Seven of the Biggest Takeaways from DC’s FanDome Event

Yesterday, DC and Warner Brothers held their very first entirely digital event- the DC FanDome. There was a lot of great content to unpack as well as some big announcements and trailers. So let’s take a look at seven of the largest reveals and trailers that the DC FanDome had to offer.

The Batman

The newest incarnation of Batman was finally unveiled in a proper teaser trailer for The Batman. The new take on the caped crusader is directed by Matt Reeves and stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/ The Batman. Many were skeptical of Pattinson’s casting due to his relatively young age and his past acting career as a teenage heartthrob in the Twilight movies. From what we see in the trailer, it is evident that Pattinson can finally step out of the shadow of the Twilight franchise. His take on Batman seems less confident and more tortured, youthful yet unsure. There are also glimpses of characters like GCPD’s James Gordon- played by Jeffery Wright- Selina Kyle a.k.a Catwoman -Zoe Kravitz- and Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a The Penguin (what looks like Colin Farrell under ten tons of insanely well done and creepy makeup and prosthetics). In his online panel, director Matt Reeves clearly shows a deep understanding of the character and the lore surrounding Batman and I think this teaser has proven that the franchise is in good hands.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Ever since the release of Justice League three years ago, the rumoured extended directors cut of the film- known as the Snyder Cut referring to director Zack Snyder- was often shot down when queried by fans on social media who wanted the full version of the movie. Justice League received mixed reviews at best but fans of the series knew that Snyder’s full vision was somewhat quashed due to studio demands, time constraints, and a family tragedy for Snyder which led to him dropping out and Joss Whedon taking over the project quite late into the process. After years of speculation and DC fans hoping against hope, the Snyder Cut finally received a trailer at the DC FanDome. Set to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, the trailer showed new content for the film. The trailers place an emphasis on The Flash and Cyborg who were somewhat side-lined in the 2017 film, so hopefully, we will get more screen time and backstory for them. The extended cut will air as a four-part miniseries on HBO’s streaming service HBO Max in 2021.

Black Adam

Black Adam is a film that had been confirmed for a fair amount of time but during the DC FanDome, we got a teaser trailer for the film. The trailer is narrated by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who takes on the role of the iconic DC comic book villain. The trailer shows a brief glimpse at Black Adam’s backstory from tortured slave to a free man with great power. Black Adam is known as the nemesis of Shazam who was once his predecessor before the huge amount of power he gained corrupted him.  On his Instagram, Johnson promised that “the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change”, which could make for an interesting shift in the dynamic of the DCEU if it comes to fruition. Johnson will play the role in his own Black Adam spin-off film but also in the Shazam sequel, so DC and Warner Brothers are clearly expecting the fans to have a positive response to the character. Black Adam is expected to have a late 2021 release.

Wonder Woman 1984

I must admit, I feel a little bad for the Wonder Woman 1984 film. Originally intended to be released in November of 2019, the film was pushed back to June 2020. By then, the global COVID-19 pandemic meant that most films were being postponed, Wonder Woman 1984 included. So although there is still no official release date, we did get a new trailer for the film during the DC FanDome which had some interesting new footage. Steve Trevor’s scenes are great, trading places with Diana in that now he is the one who has no idea how the world around him works. There is also more of Diana’s golden armour, which is looking pretty awesome. The most prominent feature in the trailer has to be Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah, who we finally get a look at in her feline form. She doesn’t look too weird, which is honestly more than enough. Considering the creepy kitties from the 2019 Cats movie, it could be much, much worse.

The Suicide Squad

There were two new looks at James Gunn’s take on The Suicide Squad during the DC FanDome. The first is a behind the scenes look at filming. A lot of the team working on the movie are certain that this is going to be a bigger and crazier film then we can imagine. Gunn himself claims that it will be “bigger than any superhero film ever made”. With a cast of characters that includes King Shark and Weasel, I can see how that may be the case.

The other video is a roll call of The Suicide Squad characters themselves. The cast is massive and certainly what you could call diverse, from characters from the 2016 film like Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Jai Courtenay as Boomerang to all new characters like Nathan Fillion as TDK, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man (I want a Polka-Dot Man cinematic universe featuring The Condiment King) and John Cena as PeaceMaker. Because why not? There are a lot of characters here that Gunn will have to juggle so hopefully each one will have a chance to shine. I remember being so excited for the 2016 Suicide Squad and being really disappointed when I saw it in the cinema. My hopes have been raised by these sneak peeks.  I just hope Gunn can deliver. This is the man who managed to turn one of Marvel’s most obscure superhero groups into one of the best comic book movies of all time, so there is certainly hope for this one.

Gotham Knights

There were two major video games also revealed at the DC FanDome including Gotham Knights. Gotham Knights will be set in a Gotham where Batman is dead and a new crime syndicate is taking over the city. It is up to Batman’s protégés- Bat Girl, Red Hood, Robin, and Nightwing- to take over Batman’s work and be the protectors of Gotham City. The trailer shows the Bat Fam receiving an “if you are watching this, I am dead” message from Batman/ Bruce Wayne as he effectively hands over the responsibility of saving the city to them. He also mentions that Jim Gordon is also dead (as we know, he is pretty much the only capable member of the GCPD alongside Renee Montoya) so they are effectively on their own. Players will be able to switch between the four Gotham Knights or play with one other person via online co-op. This is a really interesting concept and could make for a fun multiplayer and single-player experience. Though personally, I highly doubt that Batman is actually dead. Even if he is, what are the chances of us being able to play as him in flashbacks or memories? It would be a gutsy move to straight-up remove Batman from a Batman game and I’m not sure if Warner Brothers Games Montreal is brave enough to do it. Either way, this is definitely one to watch.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

As well as having a pretty lengthy yet intriguing title, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a new game where the player takes on the role of Suicide Squad- the bad guys being forced into saving the world in case you forgot- set in the same universe as the Batman Arkham games. It also takes place in Metropolis, though it is possible that the characters will return to Gotham at some point. The trailer shows the four main playable characters of the Suicide Squad- Harley Quinn, King Shark, Captain Boomerang, and Deadshot- as they are on a mission from Amanda Waller. From the destruction in Metropolis and the large alien spacecraft that is shown, it is pretty obvious that Brainiac has invaded the city and used his mind-controlling abilities to possess the civilians into becoming zombie-like creatures who exude a purple glow. He also seems to have taken over Superman and likely the other members of the Justice League and it will be up to the Suicide Squad to take them down (hence that lengthy title). Not much else is known about the game except that the player will be able to switch between these four characters or play the game cooperatively. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not due for release until 2022, so it may be a while before we get any gameplay or concrete details.

These were just a few of the announcements that we got from the DC FanDome. There was plenty more content from the online event, such as The Flash season seven and a title for the Shazam sequel- Fury of the Gods. For more on the DC FanDome, check out the official blog here.