DC FanDome: See Justice League Snyder Cut, Wonder Woman 1984 and more reveals

This year’s virtual Comic-Con is in the books, but another virtual fan convention is under way. DC FanDome takes place in two parts — the first runs for 24 hours, starting at 10 a.m. PT this Saturday, Aug. 22. The second half follows on Sept. 12. 

The event, aimed at fans of DC Comics, features online panels, cosplay, fan art and comics, as well as special events for kids. The devoted DC fandom will be especially excited for looks at some long-awaited DC properties, including the Snyder Cut of Justice League, Robert Pattinson as The Batman and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.

What is it?

Kinda like Comic-Con, but only for DC. So no Avengers (that’s Marvel). But if you’re a fan of DC characters such as Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman and Aquaman, you’ll want to tune in. And this fandom event should go well beyond the big names. It’ll cover the whole DC world, from comic books to movies to TV shows and video games. 

Unfortunately, the convention follows reports of mass layoffs at DC. Roughly one-third of the company’s editorial staff lost their jobs, according to The Hollywood Reporter, along with the majority of the staff of streaming service DC Universe as parent company Warner Bros. shifts its focus to the recently launched HBO Max.

How do I tune in?

There are online video panels and teasers to watch, links to follow for games and shopping, and more. Warning: Unlike virtual Comic-Con, which spread out over days, DC FanDome is just 48 hours, which makes for two jam-packed day-of events. So if this is your thing, don’t make other plans for Aug. 22 and Sept. 12.  

“Just like a live event, the full DC FanDome experience will be available for 24 hours only,” the FanDome FAQ list warns. “If you don’t watch it during the 24 hours, you will miss it (unless you have access to time travel).”

DC has announced that the center of the experience will be called the Hall of Heroes. Its programming is an eight-hour block, which will rerun three times during the 24-hour timeline, so those in different global time zones can tune in.

Hall of Heroes will feature programming, panels and content reveals from everything DC. There will be smaller satellite worlds, such as the KidsVerse, that can be navigated to from there. Programming will be available in Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. 

Who’ll be involved?

DC announced a long list of hosts, presenters and special guests. The list includes Aisha Tyler, Venus Williams, Will Arnett, Idris Elba, Ezra Miller, Jason Isaacs, Kaley Cuoco, Matt Reeves, Michael Rooker, Robin Wright, Viola Davis and Henry Winkler.

Biggest events

You can read through the entire DC FanDome schedule online, but here are some highlights:

Wonder Woman: 1984

Stars of the Wonder Woman sequel, including Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, join director Patty Jenkins during a panel where a new peek at the film along with a Wonder Woman 1984 trailer made its debut.

Gotham Knights

The developer behind Batman: Arkham Origins revealed its new game, Gotham Knights, a co-op adventure starring Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl and Red Hood as they protect Gotham City following the apparent death of Batman. They’ll face off against a villainous group known as the Court of Owls and other members of the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery.

The Flash

The panel revealed Barry Allen’s new costume, which was made by Batman. Director Andy Muschietti and screenwriter Christina Hodson also confirmed that the speedster’s movie will see Flash traveling through time to change the DC Multiverse.

We also got hints that this opens up the possibility of revisiting classic DC movies, with Danny Elfman’s Batman Theme playing in the background. Concept art also showed the Flash teaming up with Michael Keaton’s version of the Dark Knight — the 1989 Batman logo can be seen on his costume.

In a separate panel, Arrowverse boss Greg Berlanti also said he wants to include more DC film characters in future TV show crossovers after Ezra Miller’s Flash met Grant Gustin’s version of the character in last year’s Crisis on Infinite Earths event.

The Suicide Squad 

James Gunn revealed every character in his upcoming movie, The Suicide Squad. Idris Elba is playing Bloodsport; wrestler-actor John Cena is playing Peacemaker; and Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson is playing Blackguard. 

He also shared a new teaser consisting of some movie footage and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the flick.

Earlier this month, Gunn tweeted that “I can confirm The Suicide Squad is 100%, zero interference, no-holds-barred ME, &, again, I can’t wait for you guys to get a glimpse of it at DC FanDome. (Yes, I’m pimping FanDome a lot, but that’s because I know how exciting it’s going to be – for my film & other stuff too!)”

