan offers to trade G'nort , another former JLI member, for possession of L-Ron, but when this offer is refused, and Booster accidentally knocks over several rows of Khan's sentries, Khan declares war on Earth. Only by the intervention of

1869-683: A smaller budget than most of the other films. In addition to Robbie's starring role, the cast also includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead , Jurnee Smollett-Bell , Rosie Perez , and Ella Jay Basco . The full title of the film was revealed as Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) by Robbie. Principal photography commenced in January 2019 in Los Angeles and lasted until April. Birds of Prey held its world premiere in London on January 29, 2020, and

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1958-416: A team of metahumans to stop the threat of Steppenwolf, who is in search of three Mother Boxes scattered across Earth. By June 2013, Goyer was set to write Justice League as part of a three-film deal he signed for Man of Steel . Snyder was confirmed to return as director in April 2014, and the film was announced in October as Justice League Part One . In 2016, Chris Terrio was revealed to have written

2047-539: A villain for the League to defeat, resulting in the man's death. Later, Lord rebelled against the computer's influence and destroyed it. Once free of the computer's influence, Lord is portrayed as an amoral businessman, but not a real villain. During the time that Giffen and DeMatteis were writing the Justice League, Lord is shown struggling with his conscience and developing heroic qualities, though he would remain

2136-426: A website, "blazingfire.com", where she makes sensual pictures of herself available for (paid) download, and cannot get along with the polite and innocent Mary Marvel, whom Fire dubs " Mary Poppins ". In addition, Fire convinces Sue that Ralph rates as "a four" (out of ten), giving Ralph an inferiority complex as a result. Captain Atom has no idea why he even joined the team, and is constantly tense and frustrated around

2225-433: A well-timed slap from Mary. The Super Buddies are then kidnapped during their first team meeting by Roulette, who brainwashes them into serving as gladiators in her intergalactic metahuman arena. Mary Marvel and Captain Atom are pitted against each other, and the mind-controlled Mary nearly beats Atom and Fire to death before she overcomes her programming and the team is released from captivity. While Beetle and Booster rush

2314-530: Is Aquaman (2018), which earned more than $ 1.15 billion worldwide. However, eight of the fifteen theatrically released films failed to break even theatrically, being considered box-office bombs . Reception to the franchise was generally mixed among critics and fans. A new rebooted franchise of films and television series, the DC Universe (DCU), is planned by James Gunn and Peter Safran , who were appointed co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios in

2403-478: Is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics . The DCEU also includes comic books, short films, novels, and video games. Like the original DC Universe in comic books, the DCEU is established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. Warner Bros. began trying to bring various DC Comics superheroes together in films in 2002, when Wolfgang Petersen

2492-562: Is born a human and transformed by the Dominators' Gene Bomb, but he is later depicted as having been born a metahuman. Maxwell Lord appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe ( DCEU ) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures . It

2581-458: Is no longer a cyborg, and is a criminal mastermind who spent years running the JLI while gathering sensitive information about the world's superheroes, whom he considered a threat to the planet. Simultaneously, he sabotaged JLI efforts to render the superhero team as ineffectual as possible. At the end of the prologue special issue, he shoots and kills Ted Kord. During this time, Alexander Luthor Jr. ,

2670-446: Is recruited by L-Ron, but he turns down the offer. His sister, Mary Marvel , joined in his place. The Super Buddies do not and cannot get along: Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, formerly the self-proclaimed " Abbott and Costello " of the JLI, now find themselves constantly arguing and fruitlessly attempting to prove to one another that they have matured. No one takes Booster or Ralph Dibny seriously, though not without good reason. Fire runs

2759-542: Is revived as a Black Lantern before the Life Entity fully resurrects him. He kills Magog and captures Blue Beetle before the Justice League rescues him. In The New 52 and DC Rebirth relaunches, Maxwell Lord is the leader of Project Cadmus . He is possessed by Eclipso before Killer Frost and Superman free him. Maxwell Lord is a metahuman who can control the minds of others and force them to act on their subconscious desires. In his original depiction, he

Maxwell Lord - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-415: The "DC Universe" (DCU) , which some media outlets interpreted as a rebranding of the DCEU. In 2002, Wolfgang Petersen was set to direct a Batman vs. Superman film from a script by Akiva Goldsman , but the project was shelved by Warner Bros. to focus on individual Superman and Batman projects. In 2008, a planned Justice League film directed by George Miller and titled Justice League: Mortal

