In the coming months the DCU will start to announce casting for their upcoming projects. James Gunn said that not every role will be recast from the prior films. It will be a mix where some roles are recast while others will not. So far Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Steve Agee (John Economos), and John Cena (Peacemaker) have been confirmed to be keeping their roles in the DCU. It has also been confirmed that Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck are out as Superman and Batman respectively. I think it is safe to presume that Ray Fisher is probably out as Cyborg as well. Gal Godot, Jason Momoa, and Ezra Miller are on the wait and see list. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Besides the Justice Leaguers, themselves there are other characters from the DCEU. Given James Gunn is now the cohead of DC Studios along with Peter Safran, many have presumed that The Suicide Squad cast will probably get to keep their roles given the fact James Gunn directed that movie. Nothing has been stated either way if this will be the case. It will be interesting to see if the Suicide Squad will count when it comes to the DCU or if it will get retconned. Three actors from that movie are confirmed to be keeping their roles. We’ll see how it plays out for the others. An update was given that James Gunn would like to work with Margot Robbie again. That is a good sign that Margot Robbie may be able to continue to portray Harley Quinn. I think it is safe to presume that Jared Leto will not be back as the Joker. If the Joker comes into play it will most likely be a different actor. I think the same will be the case for Lex Luthor who was portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg in the DCEU. Idris Elba who portrayed Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad said he would like to keep the role when asked if he would want to keep the role or be cast as a different DC character. I don’t know if there is any interest in having Deadshot in the DCU and if there is, I don’t know if they would want to keep Will Smith or recast the role. Will Smith only appeared in Suicide Squad since the character was not in The Suicide Squad.

With Superman and Batman being recast, I think it is safe to presume that the supporting characters would also get recast. Goodbye to Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Kevin Costner (Jonathon Kent), Michael Shannon (Zod), J.K. Simmons (Commissioner Gordon), and Jeremy Irons (Alfred). Even when characters are killed off, they usually wind up in other projects via flashback or other means in comic book movies. Zod has a role in the upcoming Flash movie. Jonathon Kent had a brief part in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. J.K. Simmons was supposed to be in the Batgirl movie which got cancelled. I suppose there is a slim chance he could keep the role of Commissioner Jim Gordon. Harry J. Lennix is a bit of a question mark. He played General Swanwick in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. In Zack Snyder’s Justice League it was revealed that he was Martian Manhunter. If there are plans for Martian Manhunter, they could keep Harry J. Lennix in the role or they could go in a different direction. I think it depends on what the plans for the character are for the DCU.

One of the biggest questions is the films coming out this year. Will any of the actors get to keep their roles? Zachary Levi who plays Shazam had a good shot but that is in question now that Shazam: Fury of the Gods has opened and opened softer than the first Shazam! as well as Black Adam. If there is a third Shazam! the cast will most likely remain the same. Aquaman is in a similar boat. Once Aquaman and the Lost Kingdome comes out later this year, it will be evaluated about doing a third movie. If there is a third one the cast will probably remain intact. A lot of this has to do with what the DCU plans are for the specific characters. Are there plans for Shazam and Aquaman in the DCU? Even if they get a third movie, that could be the end of their stories. Dwayne Johnson who played Black Adam in his solo movie is a big question mark. Black Adam saw the return of Henry Cavill’s Superman in the credit scene. That scene is no longer relevant since it was announced that Superman will be recast. Dwayne Johnson was very vocal about wanting to bring back Henry Cavill. I don’t know if he still has interest in keeping the role. I don’t know what the plans are for the character. Plans for Black Adam 2 seem to have been cancelled. Really, the only opportunity at this point would be a potential Shazam! 3. The Flash Movie is meant to serve as a reboot. After the film comes out, it will be evaluated about keeping Ezra Miller or going with a different actor. Given there have been multiple Flashes in the comics, it would actually be easy to have a different Flash altogether. It does not even have to be Barry Allen. It could be another character. It was stated that Blue Beetle was its own thing to begin with and it would be easy to integrate that character into the DCU. It will really depend on how the movie does when determining the future for the character.

Answers will slowly come as it gets closer to these projects moving forward. There could be some twists and turns along the way. Maybe Jared Leto will remain as the Joker. Maybe Ray Fisher will return as Cyborg. Maybe Henry Cavill will get cast as another character. We won’t know until we know but eventually there will be answers.