Justice League sequel, and it's likely his plans will be abandoned.
We don't know exactly what Snyder had planned for Justice League 2, but we do know that the original vision was for the first and second films to be much more narratively connected, and would likely feature Darkseid as the main antagonist, a confrontation Snyder actually hinted at in Batman V Superman. That was all aborted when WB decided they wanted a lighter, standalone Justice League film, which resulted in the DC heroes taking on the deeply forgettable Steppenwolf, a blandly evil lieutenant of Darkseid.
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So with Snyder's plans abandoned, and with the DCEU as a whole in a state of flux, what could a Justice League sequel potentially look like?
This Page: What Will A Post-Snyder Justice League 2 Look Like?
Who Will Be The Villain in Justice League 2?
It seems highly unlikely Justice League 2 would stick with Darkseid as its villain. It was never a particularly good idea - Darkseid is the literal embodiment of evil in the DC universe, a force of such utter destruction that there's essentially no topping him in the realm of comic book bad guys. He has some surface-level similarities to Avengers: Infinity War. Introducing Darkseid five movies into the DCEU always seemed like rushing to a confrontation that hadn't really been earned yet.
Justice League's post-credits scene set up the most likely possibility for the sequel's antagonists - the infamous Legion of Doom. The newly freed Lex Luthor (played by the ever-divisive Jesse Eisenberg) discusses starting a team of his own with Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello). It makes a lot of sense; it's a way to showcase a cavalcade of different types of villains, perhaps ones that directly correlate to the heroes.
It seems likely there could be a refugee or two from Aquaman film alive, Yahya Abdul-Mateen's Black Manta is another obvious candidate.
Related: Predicting the DCEU's Legion of Doom Plans
Traditional like Captain Cold, Sinestro, and Gorilla Grodd haven't really been set up in the DCEU yet, but that could certainly change before another Justice League movie gets off the ground.
Who Should The Justice League?
The team felt a bit understaffed in the first Justice League film, with only Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg holding down the fort for most of the movie. Even with the resurrected Superman ing up, it still feels like the Justice League is a few short of what it should be. It seems a certainty that more heroes would the team in the sequel.
The most obvious candidate, and the most deeply felt omission in the first film, is Green Lantern. The emerald ring slinger is almost always a founding member of the team, and it's hard to figure out any reason why he wasn't in the first film other than the fact that the non-DCEU Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern film flopped in 2011. That's a failure Warner Bros. has to get over, as Green Lantern is not only an integral part of the Justice League, but is one of DC's richest characters who oversees an almost overwhelmingly cool corner of the DC universe that would be incredibly fertile ground for the right filmmaker. Most indications are that DC plans on introducing both Hal Jordan and John Stewart to the DCEU soon, with the former rumored to serve as a mentor to the latter.
Another obvious candidate for league hip is the one DCEU cinematic hero who's not actually in the league yet - Zachary Levi's Shazam. Assuming David F. Sandberg's Shazam! film is a success, having Shazam the ranks of Superman and Batman has a lot of storytelling potential. Shazam is, of course, a twelve-year-old boy in an adult superhero's body, and the notion of seeing the Justice League through the eyes of Billy Batson is definitely a fun one.
Related: Shazam Could Turn Justice League's Worst Scene Into Its Best
Martian Manhunter is traditionally another founding member of the league, though he was pushed out of that role in DC's New 52 reboot, his spot taken by Cyborg. That's a shame, because J'onn J'onzz is one of the more soulful characters in DC's considerable arsenal, and the alien refugee's adjustment to life on Earth is always a rewarding journey. Green Lantern and Shazam likely take precedent for practical reasons, but Martian Manhunter deserves a seat at the table in the Hall of Justice.
When Will Justice League 2 Release?
The DCEU is in a pretty well documented transitional state right now. Other than concentrating more on self contained solo films, building up the individual characters and their worlds in much the way Wonder Woman did. That likely means Justice League 2 is on the back burner for awhile.
Related: All 26 & In-Development DC Films
The sequel's originally scheduled 2019 release date is not happening, and 2020 is already filling up, with The New Gods are all in more defined states than Justice League 2. The course correction happening within the DC's leadership suggests Justice League 2 is something that's going to get pushed back until most of the main characters have a strong solo movie under their belts, meaning there's still a lot of terrain to be covered before the next team up happens. Even a potential release date in 2021 feels optimistic at this point.
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Barring something cataclysmic, like Warner Bros. abandoning the DCEU altogether, there's going to be a Justice League sequel. We have no real idea what it will look like, or even who's going to make it. Snyder served as something of a unifying visionary for the DCEU, and there's really no heir apparent to that particular role. Walter Hamada is now in charge of DC Films, but it's still early days into his reign and the direction he wants to take is unclear.
Introducing the Justice League so early in the DCEU's run was probably a mistake that couldn't be overcome under the best of circumstances, which is certainly not how the first film was produced. Warner Bros. knows they have some work to do to prove the DCEU can hang with the MCU, and they've decided the best way to do that is to dial back the shared universe tropes and make their characters able to stand on their own. That's probably a smart strategy, but it means the Justice League 2 is going to be something of an afterthought for a while. When we eventually get back to the Hall of Justice, hopefully the DCEU will be standing on much firmer ground and we can get the triumphant Justice League story we deserve.
