The StokesVerse: If I was put in charge of the DCEU back in 2012
Back in 2012 after The Dark Knight Rises was released as the final movie in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, (supposedly) Warner Brothers offered Nolan to helm a DCEU to rival the MCU. He turned them down and they went to Zack Snyder instead. But what if they went to me? First off i'd say I want complete control and would practically do it for free.
Here I am going to layout how the DC Extended Universe should have happened. I’ll included castings and synopsis’s for each movie in my 13 movie plan that takes place between 2013-2018. But that’s not where I stop, Part 2 will pick up after Justice League 2 and start in 2019.
Well here we go, welcome to the StokesVerse.
Summer 2013- Superman 1- solo movie showing him grow up in Kansas and square off against Lex Luthor once Clark moves to Metropolis. Basically Force Awakens Superman 77 with a more thought out introduction and world building. Keep the same cast, subtract the Zod storyline, add Billy Zane Lex Luthor
Winter 2013- Wonder Woman 1- basically exactly what we got but cut the Batman bookends, end instead revealing she lives in Metropolis and works at a museum there not in Washington DC / Paris? They show/talk about both in the DCEU what the hell was that. Keep the exact same cast.
Spring 2014- Green Lantern 1- Entirely set in deep space, introduce Jon Stewart as an established Lantern, fight Sinestro and some other yellow corps members in a giant (but contained to this movie) Lantern war. Introduce and set up Martian Manhunter as an ally, have the Yellow Corps and Sinestro attack Mars for something do not reveal what. Idris Elba will play Jon Stewart and bring back Mark Strong to play Sinestro, he is perfect for the role. Doug Jones is my Martian Manhunter, make it real and alive not some CGI mess.
Summer 2014- Batman 1 - Montage intro Batman we all know the story skip to an established Batman in Gotham before he has a Robin. Show him saving Dick Grayson from Penguin blowing up the circus. Pure Detective story Batman hunting down the Penguin. MAKE HIM THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE. Adopts Dick Grayson as the finale scene. Ben Affleck Batman let him direct as well.
Winter 2014- Flash 1 - Heavy intro showing Barry getting sucked into the Speed Force as a teenager, flashforward establish Barry as forensic scientist in Central city, set up mothers death by Reverse Flash, keep his identity a secret and that he got away. This is another pure detective story. Show Barry working and how good he is at his job using his skills trying to solve a spree of murders at different labs including S.T.A.R. Labs. Reveal that it is the Thinker stealing and building something. Flash goes to confront him and bam yellow flash and streak the Thinker is murdered by the Reverse Flash and it is revealed that he was the one the Thinker was afraid of and working for. Eddie Redmayne will be cast as the Barry Allen with Peter Capaldi as the Thinker, love that casting by James Gunn.
Spring 2015- Aquaman 1 - Keep Jason Momoa establish Arthur as an exiled loner from Atlantis because of his half breed birth. He lives in and protects a pacific island from modern pirates, tease Atlantis do not show it. He has his mother's trident but that is it no armor or resources aside from the town on the island. Black Manta is the leader of the Pirates, already Established with the giant head not some Atlantis Tech he is intelligent and ruthless show it.