2937-537: The DC Universe (DCU), a soft reboot and spiritual successor to the DCEU. Kal-El / Clark Kent , who arrived on Earth years ago as an infant from Krypton , struggles with why he was sent to Earth. Raised by his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent , Clark adopts the persona " Superman ", and learns if his abilities are meant to maintain peace or conquer the world. During story discussions for The Dark Knight Rises (2012), David S. Goyer told Christopher Nolan his idea regarding how to present Superman in

3026-482: The Justice League . Diana of Themyscira , an Amazon warrior who is also the demigoddess daughter of the god Zeus , uses her talents and abilities to help humanity during World War I . In December 2013, Gal Gadot was cast as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman and signed a three-picture deal which included a solo film. The film was announced in October 2014, and Michelle MacLaren was confirmed to direct from

3115-489: The Justice Society of America headquarters, Booster Gold begins messing around with Doctor Fate 's talisman and inadvertently wishes the team to Hell. From the depths of Hell, Fire calls Sue for help (on her cell phone, which is then accidentally destroyed), and Power Girl and Guy Gardner are recruited to follow the team to Hell and save them. While in Hell, the Super Buddies work at a labyrinthine version of Big Belly Burger called " Beelze Burger". The demons use Mary Batson as

3204-616: The Speed Force and features multiple superheroes, including Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman (reprising his role from the 1989 film Batman and its 1992 sequel Batman Returns ) and Sasha Calle as Supergirl . Ben Affleck also reprises his role as the DCEU version of Bruce Wayne / Batman. The film also "restarts" the DCEU, according to Barbara Muschietti. Michael Shannon and Antje Traue reprise their roles as General Zod and Faora-Ul , respectively, from Man of Steel , with Ron Livingston replacing Billy Crudup in

3293-484: The United Kingdom and the islands of Tenerife and Fuerteventura in Spain . Wonder Woman 1984 was released in the United States on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously on December 25, 2020. In a mid-credits scene, Lynda Carter , who starred as Wonder Woman in a 1970s television series , is introduced as Asteria , a legendary Amazon warrior who possessed ancient golden armor that Gadot's Wonder Woman wears in

3382-538: The first season of Peacemaker , a television series for HBO Max (later renamed Max). The DCEU's fifteenth and final film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom , was released in December 2023. The DCEU is the ninth-highest-grossing film franchise and the fifth-highest-grossing superhero film franchise , having grossed more than $ 7 billion at the global box office. The highest-grossing DC Comics-based film

3471-468: The real Justice League (who have been spying on the Super Buddies all this time in anticipation of such a faux pas) is an intergalactic crisis avoided. Formerly Known as the Justice League proved a popular miniseries, and won the 2004 Eisner Award for Best Comedy Series. A six-issue sequel to Formerly Known as the Justice League , I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League , was produced by Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire in 2004, but its publication

3560-465: The " Super Buddies ", advertised as "heroes the common man could call". These stories are told in the six-issue miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League in 2003, and its 2005 sequel, I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League . In Brad Meltzer 's Identity Crisis (2004), Lord attends Sue Dibny 's funeral and speaks to Booster Gold, further denting his already dwindling faith in superheroes. Countdown to Infinite Crisis reveals that Lord

3649-423: The "Power Posse". This team is a group-for-hire who operated out of a strip club owned by a sleazy, or sleazier, version of Maxwell Lord and his moll, a degraded and somewhat dimwitted version of Sue Dibny. The Power Posse consisted of a giant-sized G'nort who began a destructive rampage, sado-masochistic incestuous versions of Captain Marvel (who talked with a lisp) and Mary Marvel, who called herself Mistress Mary,

Maxwell Lord - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-433: The "new leader for the offshoot of Checkmate", Maxwell Lord was suggested. Many of the editors thought that the idea made sense, as Lord had been shown to have a mean streak and to have killed previously. The idea was dropped due to the continuity errors, such as him being a cyborg, but they went back to it later after deciding none of the other possible characters were suitable. Didio explained: "We thought about that aspect of

3827-478: The Gods will lead right into the events of The Flash . Barry Allen travels back in time to prevent his mother's murder, which brings unintended consequences. By July 2013, Greg Berlanti was developing a film that centered around Barry Allen / The Flash , and drafted a script alongside Geoff Johns, Chris Brancato , Michael Green , and Marc Guggenheim . In October 2014, Warner Bros. announced The Flash with

