DC Films To Launch Side Label For Standalone Films Outside DCEU

According to DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, DC Films will launch a new side-label for future standalone film projects outside the current main DC cinematic universe.

In an interview with Vulture, Johns said he expects the announcement of the side label "soon-ish." So far, the first and only confirmed standalone is the untitled Joker movie, with Martin Scorsese reportedly attached. If that’s not bemusing enough, Warner Bros. is also currently developing a Harley and Joker film set in the DC Cinematic universe, starring Jared Leto’s widely panned Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Perhaps the suits want to confuse audiences enough that they won't realize how ill-informed all of this is.

Hopefully, there aren’t a lot of fans vowed to continuity either – the new and as-yet-unnamed side-label means DC films is not obsessing over crossovers going forward.

“Our intention, certainly, moving forward is using the continuity to help make sure nothing is diverging in a way that doesn’t make sense, but there’s no insistence upon an overall story line or interconnectivity in that universe,” said DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson.

Johns also cites Aquaman regarding continuity and the connection between character sequels, but with little regard to the universe at large. “Some of the movies do connect the characters together, like Justice League. But, like with Aquaman, our goal is not to connect Aquaman to every movie.

“Moving forward, you’ll see the DC movie universe being a universe, but one that comes from the heart of the filmmaker who’s creating them,” Johns added.

Honestly, that sounds great. I’m not sure who decided that the MCU model must be the standard for all franchises, but it shouldn't and can’t. My favorite comic moves are ones that can’t be bothered with the 70+ years of canon that preceded it: films like Deadpool, Superman 2 and Punisher: War Zone that feel like some random, inconsequential issue in a sea of other comic book threads. Here’s an idea: Johns and company make movies, as opposed to commercials for other movies.

So far, news from the DC films venture has been draining – every other week, Warner Bros. makes headlines with news that either inspires or utterly deject fans. Wonder Woman: Yay! Ben Affleck will no longer be Batman: Aw! Just kidding, Ben Affleck is gonna play Batman forever: Yay! Jared Leto: Aw! Margot Robbie: Yay! Dame Judi Dench has just been cast as Shazam: Aw! Ultimately, following the critical disaster that was Batman V. Superman (a sentence I’ve quite frankly grown tired of writing), the filmmakers over at DC films continue to make a concerted effort to shake things up.

The DC films execs brought in a whole new team, one that includes nerd paragon Joss Whedon, who in addition to reshoots and script revisions on the upcoming Justice League film, will also helm an in-continuity (at least for the time being) Batgirl film. Comic book scribe Geoff Johns is the official Kevin Feige analogue for the whole thing.

Standalone movies set in DC universe: Yay! Johns just tweeted the DCEU is 100 percent connected: Aw! Are you excited to watch DC movies outside the Justice League universe? Let us know in the comment section below.