There’s nothing superhero fans love more than to speculate about what’s going to happen next in their favorite franchises, so this invariably leads to a lot of rumors doing the rounds that gain such momentum on social media that everyone thinks they’re legit… until the movie in question comes out and it turns out they were more bogus than Batman’s no kill rule. The DCEU, in particular, has had a ton of rumors like this that, in hindsight, it’s hilarious to think about.
And that’s just what fans have been doing. Feeling nostalgic for the franchise’s earlier days, Redditor DeppStepp reminded us all when we thought Justin Bieber might actually have a role in Batman v Superman back in 2016, thanks to a doctored photo of the star holding a script that went viral at the time (it turned out to have been created for a Funny or Die sketch). “Does anyone remember this rumor from awhile back?” the user asked. “Is there any other crazy rumors that turned out false?”
Unsurprisingly, considering it was one of the most-anticipated movies in DC history, there were a bevy of false rumors about BvS in the run-up to its release. Like that crazy one about Ben Affleck’s Bat being Deathstroke in disguise.
Or that Bryan Cranston was going to play Lex Luthor. OK, that one we wished actually happened.
And remember when everyone was convinced Jena Malone was portraying Carrie Kelley? Instead she cameod as a STAR Labs employee.
Suicide Squad also spawned a bunch of wild rumors, too. Like Jared Leto’s Joker secretly being Jason Todd.
Or Scott Eastwood being either Robin or Deathstroke (spoiler: he was neither).
In more recent times, everyone was convinced for a while that the metallic bat-symbol on Robert Pattinson’s suit was made from the gun that killed Bruce’s parents.
But this rumor was further from the mark than any others…
Fake DCEU rumors are still raging hard today, of course. Just look at all the talk of Amber Heard being removed from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.