3916-602: The Justice League (published in JLA Classified ). The team is put together by former Justice League bank roller Maxwell Lord as a superhero team "accessible to the common man". The team is considered more or less inept and incapable of being of any help by many (including the actual Justice League). The team was created by writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis , and artists Kevin Maguire and Joe Rubinstein . Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire had previously created

4005-672: The Justice League , both Geoff Johns and Kevin Smith referred to the franchise's name as being the "Justice League Universe". During the DC Films panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, a video banner displayed the words "Welcome to the Worlds of DC", after showcasing some upcoming films. As a result, some media outlets interpreted this as DC officially naming their shared film universe as the "Worlds of DC", but in March 2020, Jim Lee referred to

4094-666: The Justice League International (JLI) to disband. While possessed Lord forces the JLI to battle itself, the mortally wounded Silver Sorceress manages to contain Dreamslayer, and holds him within her mind as she dies, taking him with her. When Lord is freed, his power is burnt out. Later, Lord is diagnosed with a brain tumor and dies. Kilg%re downloads Lord's consciousness into a duplicate of Lord Havok that he later alters to resemble Lord's human body. Doomsday later crash lands on Earth, easily trounces

4183-497: The League and kills Superman . With Earth undefended, world-conqueror Mongul invades and destroys Coast City killing Lord's mother. This event further fuels his hatred and paranoia against the metahumans, as well as leading him to believe that not only can metahumans not be trusted, but that their personal battles and scuffles are enough to shatter world safety. Lord puts together several former JLI members, including L-Ron , Captain Atom , Blue Beetle , Booster Gold , and Fire as

4272-529: The South Pacific. After another date change, the film was released in North America on March 25, 2016. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set 18 months after the events of Man of Steel . The film introduces Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman , Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash , Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman , Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg , and Joe Morton as Dr. Silas Stone . Steppenwolf , who serves as

4361-542: The United Kingdom, and was released theatrically and on the streaming platform HBO Max in the United States on August 5. Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the powers of the Egyptian gods and imprisoned, Black Adam is freed from his tomb, ready to unleash his form of justice on the modern world. In September 2014, after being considered to play Shazam and Lobo , Dwayne Johnson was cast as Black Adam,

4450-639: The additional photography. Work on the cut was completed in January 2021. Characters in the film who did not appear in the theatrical version include the Joker (with Jared Leto reprising the role from Suicide Squad ), General Swanwick / Martian Manhunter (with Harry Lennix reprising the role from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ), Darkseid (portrayed by Ray Porter ), DeSaad (portrayed by Peter Guinness ), Nuidis Vulko (portrayed by Willem Dafoe ), Iris West (portrayed by Kiersey Clemons ), Ryan Choi (portrayed by Zheng Kai ),

4539-499: The benefit of non-metahumans, he shifts his hatred for the generic "authority figures" who caused his father's death to the metahuman community. After he is shot and placed in a coma at the beginning of JLAmerica/JLEurope crossover Breakdowns , Supervillain Dreamslayer takes over Lord's body and supercharges Lord's power, allowing him to control thousands of minds at once. Using Lord's body and power, Dreamslayer almost forces

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4628-622: The character's solo film. Aquaman was announced in October. James Wan was hired as director the following year, as well as to oversee the screenplay by Johnstad. David Leslie Johnson was later brought to write a new script. Beall returned to write the script, based on a story treatment by Wan and Geoff Johns . Johnson worked on a rewrite of Beall's script with Wan and producer Peter Safran . Principal photography began in May 2017 in Queensland , Australia and wrapped that October. Aquaman

4717-418: The demons free the group, allowing them to take Ice with them as long as they do not look back on their way out. Fire accidentally looks back, and Ice is snatched back to the afterlife. It is implied that Ice will be sent to Valhalla. The group makes its way out of Hell, but soon find themselves trapped in an alternate universe populated by a team of sinister versions of themselves and their fellow heroes called

4806-547: The distaste of Mary's brother Billy Batson (a.k.a. Captain Marvel). Captain Atom has quit the team because of the incident with Mary from the previous miniseries and sued Maxwell Lord, leading him to attempt to recruit both Power Girl and Guy Gardner to join the team. Gardner causes several problems of his own: he is opening a bar next door to the Super Buddies' strip mall headquarters, and he takes delight in sexually harassing Fire, Sue, Power Girl, and Mary Marvel. While visiting

