Walter Hamada’s plan for DC movies: younger Batman, two jokers, Flash to the future…

Well, with the news last week that Jared Leto was getting his own Joker movie, everyone was wondering if that meant the rumoured alternative Joker movie was still happening and, with the rumours reemerging that Ben Affleck was done with Batman (again) we were all wondering what the heck’s going on over at the DC wing of Warners.

Well, now we may have a clearer idea.

Now that Diane Nelson has stepped down as President and Geoff Johns is taking on a more creative role (here), president of DC Entertainment-based film production at Warner Bros Walter Hamada is going to have to really pull everything together moving forward, but we’re all hearing that he may me just the man to do it.

According to insiders, Hamada has spent months going over the projects in development, culling certain ones, elevating others, keeping an eye on the big marquee heroes while also developing lesser-known characters that could pop big.

With Aquaman, Shazam!, Wonder Woman 1984 and others all in production, everyone is looking to the future.

And in that future is not one, but two Joker movies. One starring Suicide Squad Joker Jared Leto, the other a completely standalone Joker movie (we still say it’s a bad idea) starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips. This new Joker story will see the launch of a new movie banner at DC called (potentially) DC Dark or DC Black.

Also in the works in The Flash (previously to be Flashpoint) with John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein, the directors of Game Night, at the helm and Justice League’s Ezra Miller back as the scarlet speedster. The really exciting news, given that Robert Zemeckis was at one point rumoured to be in talks, is that this it touted as being the superhero version of Back To The Future. We’re on board for that!

Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn movie is in pre-production, as is the Birds of Prey movie, Suicide Squad 2 and a Batgirl movie (no longer to be put together by Joss Whedon).

However, the news that has many people talking is this: Writer-director Matt Reeves turned in the first act of a new [Batman] screenplay during the Memorial Day weekend. It’s said to focus on a young caped crusader, and while the studio would not comment, it’s unlikely that Ben Affleck, who has played Batman in three features, will again don the cowl.

Now, we don’t necessarily see this as meaning Affleck is out, rather that Reeves’ movie will feature a younger Batman (this would tie in with all the Jake Gyllenhal rumours from a while back)… remember in Batman V Superman Bruce Wayne says “Twenty years in Gotham, how many good guys are left? How many stayed that way?” and remember when Alfred talked about their biggest problems once being exploding wind-up penguins? We can see the exploring of that chapter of Batman’s history (just please, not another origins tale) as being a great way to have two actors telling Batman’s story…

Hamada will also not be employing the writers room approach to the stories, having seen how it failed for Hasbro, Transformers, Dark Universe and others: “Walter is philosophically opposed to that approach,” says one insider.

“Walter has a specific design for the universe. He has a plan.”

After Justice League it may be hard to realise that vision, after all, haters gonna hate, but with Aquama, Shazam! Wonder Woman and everyone else on their way, we have every confidence… do you?

Source: THR