10 Ways The DC Extended Universe Could End

The struggles of the franchise unofficially known as the DC Extended Universe were well documented before Justice League divided critics, but in the wake of Zack Snyder's polarising superhero mash-up, its long-term future is more clouded than ever.

Man of Steel and Batman v Superman were joyless and ill-advised exercises in character deconstruction, Suicide Squad was a brash mess of studio interference, and Justice League was generic, tonally imbalanced, and nowhere near long enough.

Wonder Woman remains the only film in the series to hit that sweet spot between critical acclaim and mega box office bucks, and you can bet Warner Bros and DC aren't happy with a return of one unequivocal hit out of five.

With this in mind, the studios have no doubt discussed where the DCEU is heading and how it might come to an end. Based on the fortunes of most of its films, that might even be sooner rather than later.

There are many ways the series could be wrapped up, from adapting a universe-shattering storyline from the DC Comics vault, to simply calling time on the project. Here are some of the options on offer to DC and Warner.

For all of the DC Extended Universe's issues, there's always the possibility that it will endure and reach the endgame DC's cinematic arm and Warner Bros had in mind for these iconic heroes and villains from the beginning.

Many of these movies are critic-proof - a good job based on some of the Rotten Tomatoes scores that have come in - so, as long as they're making money, there's no reason the series will suddenly collapse in on itself like Dark Universe.

Justice League offered a few hints about where the DCEU might be heading. In the post-credits scenes, it was confirmed that Lex Luthor is assembling a league of his own to take on Batman, Superman and co, and this is likely to be the common thread running through the next lot of films.

Presumably Luthor will make cameos in upcoming movies like Aquaman, Shazam and Suicide Squad 2 to recruit their bad guys into his Injustice League, ready to take on the heroes in the eventual Justice League sequel.

Could the DCEU's endgame be Justice League versus Injustice League? The next batch of solo films could set up an epic hero-villain showdown; the good guys eventually save the day and bring the series to a generic, upbeat conclusion.

Although there have been hints of a bigger picture, an entire universe of New Gods and Lanterns out there that's barely been explored, DC and Warner could choose to bring the curtain down on the shared universe when the story it began weaving at the end of Justice League has played out.