8 Interesting Ways That Justice League Sets Up Future DCEU Movies

Much was made in the run-up to Justice League that it would echo recent comics and offer something of a rebirth for the DC Extended Universe, moving the franchise away from the dour tones of Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and morphing it into a brighter, more optimistic future. But what could the future of the DCEU consist of? Well, Justice League bears a lot of that on its back. By the end of the film, all six Leaguers have been moved into new positions on the board which could be picked up in later outings. Likewise, elements of much wider mythologies such as the New Gods mythos and the Green Lantern Corps are only briefly touched on here, ready to be picked up later down the road. Granted, Justice League hasn't been the barnstorming success that Warner Bros. were hoping for, and its relatively underwhelming domestic opening weekend at the box office may give them pause for thought. As such, this might alter future plans away from what they initially intended. However, you can bet that the DCEU isn't going anywhere, and these are just a few of the paths it could take in upcoming movies. Superman (And Clark Kent) Is Reborn This is kind of an obvious one, but it still needs discussing. After his death in Batman V Superman, Justice League resurrects Henry Cavill's Superman so that he can save the world alongside his Super Friends. However, the film offers just the tip of the iceberg of the Man of Steel's story from hereon in. Firstly, Kal-El comes back noticeably lighter-hearted than he was before his death. Coincidentally similar to Barry Allen's recent personality adjustment on The CW's The Flash, a stint in the afterlife seems to have done the hero a world of good. It's clear that the DCEU Superman will be much more in line with the classic interpretation of the character in the future. He even has a much brighter outfit. It's also worth mentioning that Clark Kent is back in action, too. At the end of BvS, Kent's death was made public as well. Justice League's final moments, however, see Supes hiding behind a pair of glasses once again, no doubt heading back to his job at the Daily Planet (shout-out to the long-awaited shirt rip). We're not sure how they explained that one away. But then again, I guess who's going to care about a lowly reporter coming back from the dead when Superman has just returned? Barry Allen's Dad We've seen him in a couple of previous cameos in BvS and Suicide Squad, but this is our first proper chance to get to know Ezra Miller's Barry Allen. As such, Justice League has to give a summarized version of his background. It's briefly referenced that he was struck by lightning but, most of all, we get to know the situation with his dad and his career. We meet Barry as he goes to see his father Henry Allen (Billy Crudup) in jail. He's been imprisoned for the murder of his wife Nora when Barry was just a boy. Pursuing an interest in criminal justice, Barry believes that his dad is innocent and is dedicated to getting Henry free. Anyone who's watched The Flash will know that Barry's right - it's the Reverse-Flash, his nemesis, who killed his mother. This should be crucial information for the upcoming Flashpoint film. In the comics storyline, Barry Allen decides to go back in time to save his mom. In doing so, he creates an alternate timeline in which the world has gone to seed (including Bruce being killed as a boy and Thomas Wayne becoming Batman). Aquaman's Origins Barry Allen isn't the only one who has his mythology set up in Justice League, even if it's just in passing. Aquaman comes with a fair bit of baggage, too, so it's understandable that the film glides over Arthur Curry's Atlantean backstory for the most part. However, what we do get serves as a welcome tease for next year's Aquaman. After Bruce Wayne comes to recruit him, we see Arthur return to the seas and talk with Amber Heard's Mera. It's not clear whether this was their first meeting or not, but it's obvious that they have a lot of differences, meaning the duo has a long way to go before she becomes his queen. She accuses him of shirking his duties as the rightful heir to the throne of Atlantis, while he offends her by insulting his mother, Queen Atlanna, for abandoning him on his father's doorstep as a baby. Basically, this gives us everything we need to know about Arthur for now. However, Zack Snyder's original cut of the film did include a little bit more about the character's personal history. Here's how Jason Momoa explained it: "I think what Zack and I did, we were kind of trying to establish that he was taken down there as a boy, and he was an outcast, he was a half-breed, and he was built up as a young boy, because he was fed all these ideas by Vulko — that he was the rightful king. And he gets down there, and he’s a half breed, he’s impure, and I’m just made to feel like I’m this disease. So after that, I was like, ‘fuck you, fuck you, I’m on my own.’” Green Lantern Corps Ever since that bizarre poster from last year teased that the film would "Unite the Seven," fans expected Justice League to secretly add a seventh member to the team: A Green Lantern, most likely Hal Jordan played by Armie Hammer. As it turns out, that was never on the cards. However, the Green Lantern Corps do play a small role in the proceedings. In the flashback to the first time that Steppenwolf tried to claim the Earth for Darkseid (more on him in a moment), we see that the general and his forces were repelled by an alliance of Amazons, Atlanteans, men, gods... and Green Lanterns. In particular, one alien Green Lantern is killed by