DC Movie News Bits: Matthew Vaughn Confirms MAN OF STEEL 2 Talks, SHAZAM Working Title, NIGHTWING’s Circus Nods

Earlier this year, it was reported that Matthew Vaughn was Warner Bros.’ top choice to direct the Man of Steel sequel. Vaughn has a history of directing comic book movies, having done X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass, and the Kingsman series. Now, the filmmaker has touched upon the possibility.

In an interview with HeyUGuys, Vaughn confirms that he has had conversations with WB about the next standalone Superman movie. “I don’t know what I’m going to do next, but I have had chats about Superman, I love Superman.” He goes on to admit that he can’t help but feel excited whenever he’s offered a big franchise film, whether it be superhero, Star Wars or Indiana Jones.

Currently, WB has yet to include Man of Steel 2 as part of its DC Extended Universe slate, but we do know it’s in some level of development. Perhaps the studio is waiting until after Superman’s resurrection in Justice League before greenlighting his next movie? Hopefully, we’ll get some official updates soon.

Meanwhile, the next DC film to begin production is New Line’s Shazam, directed by David F. Sandberg. The movie recently began screentests, with John Cena rumored to be one of the frontrunners. Now, we have a working title.

Omega Underground has learned from production listings that the Shazam working title is “Franklin.” A working title is an alternative name used for a movie during the casting and production phases. OmegaU speculates that “Franklin” might be a reference to Benjamin Franklin, who created the theory of electrical conduction with his key and kite experiment.

Shazam begins production early next year for a 2019 release.

And finally, we have another tidbit on the Nightwing movie. In an interview with CinemaBlend, director Chris McKay confirms that we will be seeing Haly’s Circus “in some form,” with plenty of nods referencing this part of Dick Grayson’s past.

For those who don’t know, Dick was originally part of a circus acrobat team, the Flying Graysons, with his mother and father. However, Dick’s parents die in a freak accident during a performance. This leads to Dick being adopted by Bruce Wayne, and he becomes Robin and eventually Nightwing.

Given how Haly’s Circus plays such a crucial role in Dick’s past, it’s not surprising that we’ll see it in some fashion in Nightwing. We even saw it in 1995’s Batman Forever, as well as other various forms of Batman media.

Stay tuned for more as we have it.