The DCEU has had a rough ride. It started out with big aspirations of following up Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy. It also aimed at competing with the unbelievably successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. After six years of mixed movies, a history of troubled production, and ultimately a failed team up movie, it's safe to say that the DCEU has failed in its mission.

Movies like Aquaman and Wonder Woman may have been successes, but most of their other films have been almost universally panned. The universe was originally created by Zack Snyder after his successes adapting 300 and Watchmen. The first film in the extended franchise, Man of Steel, hit controversy over its massive violence and the decision to have Superman snap Zod's neck in the end. The franchise pivoted from that to a Batman v. Superman movie instead of a Man of Steel sequel. This movie was supposed to right the ship and properly launch the universe only for it to be more critically panned than the first one. Unfortunately, this happened in the middle of production for Suicide Squad and Justice League. Both movies were massively changed despite the fact that much of these movies were completed already. The end results for these films were disted and messy. This has led to the entire concept all but getting abandoned in favor of a series of solo ventures like Aquaman and Shazam!

Still, it's fun to go back over the highs and lows of the extended franchise, see what was abandoned and speculate over what might have been. Good or bad, you can't deny that the DCEU was one wild ride. Here are 20 DCEU Storylines That Were Completely Abandoned.

Flash-Back

One of the biggest "Huh?" moments in Batman v. Superman was the point about midway through the film where the Flash bursts into the batcave through a time tunnel to warn him about Superman. Evidently he ran too far into the past and failed to accomplish whatever mission he was trying to. If that mission was to stop the Justice League sequels, then he definitely succeeded.

This moment was obviously a reference to one of the planned sequels to Zack Snyder's Justice League. The moment was critically panned as having nothing to do with the plot of the film and is often referenced as one of its many weak spots. Whatever it was about, we'll never get to see what he was talking about as the entire Snyder Justice League plan was completely scrapped mid production. (No, this is not the time to start chanting for the Snyder cut. There's no Snyder cut. Let it goooo.)

The Knightmare

One of the most confusing aspects of the Batman v. Superman trailers was the scene where Batman was in some kind of Mad Max style future with a long trench coat and goggles. Fans speculated all over the internet about it and were looking forward to finding out just what in the world was going on with the Dark Knight.

It seems like they'll always be waiting.

Whatever was happening in the Knightmare will never be truly revealed. It's likely that this is the future that the Flash was coming back from. From what we've seen, it looks like a combination of the plot from Injustice: Gods Among Us where a vengeful Superman takes over the Earth and the Superman: The Animated Series finale where Superman is an agent working for Darkseid. It's very unlikely that any of that will come to in the future though.

Pretty Much Anything With Jared Leto

When Jared Leto was cast as the Joker, replacing Oscar winner Heath Ledger, fans across the internet responded with "Why Jared Leto?" Then when the film actually released, all those same fans continued to ask "Why Jared Leto?"

His tattooed turn as the Joker is widely regarded as the worst version of the character to appear onscreen. What's worse is that his off screen behavior on set was supposedly disgusting. He sent things like rats to costars while diving headfirst into a character that barely appeared in the film.

Warner Bros. still had faith in him though, at least for a while. There were several films lined up to feature Leto in the role, but all of those have been scrapped in favor of a Joaquin Phoenix Joker film instead.

The Demise Of Jason Todd

One of the interesting teases in Batman v. Superman was the shot of the Jason Todd Robin's suit spray painted by the Joker. This is clearly a reference to the fact that Joker took Jason Todd's life in the comics. This Jason Todd looked very different though. For one, he seemed to carry an axe of some kind.

This seemed like one of the plot lines they might use for one of the Batman films that were in production. Many fans were hoping there would be a film that followed the Under The Red Hood plot where Jason Todd returns from the grave. None of this seems likely considering the fact that pretty much everything set up in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice got shelved.

