Henry Cavill wasn’t the only actor who suffered through the fates of James Gunn and Peter Safran. While rebooting the DCU, Gunn and Safran decided to remove Henry Cavill from the plethora of actors of the DCU which angered the people…a lot.
Well, Cavill’s removal as Superman wasn’t the only stint on DC Studios. Alongside Henry Cavill’s Superman, there were 3 other projects that suffered the same fate. From canceling an almost-made film to rebooting a movie, here’s a list of 3 projects that got shelved when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the DCU.
1) Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3
Yes, we do know that Gal Gadot recently confirmed that she, Gunn, and Safran are indeed working on a Wonder Woman 3 but it is not quite the sequel that was originally planned. Director Patty Jenkins, who directed the first two movies was also attached to the third film as its director.
After a disagreement with the new co-CEOs of DC Studios, Patty Jenkins reportedly walked off the sets of Wonder Woman 3 never to look back again. If the speculations are to be believed, the upcoming Gal Gadot starrer will allegedly be a reboot rather than a continuation of the first two films. Patty Jenkins revealed that she was open to discussions but James Gunn wouldn’t hear it and she had no choice but to walk it off.
Jenkins will not be returning for Wonder Woman 3 and the upcoming movie will be managed by Gal Gadot, James Gunn, and Peter Safran. The movie will, however, be not in line with Patty Jenkins’ vision and if the rumors are true…a reboot of Wonder Woman.
2) Michael Keaton’s Batman Beyond
Although Michael Keaton did reprise his role as Batman in the recent Ezra Miller starrer The Flash, there was a solo project that was allegedly canceled by the higher-ups at the DCU. Notable insider Jeff Sneider addressed the topic in one of the podcasts wherein he revealed quite some details about the shelved movie.
Sneider claimed that a solo Batman movie starring Michael Keaton was in the works. The movie would be an adaptation of the animated series Batman Beyond which saw an older Bruce Wayne in a futuristic Gotham. Umberto Gonzalez, another insider, confirmed that there was indeed such a project underway but was reportedly canceled for reasons unknown.
James Gunn and Peter Safran have not publicly acknowledged the claims but it would have been cool to see Michael Keaton take on the role of an older and wiser Bruce Wayne.
3) Leslie Grace’s Batgirl
This one is quite infamous. Leslie Grace was all set to star as Batgirl in an upcoming movie when Zack Snyder retired from the DCEU and David Zaslav was handling things for the time being. With an alleged $20 million worth of shooting done, the project was later canceled without any reason.
After some time, Peter Safran stated that there was a very good reason for canceling Batgirl. As per the co-CEO of DC Studios, the movie was simply unwatchable, and “it would have hurt DC. It would have hurt those people involved”. DC Studios received a lot of flak and backlash for this cancelation as the film added one more name to the list of projects that the DCU canceled.
4) Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel 2
And last, but not least, Henry Cavill’s canceled Man of Steel 2. Cavill shocked the world when he gave a cameo in the post-credit scene of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. Seemingly securing his future in the DCU, the world was shocked when Cavill and James Gunn broke the news that the actor was removed from Gunn’s DCU.
An alleged Man of Steel 2 was in the works with Cavill starring as Superman. The project was quickly canceled and scrapped with The Witcher actor’s departure and Gunn started working on a Superman reboot. David Corenswet would go on to take the role of Superman and will be starring alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane when Superman: Legacy releases on 11th July 2025.
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