It has been discovered that Warner Brothers has registered the following URLs this past Tuesday, which potentially hints at the overall plan the studio has for the DC Cinematic Universe:

  •  JusticeLeagueFilm.com
  •  ShazamMovie.com
  •  WonderWomanTheMovie.com
  •  AquamanMovie.com

First of all, if in your giddiness you immediately typed these URLs into your browser, I apologize for the disappointing redirect to the WB website. Bare in mind they JUST registered the domains.

While it’s been no secret that the upcoming ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ movie is clearly going to be a prequel to the ‘Justice League’ movie (which has more or less been confirmed to also have Zack Snyder directing), it is comforting to see evidence that the movie is actually going to happen. The first domino has dropped; with any luck there’ll be no stopping it now. More note-worthy is the other domains they purchased, which hint that the ‘Justice League’ movie will either be preceded by (unlikely) or followed by stand-alone films for ‘Wonder Woman,’ ‘Aquaman’ and ‘Shazam.’

With all the hype around ‘Wonder Woman’ and the many Hollywood attempts to bring her to the big [or small] screen, it is pretty clear why they are preparing for her solo-franchise. As for ‘Shazam,’ aside from the fact that he’s also known as ‘Captain Marvel’ and the confirmed rumors of Dwayne Johnson being cast, I know very little about the character. I have a feeling the majority of average moviegoers would agree with me. And while I am all about pulling out fresh characters and giving them their 15 minutes with their very own film (a la ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’), doing it this early in the game seems very risky to me. To clarify, I say “early” as DC has plenty of big name characters they could roll out movies for before hitting up their second tier heroes, namely the Flash, Green Lantern, or even Green Arrow, a character who has built up a good-sized fan base because of his show on the CW.

Combine that with the choice to give ‘Aquaman’ his own movie, and I can’t help but wonder who is making these decisions over at WB. ‘Entourage’ pseudo-greatness aside, an ‘Aquaman’ movie has the potential to be the super-hero equivalent of ‘Waterworld,’ no pun intended. He’s a hero from a past age, a time when people were more forgiving of the ludicrousness of a hero’s power and the locale of his heroics. His relevancy outside of the ocean in the stark world population by the ‘Man of Steel’ Superman and a Batman based on one of the [arguably] most dark and gritty interpretations of the character (‘The Dark Knight Returns’) seems almost laughable.

Still, I would love to be proven wrong by Warner Bros, as they have the potential for a cinematic universe that could eventually dwarf the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the studio still holds the rights to all the DC A-list characters. My hope is that someone over there has a grand plan that we just will not be able to comprehend until we see it all put together.

Source: The Mary Sue, Collider