Batfleck

Despite pretty much everything about Batman v. Superman getting panned by critics and fans alike, most agreed that Ben Affleck was surprisingly the best part as Batman. His grizzled and gritty take may not have been everyone's favorite interpretation of the character, but people seemed to agree that his commitment to the role was truly captivating.

Unfortunately, his tenure as Batman proved to be short lived. While it seemed like Ben Affleck might act and direct his own take on the character, all of those plans were scrapped. There was talk of him appearing in the Matt Reeves directed feature, but Affleck happily retired from the role earlier this year.

Whoever gets the role next, hopefully they enjoy it more.

A "Man Of Steel" Sequel

Man of Steel was the first film in the DCEU. While it wasn't the universally praised superhero milestone they hoped it to be, there was definitely cause to order a sequel. Instead of a direct sequel, they went with a team up movie in Batman v. Superman.

The running theme of this article seems to be that Batman v. Superman was the franchise closer to end all franchise closers. The Man of Steel franchise seems to be among the many that were eliminated by the film. The original set up ideas like the phantom zone and Supergirl that could easily have been incorporated into the subsequent films, but there's no chance that any of those elements are going to make their way to the big screen any time soon.

These films are buried next to Nicolas Cage's Superman Lives and J.J. Abrams' Superman: Flyby in the Superman movie graveyard, so at least there's good company.

Batman/Superman Debate

One of the most interesting parts about Batman v. Superman was the ideological debate between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. Bruce saw Superman as a dangerous alien that needed to be destroyed at all cost. Clark saw Batman as a dangerous vigilante who acted as judge, jury, and executioner.

This entire plot was dropped in the film entirely. There was no true closure to the debate. Instead the two put their differences aside because Batman and Superman's mothers have the same name and there was a worse looking CGI Hulk to fight.

When Superman is resurrected in Justice League, the two never even have a conversation about the events of the previous film. Bruce seems to just buy the bank that owns the Kent farm as an apology for beating him to a pulp and nearly destroying him with a spear. Y'know, as friends do.

Pretty Much Everything About "Suicide Squad"

Suicide Squad seemed like a truly interesting film when its first trailer dropped. It was a darker film that was going to focus on a team of deadly villains instead of heroes. This was clearly meant to boldly stand against the colorful Marvel movies.

Then Batman v. Superman dropped and they completely panicked.

The final Suicide Squad film feels like the original dark and brooding concept mixed sloppily with a bright and colorful cut that would fit with the Marvel aesthetic. The result was a film that was even more panned than the one that made the producers panic in the first place. James Gunn has been brought in to reboot the franchise so it seems unlikely that anything set up in the first one will come back again. Not that anyone seems to be complaining.

The League Of Disappointing Bad Guys

Justice League was one of the most disappointing superhero films of all time. It didn't manage to with fans or critics and it didn't come anywhere near competing with the rival Avengers franchise. The film was a big swing and a miss that pretty well destroyed all of the concepts it tried to set up.

Among these concepts was the post credits scene that teased Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor hiring Joe Manganiello's Slade Wilson to his Injustice League. This seemed to be a direct set up for the sequel but considering how little talk there is of that happening and that the cast of the film is slowly moving away from DC projects (aside from the surprisingly successful Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa.)

Mangeniello probably would've made a solid Deathstroke, but few mourn the loss of Eisenberg's Luthor. He is widely considered the worst version of the character and the role as one of the worst in the actor's career. Maybe it's a smart move for him to move on then.

The Justice League Trilogy

Justice League was originally supposed to be a trilogy. Batman v. Superman was to set the extended universe up, Justice League was to put the team together and the two subsequent films were apparently meant to deal with the Knightmare and Darkseid.

All of that was shelved midway through the process of making it happen. Snyder was hard at work on what would've been Justice League Part One only to have Joss Whedon complete a version of the film that had no clear vision at all. It was an odd mix of Snyder's original take and Whedon's Marvel aesthetic.

Now it doesn't even look like that movie is going to get a sequel. A sad fate for the most famous superhero team.