DC and Warner Brothers are currently hard at work developing their own cinematic universe opposite longtime rival Marvel. It all started with last years smash hit Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder which got the ball rolling after the hiccup that was 2011's Green Lantern.
Now it seems Warner Brothers wants to use in-house writers to help form this cinematic universe. First it started off with The Dark Knight trilogy screenwriter David Goyer and 300's Zack Snyder creating Man of Steel. They then brought on Ben Affleck to play Batman after directing and staring in both The Town and Argo which won best picture at the Academy Awards for Warner Brothers. From there it seemed WB was adamant on using writers who are closely connected to both Ben Affleck and Zack Snyder. They started by hiring Argo writer Chris Terrio thanks to his connection with pen Affleck to pen the sequel to Man of Steel title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. They loved his draft of the script so much (After David Goyer wrote the first draft) that they are seriously considering him to pen Justice League which will also be directed by Zack Snyder.
Then just a couple weeks ago DC announced that they had hired two separate writers to pen an Aquaman solo film. The writers would also be in house at WB and were Gangster Squad scribe Will Beall as well as 300: Rise of an Empire screenwriter Kurt Johnstad who is connected to Zack Snyder. A draft has also been confirmed by Dwayne Johnson on a Shazam solo movie but it is unknown who wrote it at this time.
But with all these writers being brought on to pen the ever growing DC Cinematic Universe what directors could take on these mighty heroes? Here is a few suggestions that are in-house at Warner Brothers but are also very talented directors in their own right...
Aquaman
Shazam
Shazam is going to be one of the trickiest movies Warner Brothers and DC create because of its fantastical elemnts that are so associated with the film. Because in reality their is two leads in the film playing the same character of sorts. You have the young Billy Batson (Foster Child if he is based on the New 52) who is given the power of S.H.A.Z.A.M by an ancient wizard. As well as the hero of Shazam (Possibly played by Dwayne Johnson) who is still a child like Billy Batson in an adults body. A comic book "Freaky Friday" movie of sorts. The only director who could possibly take this fantasy type movie would be David Yates! He has already directed several Harry Potter films which starred a a young protagonist in Harry Potter. With his background of Hogwarts and Wizards he would be an ideal chose to bring the Legend of Shazam to life on the big screen for Warner Brothers and DC.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman seems to be a hero that just can't catch a break. She will finally be introduced on screen for the first time in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice played by Gal Gadot. But the powers that be just can't seem to wrap their brain around a female lead superhero movie and potential franchise. Now many believe that a female superhero movie can only be directed by a female director. And lets face it a female director are rare and far between in Hollywood. But I'm sure the first female director to pop into you're head is The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow. She is the first woman to win Best Director at the Academy Awards as well as having both her films be nominated for several awards. Now while should would be the ideal chose for such a break through film like Wonder Woman lets face it. She will never come near a comic book movie after her success with war-time films even though everyone on earth wants her to do Wonder Woman because it just feels right.
A great second chose would be Guy Richie who has directed such great films like Snatch as well as the upcoming re-telling of King Arthur for Warner Brothers. With a fantasy film like King Arthur under his belt he would bring that to a film that tells the origins of Themyscira and Princess Diana. Plus, with his famous opening credit sequence who doesn't love Guy Richie?
Green Lantern
Green Lantern had a bit of a hiccup back in 2011. Not that the origin story of Hal Jordon was wrong or that Ryan Reynolds was terrible in the role. It was simply that the script was all over the place because of "to many cooks in the kitchen". They tried to make Green Lantern a little to comic book-y with his cheesy one-liners and what not throughout the film. Not to say Green Lantern needs to be 100% serious but his one-liners is what drove fans away from the film. Not to mention the space cloud villain but lets not get into that.
So where does Warner Brothers go from here with the character? Last rumor we heard was that he will not be making an appearance in Dawn of Justice but will indeed have a role in Justice League presumably played by a new actor. When his eventual spin-off comes whether its a re-telling of his origin or simply another adventure for him to go on a great director for the project would be none other then Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron. Cuaron has been a staple director at WB for a while also directing one of the Harry Potter films but it was last years Gravity that put him at the spotlight for space epic films. It wasn't just how realistic he made space feel in Gravity but how Space itself was another character in the film. That's exactly what a movie like Green Lantern needs. With a film practically all in space we need a director with a keen eye on how space actually works to helm a project like this. Plus it helps that Gravity won seven academy awards for Warner Brothers including best Visual Effects and Cuaron winning Best Director.
The Flash
The Flash is one of the few DC characters that simply is meant to be a comedy. A movie like The Flash will basically be the opposite of all the other Dc movies who have taken a dark and serious approach to all their films. Now recently their have been rumblings that Warner Brothers seem to have a "Zero Joke Tolerance" for the upcoming DC films but The Flash needs to be the exception. Beside the dark elements that Barry Allen lost his mother at a very young age he has always been the comic relief of the Justice League. Constantly memorized by all the heroes even though he is one of them he is simply a "fan-girl" when he actually gets to meet the other Leaguers.
Now there are also rumors that he is expected to make a cameo in Dawn of Justice with but it won't be by an actor. So if and when DC decides to make a solo Flash film (Opposite it's already established Flash TV Show starring Grant Gustin) what director or director's should helm this project. None other than the hottest duo directors in Hollywood Phil Lord & Chris Miller. They have four feature films under their belt all being massive hits from both the kid friendly comedy's Cloudy With a Chance of meatballs as well as The LEGO Movie. They also have the action comedy down with the hard R Jump Street films. Now as you saw in The Lego Movie they are nerds and brought the Justice League into their movie with batman already playing a prominent role. It's only a matter of time before they direct a live-action feature film. They quickly passed on Marvel's Ant-Man at one time so maybe it's time for Warner Brothers to repay the duo on their success with The Lego Movie and let them direct a DC Cinematic Universe film. And The Flash seems to be a perfect match for this young hot directing team.
The Batman
After Ben Affleck directed and starred in both The Town as well as Best picture winning film Argo he signed up to play Batman for the foreseeable future. Most suspect in his contract with Warner Brothers and WB he would get a solo Batman film as well. It only seems logical that he would also direct this new Batman film as well as star. Zack Snyder is hard at work establishing this new Batman in Dawn of Justice but it will be Affleck who will bring this Dark Knight back to the screens in an entire new way then what we saw in Christopher Nolans Dark Knight Trilogy.
Superman
Zack Snyder is the last director who will return after helming Man of Steel to do the first Justice League film in 2017/2018 but he may also want to return for another Superman adventure starring Henry Cavill. With DC films being slated through 2020 a solo Superman movie may actually happen after all.