Summer 2015- Superman 2 - Opens with a Lex Corp satellite sending a mysterious signal to deep space. Clark is now established reporter, even has an intern photographer named Jimmy Olsen, at the Daily Planet. Has an ongoing relationship with Louis show them out to dinner and in the field working and spending time together. Brainiac arrives on earth after tracking the Lex Corp satellite signal. Superman and Brainiac fight show off cool giant space technology and Brainiac tentacles latching onto and taking over Earth technology tease that Brainiac is running from someone and thought earth would be a safe place to conquer and hide. He heard there was a mother box on Earth and thought that would be the perfect upgrade for him to be able to fight what was coming. Terence Stamp will be the voice and face of my Brainiac, hat tip and nod to his role as General Zod "You will kneel before Brainiac"
Winter 2015- Justice League - Open Wonder Woman stopping a robbery at her own museum and quickly changing back into her work clothes before anyone notices. Louis is at a rally and sends Jimmy Olsen up a building to get a sky shot of the crowd, he falls Superman catches him. Show Bruce at Wayne Manor spending time with Alfred and Dick. We see a scientist at Star Labs studying a mother box until it activates, suddenly boom tubes open up all over Central City and Steppenwolf and Parademons attack the city. Barry Allen seeing this jumps into action and alone stands to fight them until, Superman hears this happening and immediately flies to Central City to help. They are quickly overwhelmed until Wonder Woman arrives to help. Then mysterious ships filled with more Parademons coming through the boom tubes until they are shot down and destroyed by Batman arriving in the Batwing. Fighting continues until the Parademons and Steppenwolf retreat, all the boom tubes close until one last one stays open just long enough for a body to fall through and it is Jon Stewart, he tells them the core has been fighting Darkseid and his forces but they were all but wiped out and scattered, that he needs to go recruit more lanterns.
Spring 2016- Wonder Woman 2 - Now out in the open WW moves to Europe bouncing around searching for Themyscira and is a hero everywhere she goes, just a fun solo story showing her wanting to be free and find her home. She meets Hawkman and Hawkgirl battles them as they fight her for a artifact from a museum, Wonder Woman finds out who they really are and allows them to take what is revealed to their property from a past life. Utilize nth metal harness and artificial wings and that they are from Thangar. Long Flash back sequence showing they now live on Earth after being cursed thousands of years ago by Vandal Savage. They first arrived to Earth to help fight Darkseid the first time had the mother boxes. Tease Doctor Fate and the Justice Society existing in the past, telling her to go and help lead the Justice League.
Summer 2016- Batman 2 - Show that time has now passed and Dick Grayson is a few years older and is now Bruce’s sidekick as he has been training him. This will be a Long Halloween storyline connect it with S.T.A.R. Labs, as well as introducing Cat Woman. Bruce while investigating finds out about Silas Stone who was the one experimenting with the mother box that disappeared after the Central City attack, teaser introduce Cyborg. Dick Grayson would be played by Timothee Chalamet. I personally would love Adrianne Pailicki in the role of Cat Woman but also have fallen in love with the idea of Zoe Kravitz.
Spring 2017- Cyborg - Ray Fisher's Cyborg is established but in hiding, works with Batman and Robin but is having memory problems. Memento style storytelling for awhile giving long flashback of his life establishing him fully. Cyborg doesn’t believe or accept who he is. S.T.A.R. Labs has part of Brainiac's body accidentally reactivating him and he rebuilds himself activating the mother box. Barry is out with his nephew and sees this happening and zooms off to help but doesn’t realize his nephew gets sucked into the speed force mysteriously as Barry runs off. He arrives and helps Cyborg defeat Brainiac but the bell has been rung once again. Barry suddenly has no memory of his nephew. Show specifically Dick Grayson and Cyborg fighting in tandem working well together, this battle is important to show that Cyborg is a tank. I am happy to have Ray Fisher for the role but want a complete redesign of the character's horrendous look making him larger and sleeker.
Winter 2017- Green Lantern 2 - John Stewart is recruiting and training new Green Lanterns including Hal Jordan, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baze. We see the four of them training and doing missions on multiple planets really establishing their job through the universe. They get a call for help and go to the aid of the Martian Manhunter fighting off Parademons on Mars. Come to find out the Martians have been keeping a mother box safe there for centuries... it is revealed the Lantern Core also was protecting one but it was lost to Darkseid. They are winning the battle but the mother box is lost as Darkseid suddenly appears from a boom tube and kills John Stewart who threw himself between Darkseid's Omega beams and his three new lanterns. Darkseid laughs and takes the mother box and leaves his remaining troops to die. I do not have actors specifically in mind for the roles of the three Lanterns aside from that they should be in their mid to late 20's, and for Darkseid I would prefer an unknown. I want Darkseid to be played by someone that can really embody the darkness and has a deep gravely voice not practical I want the full size of the character to be shown in CGI.