4895-421: The events of Aquaman . Heard reprises her role as Mera from Justice League , while Dafoe is introduced as Nuidis Vulko. By speaking "Shazam", Billy Batson , a 14-year-old foster child , can turn into an adult superhero, courtesy of an ancient wizard. He attempts to master his powers and defeat the evil forces controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana . In August 2014, Dwayne Johnson announced his attachment to

4984-426: The film. Amanda Waller sends a new Task Force X , consisting of both old and new members, on a mission to destroy a Nazi -era laboratory containing experiments. In March 2016, a Suicide Squad sequel was announced to be in development, with Ayer returning as director. Adam Cozad was hired to write the script by March 2017. By July, a new story treatment was written by Zak Penn . In September, Gavin O'Connor

5073-559: The franchise as the DC Extended Universe at C2E2 . The franchise was officially titled DC Extended Universe when the WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max launched the following May. Following the appointment of Peter Safran and James Gunn as heads of DC Studios , Warner Bros. Discovery (created from the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. ) referred to DC's film and television series as part of

5162-540: The main antagonist in Justice League (2017), was introduced through a brief scene not included in the film's theatrical release but instead revealed online by Warner Bros. on March 28, before being included in the Ultimate Edition home video release. After Superman's death, a secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions and rescue the world from

5251-514: The others. To top it all off, Maxwell Lord plans to fully exploit his employees' images; he sets their headquarters up in a Queens, New York strip mall storefront, making the team available for contact through a 1-800 number and producing a Super Friends -esque television commercial for the Super Buddies. This new team successfully defeats the E-Street Bloodsuckers, a gang of Harvard drop-out super-powered hoodlums, thanks to

5340-484: The plans to bring the Justice League, leaderless and broken after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, under his exclusive control. Lord initially worked behind the scenes to establish the Justice League, while under the control of a computer created by Metron . The computer wanted Lord to set up a worldwide peacekeeping organization as part of its plan to dominate the world . A later retcon changed his controller to

5429-474: The project, while Andy Muschietti and Christina Hodson were hired to replace them as director and screenwriter, respectively. Barbara Muschietti and Michael Disco serve as producers. Filming began in April 2021, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Hertfordshire , England, and wrapped that October. The Flash was released on June 16, 2023. The Flash explores the multiverse concept using

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5518-519: The release date was changed to May 6, 2016, to give the filmmakers "time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story". The film's title was revealed to be Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . Initial filming occurred on October 19, 2013, at East Los Angeles College , before full principal photography began in May 2014 and concluded that December. Production took place in Detroit , Illinois , New Mexico , Africa and

5607-465: The role of Henry Allen, Barry's father, who appeared in Justice League and its director's cut, and Kiersey Clemons returning as Iris West from the latter cut. In January 2023, co-CEOs of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran stated that The Flash will "reset" the DC Universe and lead right into the events of Blue Beetle , Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom , and their future slate of films given

5696-660: The script, and the title was changed to simply Justice League by June. Affleck, Cavill, Gadot, Momoa, Miller, and Fisher reprised their respective roles from previous films. Filming took place from April to October 2016 at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in England , as well as locations around London and in Iceland . In May 2017, Snyder stepped down from his duties on the film due to his daughter's death; Joss Whedon filled his position on post-production, with additional scenes being written and directed by him. Though Whedon

5785-566: The son of Lex Luthor from an alternate Earth, gives Lord control of Brother Eye , a satellite system Batman created to monitor superhumans worldwide. Lord uses Brother Eye to create an army of OMACs to hunt down and kill all superhumans before Wonder Woman kills him by snapping his neck. At the "Crisis Counseling" panel at Wizard World Chicago , Dan DiDio explained DC's reasoning in using Lord's character in Infinite Crisis . After going through several possible characters who could be

5874-457: The story [where Maxwell was turned into a cyborg] some more. And then asked, 'Did anyone read it?' No. 'Did anyone like the idea?' No. So we moved ahead with Max as being a human, and having been a human, and not letting that small part of the past stand in the way of this story. We wanted what was best for Countdown [ to Infinite Crisis ], and for us, that meant that Max had to be a human". In Blackest Night and Brightest Day , Maxwell Lord

