I think it would have been a horrible idea to have a Batman solo film so soon after The Dark Knight Rises. Man of Steel was already pushing it by doing a Superman origin story a mere two years after the finale of Smallville.
Thus, the first change I would make to the DCEU would be in its very first film. Man of Steel is basically Donner’s Superman duology remade to resemble Nolan’s Batman Begins. That’s a decision that makes little sense to me. I’d rather open the film with Superman as a presence in Metropolis, even if it’s just a month into his time there, when he’s still thought to be little more than a rumor (a la Burton’s Batman).
I’d prefer something like Morrison’s take on Superman’s early career, but I recognize that Goyer had already written the script by the time that the New 52 started, so that’s not a practical wish. At the very least, I’d like the invading force to be led by someone other than General Zod, since that’s been done. Again, I’m leaning toward Morrison’s choice of Brainiac, but there are other evil Kryptonians out there.
So I’d still go with a Superman film as the opening act, but then I’d move up Suicide Squad before BvS. Why? Because that film would offer the chance to establish the DCEU Batman without giving him a solo movie so soon after Nolan’s trilogy. Task Force X is formed in direct response to the invasion from MoS, and the Squad is sent to capture the Joker, who has absconded with some of the Kryptonian technology for nefarious purposes. Batman is also after the Joker, of course, and things take a bad turn when Enchantress turns on the team and begins enacting her own evil plans.
Batman v Superman would be mostly the same for the first two hours. The difference is that the film wouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting in establishing the DCEU’s traumatized and paranoid take on Batman. Speaking of the Caped Crusader, he would still be excessively violent, but he wouldn’t actually kill anyone directly. He needs to be crossing a line for the first time when he tries to stab Superman with the spear. The “Martha” scene would need to be handled a tad more elegantly, and we’d need a previous scene explicitly showing Clark doing some research on Bruce’s past.
The biggest changes to BvS would come at the end. Bruce doesn’t send an email to Diana Prince…yet. In fact, he doesn’t check the Wonder Woman file until the very end of the film. Thus, there’s no major setup for the League in this film. Also, Lex Luthor doesn’t make Doomsday: he makes Bizarro. Batman and Superman work together and manage to kill the monstrous clone with the spear. Superman lives.
Next up is the Wonder Woman movie. It’s pretty much the same except for the opening scene, since Diana is now seeing for the first time that Bruce knows about her past. Otherwise, I’d probably make some adjustments to the confrontation with Ares at the very end, resolving things without a big silly CGI battle.
The very next film would be Dawn of Justice, which would take some of the ideas from the final half hour of BvS and do them right. Luthor had warned that something was coming from the sky, and it has: Doomsday. With the help of Amanda Waller, Bruce manages to track down Arthur Curry, and we get the Aquaman arc from Justice League here. The film’s climax would feature Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter (!) taking on Doomsday. Superman dies at the end, and we get the two funerals. Steppenwolf would be teased at the end.
Aquaman gets his solo film in the interim between DoJ and Justice League. It would be pretty much the same, albeit perhaps a tad less jokey. Just a tad.
Next up is Justice League. The biggest change would be the lack of Aquaman’s arc, since I’ve moved it to a previous film. Instead, he would try (unsuccessfully) to protect the Atlantean Mother Box, and he would feel compelled to rejoin the League near the end of the film as a result. Much of Batman’s redemption has been moved to that previous film as well, so the focus will be primarily on the new members, Flash and Cyborg.
For the most part, it would be the same film as the Snyder Cut, albeit shorter since it isn’t having to establish everything itself. I’d scrap the notion that Darkseid had found the Anti-Life Equation on Earth in the past, since that raises the question of why he didn’t try harder to invade the planet again at a later date.
Shazam, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Suicide Squad all have some things about them that I would change, but those changes would have little to do with the larger DCEU storyline, so I won’t bother breaking them down.