Steppenwolf in battle, with his Power Ring flying off into space to recruit a replacement. Even though Jordan, or even John Stewart, didn't make an appearance, this was a welcome inclusion of this particular aspect of DC lore, which should pay off when - or if - Green Lantern Corps arrives in 2020. We could have had even more Green Lantern goodness, though. The film's original post-credits scene reportedly saw Green Lanterns Tomar-Re and Kilowog meeting with Bruce Wayne. Maybe they were on Earth looking for a human Green Lantern? Darkseid Is Still Out There At the end of Justice League, Steppenwolf might have been eaten by his own Parademons, but this is not the end of the threat from his people. The bigger danger is only briefly alluded to in the film, but it does receive a name: Darkseid. As DC fans know, Darkseid is the ultimate opponent of the Justice League. He's the ruler of the planet Apokolips (which strangely isn't namechecked here) and enjoys sending his army out across the universe to terraform other worlds into copies of his own hellish home planet. Steppenwolf was trying to do this in JL, of course, but was stopped by the League. Darkseid's chief goal, though, is to crack the anti-life equation, which will allow him to bend every sentient being in existence to his will. This was potentially alluded to when Steppenwolf creepily taunts the Amazons by saying that they will love him eventually. Exactly when we'll see Darkseid is hanging in the air at the moment, as a Justice League sequel has yet to get the greenlight. It's possible that he could appear in Flashpoint, though. Especially if Bruce's Knightmare sequence (in which he dreamed of a post-apocalyptic Earth invaded by Parademons) was actually a vision of that reality. Hall Of Justice At the end of Justice League, Bruce Wayne returns with Alfred and Diana to the dilapidated Wayne Manor (first seen in BvS). We still don't know the reason for this, but moving forward it's clear that it's about to get a renovation. "A big round table right there," Bruce muses in this scene, as he imagines what he's going to do with the Manor's grand hall. "With room for six chairs." In other words, Bruce is planning to transform Wayne Manor into a headquarters for the Justice League. Which classic DC fans will know as the Hall of Justice, most familiar from the Super Friends TV show. The League have also been known to gather around a big table, like King Arthur and his knights. This is usually more commonly associated with the League's precursor, the Justice Society, though. Seeing as the Society might not have existed in this continuity, however, it makes sense to have the earliest form of the League take inspiration from the JSA. Typically, modern iterations of the League make their base in the Watchtower, a satellite orbiting the Earth that's also owned by Bruce Wayne. Room For More It's Diana's line that follows Bruce's speech that really sows the seeds for the future, though. In response to his "six chairs" comment, Diana adds: "But room for more." Bruce concurs and repeats: "But room for more." Basically: the Justice League is open to new recruits. With a slew of other DC movies currently in the works at some stage of development, there are a wide range of characters who could join the League in future outings. Green Lanterns Hal Jordan or John Stewart are obvious candidates, but you can also bet that Zachary Levi's Shazam will rub shoulders with the other heroes once his own film arrives, likely in 2019. Batman's sideckicks Nightwing and Batgirl could also potentially join the League. If Justice League 2 wants to introduce characters from scratch, though, that opens the net even further. DC producer Charles Roven has spoken about his interest in seeing Martian Manhunter in the DCEU, for example. And the JL cast recently suggested they would like to see more female members such as Black Canary, Supergirl and Zatanna. Plus, fans are repeatedly calling for Charlie Hunnam to don Green Arrow's hood at some point. Injustice League For the first time in the DCEU, Justice League follows the Marvel model of featuring two post-credits scenes at the end of the movie. The first is a quick bit of extra fun, involving the Flash and Superman re-enacting their classic race from the comics. The second is a much meatier sequence, however, teasing a major threat to come for the League. It begins at Arkham Asylum, where a guard discovers a laughing inmate in place of Lex Luthor. The real one is sitting aboard his luxury ship, where he's in a meeting with none other than Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke. Luthor has a proposition for the assassin: " and his odd little friends have formed a sort of... league," the villain explains. "We have to level the playing field, Mr. Wilson. To put it plainly, shouldn't we have a league of our own?" Yes, the Injustice League - or the Legion of Doom, or the Secret Society, or whatever you want to call it - is coming to the DCEU. But what other supervillains could join Luthor and Deathstroke in their evil band? Well, the cackling Arkham inmate does seem to be suffering the effects of Joker venom, suggesting that Luthor got pally with the Clown Prince of Crime while on the inside. Apart from Joker, Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam seems like another top candidate. Again, we're not sure when the Injustice League will appear, though. The Batman? Justice League 2? Man of Steel 2? This scene also marks Joe Manganiello's first appearance as Deathstroke. He was initially expected to play a major role in The Batman, but recently we heard he was heading up his own solo movie instead.