5963-487: The subtitle of: "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters". Gunn later explained that The Flash will change some aspects and characters, but not every aspect of the franchise that came before. Super Buddies Super Buddies are a team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe who appear in the six-issue Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries in 2003, and its 2005 sequel, I Can't Believe It's Not

6052-485: The term "DC Extended Universe" (DCEU) in an article about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on July 1, 2015. This term and the abbreviation DCEU quickly spread among the press and fans who took it as the official name of the franchise over the following years. According to Vulture writer Abraham Riesman, DC confirmed to him in September 2017 that the term was not used internally and they did not consider it official. In 2016, as part of DC Films Presents: Dawn of

6141-441: The title for the film was changed to Flashpoint , based on the comic book storyline of the same name . Dan Mazeau was brought on as co-writer. In March 2018, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were hired to co-direct. In 2019, following creative differences with the co-directors' work on the script, Miller was hired to co-write a new draft in collaboration with Grant Morrison . By July, Daley and Goldstein had left

6230-490: The tongue-in-cheek Justice League International comic book in the 1990s, and revived a similar style of comedy as that series featured. Most of the Super Buddies recruited by Maxwell Lord and his robot sidekick L-Ron are former members of Justice League International when Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire worked on the series: Blue Beetle , Booster Gold , Fire , Ralph Dibny (The Elongated Man ) and his wife Sue , and Captain Atom . A seventh former member, Captain Marvel ,

6319-481: The villainous computer program Kilg%re (pronounced Kilgore ), which had taken over Metron's machine. A much later retcon mitigated the Kilg%re's and Metron's influence, stating that Lord already had plans for taking over the League with his company Maxwell Lord Enterprises, and that he would have pursued them regardless. Lord's ruthlessness at this time was illustrated when he set up a disturbed would-be terrorist as

6408-629: The wizard Shazam, and Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, with Henry Cavill appearing as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman in a mid-credits scene. Billy Batson and his foster siblings, who transform into superheroes by saying "Shazam!", are forced to get back into action and fight the Daughters of Atlas , who want to use a weapon that could destroy the world. A sequel to Shazam! entered development in April 2019, with Henry Gayden returning as writer. David F. Sandberg and Peter Safran returned as director and producer, respectively, and Chris Morgan

6497-454: Was dropped from the project, instead starring in a Black Adam solo film. By October, Zachary Levi was cast as Shazam, and in November, Asher Angel was cast as Shazam's child-age alter ego, Billy Batson. Principal photography began in January 2018 and wrapped that May, with most of the filming taking place at Pinewood Toronto Studios , among other locations around Toronto . Shazam!

6586-600: Was held off until 2005, after DC's Identity Crisis , in which a pregnant Sue Dibny is killed, had run its course. There is a running gag in the miniseries involving whether or not Sue is pregnant. I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League , published in JLA Classified #4-9, finds the Super Buddies settling into their roles as superheroes for hire. The Elongated Man is bragging about Sue allegedly being pregnant, when she is, in fact, not pregnant. Fire and Mary Batson (Mary Marvel's alter ego) become roommates, much to

6675-565: Was hired as an additional screenwriter. Zachary Levi reprises his role as the titular superhero, as most of the adult and child cast in the Shazam Family . At DC FanDome in August 2020, the film's title was announced as Shazam! Fury of the Gods . Filming began in May 2021 in Atlanta and concluded that August. Shazam! Fury of the Gods was released in the United States on March 17, 2023. In January 2023, co-CEOs of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran stated that Shazam! Fury of

6764-467: Was hired as director and writer after Ayer dropped out. O'Connor completed the script with David Bar Katz and Todd Stashwick by September 2018. The next month, O'Connor left the project as Warner Bros. believed the script was too similar to Birds of Prey . In 2019, the film was re-titled The Suicide Squad , with James Gunn directing, from a new script he wrote. Gunn chose the project over various other films Warner Bros. had in development, including

6853-515: Was involved in an advisory role as executive producer. The sequel included Batman in a main role, and serves as a reboot of the Batman film series . Cavill, Amy Adams , Diane Lane , and Laurence Fishburne reprised their Man of Steel roles, while Ben Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne / Batman. Chris Terrio was hired to rewrite Goyer's script. Originally scheduled to be released in July 2015,

6942-528: Was later released in North America on February 7. Birds of Prey is set after the events of Suicide Squad . Diana Prince comes into conflict with the Soviet Union during the Cold War in the 1980s and finds two formidable foes in the form of Maxwell Lord and Cheetah . By June 2017, Geoff Johns and Patty Jenkins had begun work on the story treatment for a Wonder Woman sequel. In July, Johns

