DC Entertainment has officially announced their plans for their 2019 animated film slate. The animated film slate was announced at the DC Comics San Diego Comic Con panel following the Death of Superman world premiere. It was announced that Warner Bros. Animation/DC will release four animated productions next year, instead of three which is what the normal plan is. Those four are Reign of the Supermen, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, and Batman: Hush.
The first of the animated film slate to release will be Reign of the Supermen, which is the sequel to this year’s Death of Superman and is part of a two-part storyline that reenacts the events of the iconic story by Dan Jurgens which shook the world 25 years ago. Reign of The Supermen will focus on a world where Superman has perished in battle with Doomsday and numerous individuals battle for the mantle of Superman. Like the iconic Superman story, it will see the introduction of several characters who are integral to the SUperman mythos into the DC animated universe such as Steel, Cyborg Superman and Conner Kent. You can watch a preview for Reign of The Supermen during the closing credits of Death of Superman.
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After Reign of the Supermen baffles DC fans, they can look forward to the return of the Justice League in Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, which is set to release in spring. The Fatal Five is a group of galactic supervillains composed of the roster of Tharok, Emerald Empress, Validus, Mano and the Persuader, who are not traditional villains that the Justice League faces off against. Normally, they are common rogues for the Legion of Superheroes. Now while the Five have made occasional appearances in animated series like Justice League Unlimited and Legion of Superheroes, they have had a near non-existent presence in the comics. The film is based on an original story, and details surrounding the project are limited but we can expect more information to be closed as release draws closer.
The third 2019 animated film will be based on Jeph Loeb’s Batman: Hush, based on the iconic 2002 storyline that started in the pages of Batman #608. The title which invokes a feeling of mystery does foreshadow a complex story that would showcase much of the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery, tease the return of Batman’s fallen pupil Jason Todd, see to the return of Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend and adversary Thomas Elliott, and emphasize the romantic dynamic of Batman and Catwoman. While Gotham By Gaslight was an Elseworlds film, Batman: Hush will not be and is set in the present day canon of the current DC animated film. The storyline illustrated by Jim Lee features all-around troublemakers like The Joker, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Poison Ivy but it is also known for introducing another strong and underutilized adversary of Batman– the enigmatic and bandage faced Hush. While the character has made appearances in popular forms of media like Gotham and the Lego Batman games, he has yet to clash with Batman in animation.
As previously stated, Warner Bros. Animation/DC typically releases three films a year but they are breaking from that mold next year by adding a fourth film to the slate. Since her 2009 animated film, Wonder Woman has not seen many standalone outings in DC animation like her counterparts Batman and Superman, but that is going to be rectified at an unspecified time. Wonder Woman: Bloodlines is a mysterious additional film that may be what we need in an animated universe dominated largely by male heroes. We can expect to learn more about the film next year and to see DC’s animated slate become stronger than ever before.
What do you think of this news? Are you excited for DC Animation in 2019? Let us know in the comments below!
