I enjoy reading comic books and graphic novels. I’ll admit, when I was younger, I thought that reading them was a bit nerdy, but with me being a visual person and an artist, my curiosity got the better of me. I just wished I would’ve made the time to read more of the comics and graphic novels instead of worry about my self-image around friends and family.

In place of reading comics, I would watch Saturday morning cartoons. This may tell you my age when I tell you all this, but I watched Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman the Animated Series religiously.

As I got older, I started seeing some of the characters from these shows come to life on the big screen. I was excited, up until some bad changes were happening to the DC Universe, especially after Nolan did his phenomenal Dark Knight Trilogy (I still think he should’ve called the third movie The Caped Crusader).

I just want to say that I love DC Comics sometimes more than Marvel, but Marvel has made better movies than DC has when it comes to creating a cinematic universe. DC can make some good stand alone movies, but to try and connect them is another story entirely.

As of today, we currently have a variety of DC movies coming up with release dates. We have:

Shazam (April 5, 2019)

Joker (October 4, 2019)

Birds of Prey (February 7, 2020)

Cyborg (April 3, 2020)

Wonder Woman 1984 (June 5, 2020)

Green Lantern Corps (July 24, 2020)

Super Pets (May 20, 2021)

The Batman (June 25, 2021)

Suicide Squad 2 (August 6, 2021)

The other DC movies that are in the works with no release date are as follows; Aquaman 2, The Trench, The Flash: Flashpoint, The New Gods, Blue Beetle, Plastic Man, Gotham City Sirens, Blackhawk, Nightwing, Batgirl, Supergirl, Black Adam, Deathstroke, Justice League 2, Man of Steel 2, Justice League Dark, Joker & Harley Quinn movie, Harley Quinn Solo movie, Jared Leto Solo movie, Booster Gold, Deadshot, and Lobo.

Anyway, I would like to list five things that need fixing in order for the DCU to survive in the film industry.

1. The Three Jokers

So far, DC is having two different types of Jokers. We’ve already seen Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad, and we’re going to see Joaquin Phoenix’s version in Joker this fall. They both look like they’re from two different realities. One is a tattooed pretty boy with a grill, and the other is a washed up comedian turned into a psychopathic murderer.

Notice that Phoenix’s movie is called Joker and not The Joker. This could indicate that there’s going to be more than one and that Phoenix and Leto aren’t THE Joker. Could they be planning on a third Joker to be secretly revealed or was Heath Ledger’s Joker the original? If so, how are they planning on connecting The Jokers to fit with the comic Batman: Three Jokers?

How cool would it be to see all three Jokers on the big screen, not knowing who is THE real Joker. It would work perfectly with The Joker’s origin. “If I have to have a past, then I prefer it to be multiple choice.”

2. A New Batman

In recent news, we have learned that Ben Affleck will no longer be the Caped Crusader for The Batman movie in 2021. The question is, are they going to kill his character off, or just easily replace him like they did with the previous Batman movies like; Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney?

Back then, I think it was easy to replace Batman, nowadays with its popularity and expectations being high, it’s a bit more difficult. The way I see it, they will have to either kill Affleck’s version and hand his mantel down to a new Batman, or introduce a new Batman in the Joker movie with Phoenix.

Now, I honestly think that the latter would be perfect. Leaked photos have surfaced that Phoenix’s Joker is creating a group to go against Thomas Wayne. They even have protestors with posters saying “Blame Wayne.” Granted that they have a young Bruce Wayne played by Dante Pereira-Olson, but this would be a perfect set up for the new Batman to come from a reality where The Joker is much older than Bruce Wayne. That way Affleck’s Batman is Leto’s Batman, and Phoenix’s Batman is in The Batman movie in 2021.

Another question is, who will be the new Batman? I either want Clive Owen, Jon Hamm, or Karl Urban for the role.

3. 'Flashpoint'

This movie is currently up in the air in development, but this could help right the wrongs that happened in previous DCU films. It can be DC’s version of Days of Future Past.

The Flash could go back in time and not only save his mother’s life, but do what Deadpool did in Deadpool 2, and erase all the bad things that happened in the previous DCU movies.

We can get Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s version of Thomas Wayne as Batman, and Lauren Cohan’s version of Martha Wayne as the Joker. Hey! Maybe Martha Wayne is the third Joker we’ve all been looking for? It would be a nice twist to put in the film to spice up the franchise. The Trinity of Jokers, and at the head is a matriarch.

4. 'Green Lantern Corps' needs to be good.

I might be the minority here, but I didn’t think that Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern was all that bad. The green animated suit and the mask making his eyes turn white was weird, but it had potential. I mean Reynolds wouldn’t be where he is now without Green Lantern. He met his wife, and he later became Deadpool, and poked fun at his own career in being cast as the Green Lantern.

As the main character for this film, it needs to be John Stewart. I honestly think Idris Elba needs to play him.

I don’t mean to use Marvel as the blueprint on how to make great cosmic superhero movies, but Green Lantern Corps needs to be like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Since James Gun is directing Suicide Squad 2, it would be safe to say that he should direct this movie as well.

5. Introduce the Court of Owls

Since we don’t know all the details about The Batman in 2021, I personally think that the new villain for Batman should be The Court of Owls. It’s a perfect mixture of assassins and zombies. Not only that, but it would fit with the cycle of zombies being introduced in the film industry.

If these things happen in the DCU, then you heard it here first.

What did you think of the list? Do you think there’s more to add? Let me know in the comments below.