DC Studios’ Wonder Woman Movie Could Hopefully Lead to This Supernatural Superhero Finally Hitting the Big Screen

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When James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled the slate for DC Studios’ “Gods and Monsters“, fans immediately asked, “Where’s Wonder Woman?” It was a fair question: apart from Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman is one of the most recognizable characters in DC Comics’ stable. Gunn recently revealed that a new Wonder Woman film is being written, triggering a fresh wave of speculation — and a few fan casts, including Melissa Barrera and Adria Arjona, among others. But I also feel that Wonder Woman could be the gateway to a superhero team that’s struggled to make it to the silver screen: the mystical heroes known as Justice League Dark.

Wonder Woman Should Explore the Magic Elements of the DC Universe, Especially with Justice League Dark

Justice League Dark first appeared in Justice League Dark #1 by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin, as part of DC Comics’ “New 52” initiative. True to its name, it features some of the DC Universe’s heaviest hitters in the realm of magic, like John Constantine, Zatanna, and Swamp Thing. Wonder Woman would lead a new incarnation of the team in 2018, keeping some of the original members, like Zatanna, while also adding new members like Man-Bat and Detective Chimp. No matter the roster, Justice League Dark’s mission remains the same: to battle the threats that the Justice League or other superheroes can’t handle alone. Those threats include the Lords of Order, the beings who empowered Doctor Fate, and the horrific figure known as the Upside Down Man. The biggest struggle involved Wonder Woman herself, as she was possessed by the goddess of magic, Hecate, during “The Witching Hour” storyline.

These storylines could definitely be a great springboard for a Wonder Woman film, but more importantly, it could open up the magical side of DC Studios. Superman is covering the science fiction elements, with Lanterns and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow set to follow in its footsteps; having a magical element would provide some contrast, while also making the world of DC Studios feel that much bigger. Creature Commandos even briefly touched on the existence of magic with the Amazonian sorceress Circe, who also battled with Wonder Woman in the comics. James Gunn compared his approach to mapping out DC Studios to Game of Thrones, another franchise that slowly unveiled its fantasy elements. Since Creature Commandos revealed the presence of magic and the Amazons, Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark should expand upon that.

Warner Bros. Has Been Trying To Get a ‘Justice League Dark’ Project Off the Ground for Years

If Wonder Woman’s presence at DC Studios leads to an appearance from Justice League Dark, it’ll fulfill Warner Bros.’ attempts to bring the supernatural heroes to the screen. Plans for Justice League Dark were in the works when Constantine and Swamp Thing were airing, but never went through due to those shows being canceled. J.J. Abrams was attached to produce a series of television shows based on Justice League Dark that never manifested. The biggest attempt to bring Justice League Dark to the silver screen came from Guillermo del Toro, who penned a script that would feature most of DC’s magic heroes joining forces; he opened up about his influences on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Justice League Dark did eventually make it to the screen in animated form, first with Justice League Dark in 2017 and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War in 2020 — the latter film even served as the epilogue to DC’s animated movie universe that began in 2014.

Wonder Woman isn’t the only character whose presence could signal the arrival of Justice League Dark. Swamp Thing has long been a prominent member of the team, and a new Swamp Thing movie is in the works with James Mangold (Logan) penning the script. While Mangold has said that his take on Swamp Thing won’t be “handcuffed” by lore, it could still connect to the wider world that DC Studios is setting up, which means that he could be part of Justice League Dark. So far, details about the new Wonder Woman movie are scarce, but I honestly think exploring magic and giving Justice League Dark a chance to shine on the silver screen could really help this new version stand out from Gal Gadot‘s.

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is available to stream on Max.

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