The DC Extended Universe has been notorious for its struggles in creating a proper interconnected universe. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon include six Avengers films, DC has not been able to produce a single Justice League sequel. Many other DC films, including those based on Plastic Man, Lobo, and Nightwing, have entered development. However, due to the poor track record of the DCEU, only time will tell whether those actually get made.

During a turbulent time for DC, with major controversies surrounding the stars of The Flash and Aquaman, Batgirl was the light in the darkness. Yet, in an unprecedented move in Hollywood, Batgirl was canceled after it had already entered post-production. Batgirl has unfortunately joined a long list of DC films that will never be released. Here are all the movies in the DCEU that have been canceled over the years.

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12 Man of Steel 2

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel released in 2013 and was the film that launched the DCEU. Development on Man of Steel 2 soon followed, but the sequel never happened. Deadline reported in 2020 that a sequel was no longer in active development. Zack Snyder later revealed there were discussions about the DC supervillain Brainiac making an appearance as well as the Kryptonians who were left in the Phantom Zone.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

11 New Gods

Warner Bros. hired Ava DuVernay to direct a film based on DC’s New Gods in 2018. In early 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the film had been canceled following the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Darkseid was a major part of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but he was also the main villain of New Gods. The studio apparently wanted time between the character’s appearances. DuVernay shared on Twitter that the canceled film would have featured DC Comics characters Big Barda, Granny Goodness, Highfather, and Mister Miracle.

10 Batgirl

Unlike the other films on this list, Batgirl had not only completed filming when it was canceled, it was already in post-production. The film starred singer and In the Heights star Leslie Grace as Batgirl and Brendan Fraser as the DC supervillain Firefly. Warner Bros. Discovery considered releasing the film in theaters in April 2022 before a decision was made to not release the film at all. As reported by The Wrap, studio leaders believed the film did not work or align with their vision of making DC titles “big theatrical event films.”

9 The Batman (DCEU)

Before The Batman launched a new cinematic universe, it was intended to be an entry in the DCEU. The film had Ben Affleck attached to star and, for a time, also produce, write, and direct. After Matt Reeves was brought on to direct The Batman, plans were made to focus on a younger version of the Caped Crusader (thus, Robert Pattinson was cast). The Batman went on to deviate so much from the original plans that it ultimately left the DCEU.

8 Deathstroke

Joe Manganiello was once attached to lead a Deathstroke solo film directed by Gareth Evans. Manganiello later shared on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast that “when the dust settled, it was not seen as a priority to make a $40 million movie about a villain origin story in which you show the backstory.” By 2022, the only time Manganiello had appeared as Deathstroke was in a post-credits scene for Justice League and a small role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

7 Cyborg

Ray Fisher was supposed to return in Cyborg, which was previously scheduled for an April 2020 release. In the month it was supposed to be released, the film still had not been made. Fisher announced on a Twitch stream that he knew that there were still “plans in the works.” Due to a number of other issues, the relationship between Fisher and Warner Bros. soured. Fisher refused to work with president of DC Films, Walter Hamada, and later announced on Twitter that the studio had moved on without his character.

6 Harley Quinn vs. the Joker

A working title of Harley Quinn vs. the Joker was assigned to a follow-up to 2016’s Suicide Squad. The film would have further explored the relationship between Jared Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Co-directors, co-producers, and co-writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa planned the film being like a mash-up of Bad Santa and This is Us. Forbes later reported in 2019 that the film was no longer moving forward.

5 Joker (DCEU)

     Warner Bros.

In 2018, Variety reported that Leto’s Joker would be getting his own solo movie. Leto was set to both star and exec produce, with the film leading to more Suicide Squad spin-offs. Todd Phillips’ 2019 Joker film ended up being made instead, which starred Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role. Leto never reprised his role, which allowed him to become the Marvel legend known as Morbius.

4 Green Lantern Sequels

Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern was meant to be the start of a new DC universe. The disappointing financial results and negative reviews prompted Warner Bros. to pull the plug on all sequels. Reynolds then moved on to the Deadpool franchise, where he constantly made fun of his Green Lantern film.

3 Justice League Sequels

A sequel to Justice League was originally scheduled for a 2019 release with Snyder returning to direct. However, in late 2017, Variety reported there were no longer any plans for Snyder to return. The theatrical version of Justice League failed to represent Snyder’s vision and was poorly received. Years of fan demand and the rise of HBO Max led to a director’s cut being released in 2021. Yet, despite fan interest in follow-ups, Warner Bros. executives (via New York Times) referred to Zack Snyder’s Justice League as “a storytelling cul-de-sac — a street that leads nowhere.”

2 The Trench (Was Secretly a Black Manta Film)

Warner Bros. announced a lower-budget DC film focusing on the Trench kingdom in early 2019. A horror-themed Aquaman spin-off, The Trench had Aquaman and The Conjuring director James Wan as one of its producers. The film was set to release before Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. After the film’s cancelation, Wan revealed that The Trench was secretly a Black Manta movie.

1 The Wonder Twins

     DC Comics

A film based on the twin sibling superhero duo, the Wonder Twins, was announced to be in development for HBO Max in February 2022. Riverdale star KJ Apa and Alexa & Katie’s Isabel May were cast as Zan and Jayna. As WarnerMedia merged with Discovery, The Wonder Twins was canceled. President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, viewed the film as being “too niche” and unable to generate enough of a return.