Summer 2018- Justice League 2 - Opens with the aftermath of the battle on Mars with the surviving trio of lanterns and Martian Manhunter, MM reveals to the trio that the final mother box is on Earth and they decide they must leave at once to warn them. The group arrives earth and they are met by an established response team led by Wonder Woman with both Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Diana calls ahead to Bruce and tells him they have news gather everyone. We get a shot of a massive established Hall of Justice (with tease of a satellite being built behind it) and when the seven walk in they are greeted to a room filled with, Superman, Batman, Robin, Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman. Aquaman now clad in his classic dark orange and green armor, we do not know how he got it but it still looks new. We get a few scenes of interactions between the Justice League members. The youngest two members, Robin and Cyborg seem to have hit it off and are great friends. Wonder Woman calls them all to order and they sit down in the auditorium and Martian Manhunter explains to everyone what happened on Mars and how dire the situation and that Darkseid's attack could come at any moment. After Martian Manhunter is finished, Hawkgirl stands and tells everyone of the first time Darkseid attacked Earth. When she is finished, Batman stands and says this time they are ready, and has the mother box already with him in the hall of Justice.
They put the call out to the world governments for everyone to take shelter and be prepared for an attack. Establishing shots of Metropolis, Star City and Tokyo. Boom tubes open over the three cities as Parademons flood out attacking. Wonder Woman jumps into action and splits the Justice League into three teams Tokyo, Star City and Metropolis. Batman leads Robin, Cyborg and Jessica Cruz to Star City. Wonder Woman leads Flash, Simon Baze and Aquaman to Tokyo. Superman leads Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Hal Jordan to Metropolis where it seems Darkseid's main ship in coming through. It is now revealed that the Hall of Justice is just right outside of Metropolis as Superman and his team walk outside to see Steppenwolf leading the assaults on Metropolis and heading towards them, the five of them must protect both the Hall of Justice and the mother box within and Metropolis. Once reaching Star City Batman and his team find that some of Parademons coming out of the boom tubes are being impaled into the buildings by arrows as they meet Oliver Queen Green Arrow (played by Charlie Hunnam). Flash arrives first in Tokyo to find a lone woman fighting off Parademons with a sword, Katana (lets get Karen Fukuhara another shot). Both with Green Arrow and Katana it is a simple introduction no backstory or establishing details more than just seeing their skill and emotions as they fight alongside the Justice League members. Suddenly the boom tubes in Star City and Tokyo close as Darkseid has zeroed in that the mother box is at the Hall of Justice. The Tokyo and Star City teams return to Metropolis to join the fight, both Katana and Green Arrow remain in their cities to clear out straggling Parademons. The entire Justice League now stands shoulder to shoulder as the full might of the Parademons swarm out of boom tubes, finally Darkseid reveals himself to lead the fight. All of the Justice League work together and fight off Darkseid, Steppenwolf and their army killing Steppenwolf and regaining possession of all three mother boxes. All of the big hitters get their shot at Darkseid including, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, Wonder Woman and the combined might of the Green Lantern trio, it is not until Superman and Darkseid have a brutal battle that he is finally defeated and retreats emptyhanded. As the dust settles they find Hawkgirl crying over Hawkman's limp corpse, still composed she says they will find each other once again. After discussing what should be done with the mother boxes Clark recommends they thrown them into the phantom zone, but nothing more is revealed. We see two parallel conversations between Robin and Cyborg and the trio of lanterns “there must be more of us out there”.
Thank you so much for reading this! I am working on a part two, because my mind keeps going, and I will release that sometime soon. As always I'd love to chat more about it so reach out to my twitter below! Please like and share and check back for a part 2 if you enjoyed this!
Twitter @HaroldLStokes
EDIT: Here is Part 2