I can confirm #TheSuicideSquad is 100%, zero interference, no-holds-barred ME, &, again, I can’t wait for you guys to get a glimpse of it at #DCFanDome. (Yes, I’m pimping FanDome a lot, but that’s because I know how exciting it’s going to be – for my film & other stuff too!😬) https://t.co/CClwKIi5nS

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 4, 2020

The Suicide Squad, about a crew of DC villains, is supposed to come out in 2021. Gunn wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films for Marvel, but signed on for The Suicide Squad after Marvel briefly fired him for off-color tweets. Producer Peter Safran has said The Suicide Squad is not a direct sequel to the original 2016 film Suicide Squad, though it features numerous returning characters played by the same actors. The similarity of the titles is confusing, but the second movie uses “The” in its title.

Sandman

An adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman was announced for Netflix last year, and the creator teased additional details during a Saturday panel. Gaiman confirmed work on Sandman for Netflix is still continuing and it will be “slightly looser, but still faithful” to the books. Gaiman said the pandemic has allowed for more work on the scripts, along with further tailoring of the story to fit a different time period.

“What we’re doing with Netflix is saying, ‘OK, It’s still going to start in 1916, but the thing that happens in Sandman 1–the point the story starts–is not 1988, it’s now,'” Gaiman said. More details about the Netflix adaptation can be found on our sister site GameSpot.

The Snyder Cut

The DC film Justice League came out in 2017, but original director Zack Snyder stepped down during editing when his daughter died. Some fans were disappointed in the finished film that was taken over by Joss Whedon, and clamored to see what Snyder would’ve put together if he’d had free rein. The Snyder Cut is that film, coming soon to HBO Max — and the teaser trailer for DC FanDome gave a glimpse of that long-awaited version, which will run in four hour-long parts. 

Black Adam

Dwayne Johnson teased his long-in-development Black Adam film, revealing that, in addition to Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, we’ll see the debut of the Justice Society of America (JSA) in the movie. Though no casting has been revealed, characters coming to the film will include Hawkman, Cyclone and Dr. Fate. More details can be found on our sister site GameSpot.

Titans

Titans, the marquee series of the DC Universe streaming service, had its third season teased during DC FanDome — and this time it’s going straight to Gotham City, reports GameSpot. Titans’ third season will see Jason Todd (Curran Walters) become Red Hood after leaving the Robin identity behind. The show will also make way for Barbara Gordon, former Batgirl turned Gotham City Police Department commissioner, as well as Dr. Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow. Casting for those latter two characters wasn’t announced.

The Flash season 7

The Flash TV series is among the many whose previous season was shortened by the coronavirus pandemic, but a peek into the seventh season of the Arrowverse show made its debut Saturday. The teaser picks up from season 6, leaving Iris West (Candice Patton) inside of a mirror universe and faced with a choice between surviving or going mad. More information can be found on our sister site TV Guide, including Patton discussing how, when you’re standing up for other people, being labeled “difficult” is fine — if that means sticking up for what’s right.

Aquaman

While Jason Momoa turned Aquaman from a Saturday morning cartoon joke into an aquatic badass in the 2018 movie, it looks as if the actor won’t be on this panel. But director James Wan and Momoa’s co-star, Patrick Wilson, who played King Orm, will dive into their favorite moments from the first film.
Panel: Aug. 22, 4:05 p.m. PT, Hall of Heroes

The Suicide Squad video game

Want more about The Suicide Squad? Rocksteady Studios tweeted that it’ll use DC FanDome to release info about a new Suicide Squad video game. The British game company created the popular Batman: Arkham video game series. Will Arnett will host the reveal.
Panel: Aug. 22, 5:10 p.m. PT, Hall of Heroes

The Batman

Matt Reeves, director of The Batman, has announced he’ll be sharing more about the film. The Batman stars Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame, with Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman. While the film isn’t scheduled for release until 2021, it’s already received a spinoff show about the Gotham police department, with Reeves producing.
Panel: Aug. 22, 5:30 p.m. PT, Hall of Heroes

What’s with the September event?

On Sept. 12, DC will offer a second virtual event starting at 10 a.m. PT. It’ll be called DC Fandome: Explore the Multiverse, and instead of just a rolling schedule of panels, fans can choose their own schedule from the on-demand selection of panels.

How to stay informed

With the schedule now out, we have a lot more information than before, but we’ll continue to update this story as news is released. You can sign up at the official DC FanDome site for email about the event, and follow the DC Comics Twitter account or click on Twitter hashtag #DCFandome for updates.

CNET’s Mike Sorrentino contributed to this report.