When is the Justice League 2 release date? The Justice League has had an interesting journey to the big screen. The 2017 DCEU movie was a critical failure, with reviewers hating the condensed plot and the paint-by-numbers CGI villain. But when Zack Snyder, the original director, released his much-called for cut in 2021, it was highly praised. Confusing stuff.
Well, now the DCU is headed in an entirely different direction. James Gunn is in charge these days, developing the new Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate. As it stands, only the Aquaman 2 release date is left to finish off the old era of the DC universe. Once this has come and gone, the big reset button will be pressed. …Watching the DC movies in order is about to get a whole lot more complicated.
But the Justice League is the biggest team this side of the MCU. Does this mean we’ll never see them again? Will they appear in any of the best superhero movies yet to come? Well, read ahead to find out what we know about the Justice League 2 release date.
Justice League 2 release date speculation
OK, let’s get the bad news out of the way first: Warner Bros. isn’t developing Justice League 2. Sorry!
Yes, we know this whole article is about the sequel, but unfortunately, the studio isn’t interested in continuing the story and announced (in July 2022) it has no plans to continue the Snyderverse.
In March 2021, WarnerMedia CEO Ann Sarnoff told Variety that they’re glad Snyder got to complete his trilogy, but that’s where it stops. “I appreciate that they love Zack’s work, and we are very thankful for his many contributions to DC. We’re just so happy that he could bring his cut of the Justice League to life because that wasn’t in the plan until about a year ago.”
She also added, “With that comes the completion of his trilogy. We’re very happy we’ve done this, but we’re very excited about our plans for all the multi-dimensional DC characters that are being developed right now.”
Put simply, it just doesn’t make sense for another Justice League film to be developed right now, especially when there’s a new Superman in the works. If there is another Justice League movie down the line, it’ll likely be completely retcon the ones we already know with the new DC cast.
Justice League 2 cast speculation
There is no Justice League 2 cast as it stands, but had Warner Bros. gone ahead with the sequel, it seems likely that most of the main cast would’ve reprised their roles for the second chapter, and Ray Porter would’ve presumably returned as Darkseid.
Wayne T Carr was meant to step up as the John Stewart Green Lantern at the end of the Snyder Cut, but Warner Bros. had other plans for the character — which is why Martian Manhunter shows up to speak to Bruce Wayne instead.
However, Ray Fisher’s return as Cyborg wouldn’t be guaranteed since he’s leveled a number of allegations of racism and abuse against Warner Bros. executives and director Joss Whedon regarding his behavior during the original reshoots of the first film. Fisher was originally meant to appear alongside Ezra Miller in The Flash movie, but after posting a lengthy statement on Twitter about the situation, it seems like he’s been dismissed from the Cyborg role completely.
His exit from the DCEU seems quite definitive, especially as he says, “If the end of my time as Cyborg is the cost for helping bring awareness and accountability to Walter Hamada’s actions – I’ll pay it gladly.”
At the time, Warner Bros. issued a statement (via EW) standing by the DC Films president, saying: “Last summer, Mr Fisher was offered the opportunity to reprise his role as Cyborg in The Flash. Given his statement that he will not participate in any film associated with Mr Hamada, our production is now moving on.”
Here’s who we think would be in the Justice League 2 cast:
- Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman
- Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
- Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash
- Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
- Ray Porter as Darkseid
Justice League 2 plot speculation
Since Warner Bros isn’t moving forward with the sequel, this next section might be a little bittersweet because we actually know quite a lot about what Zack Snyder originally had planned for Justice League 2 and 3.
In the run-up to the Snyder Cut’s release, the director opened up in a number of interviews about what the fight against Darkseid would’ve looked like. Snyder told Inverse that Darkseid would’ve killed Lois Lane to break Superman’s will, brainwashing him under the all-powerful Anti-Life Equation – which is a tool that would let the villain enslave the galaxy.
So with Superman as the main villain, a “ragtag” Justice League would try to steal another Motherbox (cosmic technology from Darkseid’s planet, Apokolips) so The Flash can travel back in time to prevent Lois’ death.
“So basically in the alternate-future movie, we would have been in this post-Superman, Anti-Life Equation world,” Snyder explained. “Where the team knew that the only way to fix the world was to run Flashback and warn Bruce to save Lois.”
Ben Affleck’s Batman would’ve then sacrificed himself to save Lois, which keeps Superman on the good old path of truth, justice, and the American way – setting the stage for the ultimate showdown with Darkseid in Justice League 3.
The third film would’ve seen Superman lead a combined army of Amazons, Atlanteans, men, and other heroes against Darkseid to decide the fate of the universe.
Is there a Justice League 2 trailer?
You can probably guess the answer to this one. No, there isn’t a trailer for Justice League 2.
However, there’s an animated Justice League film that toys with similar themes to what Zack Snyder had planned for the sequel called Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
It follows the team as they take an army of heroes to Apokolips to put Darkseid down once and for all – only it goes horribly wrong, and most of the costumed crusaders die horribly as soon as the fighting starts. Troubled sorcerer John Constantine is one of the few survivors left on a ruined Earth, and he bands with other heroes and villains to try and turn the tide.
It’s a bleak adventure, but it’s fascinating to watch – especially for long-time fans of the recent DC animated movies. But speaking of the Justice League Dark, it’s worth knowing that Star Trek and Star Wars alumni J.J. Abrams is working on a JLD project for HBO Max under his Bad Robot production company.
There are also plans for individual shows following Constantine and Madame Xanadu, while Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell is currently working on a script for the Zatanna movie. So fear not, a different Justice League team might be on its way to the small screen very, very soon.
It’s worth remembering that there is a lengthy list of DC projects in the pipeline at the moment, so although it’s disappointing that Justice League 2 is off the table, there are some exciting stories coming our way in the near future.
If you want to know more about films that are coming, then we’ve got a guide about all the new movies including the Superman Legacy release date, as well as The Brave and the Bold release date and the Swap Thing release date. You can get to know all the Superman actors and Batman actors, too. What’s more, we’ve got a breakdown of all the Superman movies in order and Batman movies in order, so you can brush up on your history.
If you are after lists, check out our guides on the best DC characters, the best DC villains, and the best movies of all time. Finally, be sure to check out our feature on the five things we want to see from James Gunn’s new DCU, and the one we don’t.
