Paramount has a perfect path for revitalizing DC films with Zack Snyder, Chris McQuarrie, Henry Cavill, and Ben Affleck
Following the historic failure of Supergirl, and with the acquisition of Warner Brothers nearing completion, Paramount now has an incredible opportunity laid before them to revitalize DC films, using proposals and pitches that have been floating out there for years and have already been embraced by fans, rather than continuing with James Gunn's collapsing DC universe.
The first pitch they may be likely to look at would be Chris McQuarrie's proposal for a Man of Steel sequel with Henry Cavill. Skydance, who bought Paramount, produced all of the recent Mission: Impossible movies for Paramount, even before they took over the company. That means that the new Paramount owners already have a close relationship with M:I director Chris McQuarrie. McQuarrie last talked about this Superman proposal while promoting the latest Mission: Impossible film. He had not given up on it, and described it as sitting in a desk drawer just waiting for someone to make it. He mentioned it had a spectacular opening sequence that crystallized the essence of the Superman character. His pitch was conceived while working with Henry Cavill on M:I - Fallout, so it seems likely he would still want Cavill to play Superman in this movie.
Once Cavill returns as Superman, that triggers a domino effect that could result in the return of the rest of the Snyderverse cast, which could then revive some of the other unmade pitches for Snyderverse movies. Paramount is likely to be a friendlier studio for Snyder and his DC films than Netflix would've been. Netflix Films has been run by Dan Lin for the last two years. Lin almost took the job of running DC Studios before James Gunn did. He likely had his own ideas for DC that he would've gone ahead with, rather than looking to bring back any actors and directors from past films. Also, the new Paramount appears to be carving out a spot as a politically incorrect studio, one that is willing to bring back creators from the "cancelled" list. If they will bring back people like Max Landis, who was on the blacklist over "MeToo" issues for 5 years, then they're not going to care about some of the random, politically charged criticism that Snyder has faced from "woke" outlets like Rolling Stone.
Another political angle is that Paramount has been very friendly to Israel. They would likely be happy to bring back Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, rather than recast the role. Even WB seems to have been dragging their feet on recasting her, because they know how well her first Wonder Woman film was received, one of the biggest DC film success stories of all time in combined critical reception and box office. Snyder also showed support for Israel by signing a petition early after the October 2023 attacks, which demanded the release of hostages by Hamas. On politically sensitive matters, Paramount, Snyder, and others in the Snyderverse orbit seem to be closely aligned.
Now, let's consider some of the potential DCEU projects that Paramount could fill their slate with, after breaking down the door to restoring the Snyderverse with a Cavill-led Man of Steel 2:
#Justice League 2 and 3 These are the white whale/holy grail of cancelled DCEU projects. There may be some tweaking necessary to make them fit into a full DC slate from Paramount, but the basic story of Darkseid's post-apocalyptic invasion of Earth, and the Justice League's quest to undo that, could certainly continue. These films have the potential to look spectacular, and be big tentpole releases. Darkseid alone as a villain is a big new hook that wasn't present in the theatrical Justice League. And you also have Batman and Joker together again, sharing scenes in a film, something that hasn't happened in a long time, and is always good for box office.
#Ben Affleck's solo Batman film Affleck could direct it or not, his choice. Paramount just better not be stupid enough to hire a director like Matt Reeves and then give him the right to fire Ben and completely blow up the consistency of the DC universe. Ben could bring in Gavin O'Connor to direct, who did both of his Accountant films. Affleck's Batman script sounded like more of a comic book-style Batman, still serious and dark, but with fantastical villains, which would help give it a fresher feel coming after Reeves' grounded, Nolan-esque approach. Deathstroke was the main antagonist, which, again, is a fresh villain to DC films, and a fan-favorite.
#Green Lantern Corps The hints/rumors around McQuarrie's Superman pitch was that Green Lantern would be involved. Basic guesswork suggests that McQuarrie's close pal Tom Cruise might play that role. The test pilot Hal Jordan is tailor-made for the star of Top Gun. And Tom Cruise in his first superhero film would generate huge buzz. Pair this with him mentoring a young John Stewart, and you have a diverse and charismatic cast with the potential for Top Gun-esque dogfight scenes. This would be a convincing big screen reboot for Green Lantern that would make the failed Ryan Reynolds film a distant memory.
#Wonder Woman 3 The return of Gal Gadot to the role. The next big Wonder Woman villain to go to would seem to be Circe. There would be good potential to cast a big-name actress in that role, like Ana de Armas or Angelina Jolie. Maybe bring back Patty Jenkins, with Snyder's team involved in producing and handling the stunts again, or find a new director. Because they will probably want a female director, and very few of them have experience directing action movies, this is really where the MCU production style would be best employed. The director handles the dialogue scenes, while a well-oiled machine creates the action and stunt sequences.
#Mad Love with Joker and Harley Quinn This would be different enough from the Joaquin Phoenix/Lady Gaga take on Joker and Harley that the existence of that one shouldn't matter. This would be a more comic and cartoon-accurate take. Joker and Harley together is by far the element that people most responded to in ALL THREE of the Harley-starring DCEU movies (Birds of Prey and the second Suicide Squad film were non-events in the culture partly because they lacked the Joker/Harley dynamic completely). Remove all the political correctness that led to the perversions and abuse in their relationship being left on the cutting room floor of the first Suicide Squad, and you have the edgy, gothic love story fans want and expect from this dastardly duo.
#David Ayer's Suicide Squad As part of the run-up to Mad Love, Ayer can finally release his uncut Suicide Squad. This will show us all the cut Joker and Harley footage, and help promote Mad Love's release.
#Shazam vs. Black Adam The movie that for some reason WB couldn't figure out how to make, but which is by far the most commercial way to do a movie from the world of Shazam. You could definitely involve Cavill's Superman in this in some capacity as well.
#Cyborg solo movie The character was well-received in Snyder's Justice League, and Hollywood is always looking to make more movies with black leads or others that expand on diversity. This is a character with name recognition based on the Teen Titans cartoon, so he has a chance to succeed in a solo venture. This could also be used to start introducing the Teen Titans, like BvS was used to introduce the Justice League.
And, while production on this slate is getting ramped up, we can get a nationwide theatrical release of Zack Snyder's Justice League. This can come out to help build buzz after the plan to restore the Snyderverse is announced.
Overall, Paramount has a big opportunity to successfully relaunch DC films with a group of big-name actors and directors that have huge followings with both DC and regular film fans. This slate focuses on the most well-known characters, which is necessary to draw audience attention to a new plan. But it offers many pathways to further expand on the DC universe and gradually go deeper into lesser known characters, once it proves successful. It also presents a fully unified universe, that isn't randomly missing Batman, Superman, or other A-list hero from it because of poor planning by the studio. This plan is a pathway to making DC films relevant, popular, and a growing force at the box office again.