No, DCEU Did Not Change Its Name to “Worlds of DC”

Warner Bros. may or may not have just rebranded their DC Comics properties, with visitors to Hall H panel at San Diego Comic Con being greeted with the message “Welcome to the Worlds of DC.”

This phrase appeared at the end of a sizzle reel shown at the event. Many reports are treating this as an official name for the studio’s DC Extended Universe franchise, though it’s important to note that no official announcement was made to this effect.

For those who do not realize it, the DCEU does not actually have an official name; its colloquial title was coined by Keith Staskiewicz, a writer at Entertainment Weekly, as a joke about the sort of name it could have; other reporters then mistook it for something legit. It seems something similar has happened here, while DC Comics itself has continued to keep their film universe technically nameless.

At this point, trying to brand the film universe with any other name would arguably be ill-advised anyway, given how much traction the DCEU moniker has gotten. Furthermore, talking about this franchise pretty much requires it to have some sort of name, particularly since there will apparently be other films—like the upcoming Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker movie—set in other continuities.

One wonders if that, in fact, was the reasoning behind the “World of DC” line at the con—to emphasize the fact that, while Disney and Marvel Studios are pretty much sticking to one major shared universe, Warner Bros. seems to be going for a multiverse. Aside from the DCEU, they have the CW’s Arrowverse line of TV shows, the direct-to-DVD DC Animated Movie Universe and, coming soon, a special continuity for shows exclusive to its DC Universe streaming platform—fans have already named that the “Titansverse,” after its first entry.

Despite not getting a new name, SDCC was a big deal for the DCEU. First trailers were shown for both Aquaman (coming out this December) and Shazam (April 2019), which have also been released online; Aquaman had other footage that was con-exclusive, as was some early footage of Wonder Woman 1984 (November 2019). These movies have a more lighthearted tone than previous DCEU entries, and all received positive buzz, with many expressing hope that the faltering franchise has turned a corner going forward.