7031-736: Was not officially credited for his role as post-production director, he completed enough additional work for a screenwriting credit on the film. Justice League was released worldwide on November 17, 2017. Reprising their roles from previous films are Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth , Diane Lane as Martha Kent , Amy Adams as Lois Lane , Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor , Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta , Robin Wright as Antiope , and Joe Morton as Silas Stone. Justice League also introduces J. K. Simmons as James Gordon , Amber Heard as Mera , and Billy Crudup as Henry Allen , with Joe Manganiello appearing as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke in

7120-794: Was placed on indefinite hold after it failed to secure tax breaks for filming in Australia. Man of Steel , a reboot of the Superman film series released in 2013, was intended to launch a shared universe if successful. Following the film's release, Warner Bros. announced a follow-up entitled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), establishing the DCEU. A slate of 11 DCEU films were then announced in 2014. In 2016, Warner Bros. established DC Films after Batman v Superman did not meet Warner Bros.' box office expectations and received negative responses from fans and critics for its dark tone. The division, led by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg ,

7209-617: Was released in North America on April 5, 2019. Shazam! is set after the events of Justice League . Superman makes a cameo appearance at the end of the film, but his face is not shown as Henry Cavill was unable to reprise the role due to scheduling conflicts. The villain Mister Mind is introduced in a mid-credits scene. When Cassandra Cain , a young girl, comes across a diamond belonging to crime lord Black Mask , Harley Quinn joins forces with Black Canary , Huntress , and Renee Montoya to help protect her. By November 2016,

7298-400: Was released in North America on August 5, 2016. Suicide Squad is set after the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . Affleck and Miller reprise their roles as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Barry Allen / The Flash from that film. In a mid-credits scene , Amanda Waller (portrayed by Davis) meets Wayne in a restaurant and hands him a dossier containing information on future members of

7387-410: Was released in North America on December 21, 2018. It had a spin-off animated TV series which had only one season. Aquaman is set after the events of Justice League , though critics have noticed numerous inconsistencies between the two theatrically released films. Furthermore, Momoa claimed that the film takes place after " Zack's cut ", with the ending of that version of the film directly tying into

7476-401: Was released in North America on June 14, 2013. Gotham City -based vigilante Batman travels to Metropolis to preemptively combat Superman, fearing what would happen if the latter is kept unchecked, while another threat endangers humankind. By June 2013, Warner Bros. were fast-tracking a sequel to Man of Steel , with Snyder and Goyer returning as director and writer, respectively. Nolan

7565-419: Was revealed in the eighty-page one shot Countdown to Infinite Crisis (2005) that Maxwell Lord was in fact Checkmate's latest Black King, and had been collecting information on the Justice League members' weaknesses so that he could annihilate them. Blue Beetle had broken into Lord's secret headquarters and discovered his secret, but was murdered by Lord before he could warn anyone. In The OMAC Project #5,

7654-424: Was to direct a crossover of the Superman and Batman film franchises. A planned Justice League film was put on hold in 2008. Initial universe plans were scrapped after the 2011 film Green Lantern was a critical and commercial failure. Warner Bros. finally established its shared universe with the 2013 film Man of Steel and 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . This was followed by 13 films and

7743-412: Was to oversee production and form a cohesive creative direction for the DCEU. After the failure of Justice League (2017), Johns and Berg were replaced by Walter Hamada in 2018. The DCEU expanded to television with the release of the first season of Peacemaker (2022) on HBO Max . Discovery Inc. completed its acquisition of DC and Warner Bros. parent company WarnerMedia in 2022, forming

7832-418: Was up to Warner Bros. to release it. Warner Bros. remained silent regarding the matter, though Variety reported in November that Warner Bros. was unlikely to release Snyder's version of Justice League , with one studio insider describing it as "a pipe dream". Snyder announced in May 2020 that HBO Max would be releasing his cut of Justice League on their service on March 18, 2021. Initially conceived as

7921-489: Was working on the script, and the sequel was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con , with Gadot reprising the lead role. In September, Jenkins signed a deal to return as director, and brought on David Callaham to pen the script with her and Johns. Production began in June 2018 and concluded that December. Filming locations included the District of Columbia , Northern Virginia , Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in

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