In October 2014, Warner Bros. made their intentions for the DC Extended Universe clear by scheduling release dates for nine movies, starting with Suicide Squad. They also announced two Justice League movies, one of which is coming next year. The other was set to roll into theaters in 2019. Initial reports suggested that the two movies would be filmed back to back.
However, while Justice League has already wrapped up its filming, its sequel isn't moving ahead anytime soon. According to a recent story from The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has pushed back Justice League 2 to make room for The Batman, the first standalone movie for the DCEU's Caped Crusader. Ben Affleck is writing, directing, and starring in that film.
This leaves Zack Snyder, who is "still intent" on directing the Justice League sequel, with enough time to focus his attention on a smaller-scale production, The Last Photograph. The director had been developing the project since the mid-2000s, but at one point, the rights had lapsed.
However, a new deal is now being negotiated for the thriller. The story was concocted by Snyder, and the script was penned by his longtime collaborator Kurt Johnstad. Here's how the trade describes The Last Photograph:
Photograph centers on a war correspondent in Afghanistan who is the only one to survive an attack on a group of Americans. When a special ops soldier in search of a family member shows up, the two team up, with the correspondent hoping to score the story of his life.
Snyder once had actors Christian Bale and Sean Penn on board for the project but, at the moment, is back to square one. After the script gets rewritten and the project gets repackaged, Snyder and his producer and life partner Deborah Snyder will approach Warner Bros. with the aim of kicking off its production in late 2017.
The Batman is expected to begin filming by spring 2017 and is likely being considered for release within the first half of 2019. But we can now rest assured that it will arrive ahead of Justice League 2.
