DC Extended Universe

Official word seems to be that they're looking more at individual pitches that are the strongest right now as opposed to "let's give Character X a movie just for the heck of it". It's why you aren't hearing a lot about, say, Green Lantern Corps and more about the likes of Flashpoint. It's basically a less organized version of what Marvel has done so far, since there's not a specific overarching plot necessarily connecting every single movie together.

 

No, Harley Quinn & Joker: Mad Love is part of the plan for the DCEU if it gets greenlit/made (since WB aren't starting production on other DC movies past Shazam until after the AT&T merger happens, and there's a chance that some ideas won't go anywhere). I think the real issue here with WB is that almost all of these movies have been announced unofficially, and they haven't been able to clear up which ones will wait or which ones are in active development.

The standalone, Taxi Driver-esque 1980s-set Joker movie is what's a standalone completely unconnected to the DCEU (or the Justice League Universe, which is what the setting is apparently internally called), and that's simply because of the approach that they're doing. They're having a separate label (ten bucks says it'll be called DC Elseworlds or something to that effect) for standalone, non-franchise movies unconnected to the greater setting simply because the stories being told there are ones that don't lend themselves to the "shared universe" treatment (like how the X-Men television shows have nothing to do with the movies).

So far, Joker is the only standalone movie that they're doing with that label - the Justice League Universe is, and will continue to be, their primary focus (which is one of the big reasons why AT&T bought WB out - the shared universe isn't going anywhere, it's just changing). I think it's a weird thing for them to try, but if there's actual passion behind the project (and it sounds like there is) then I think it's fine - they just have to push the movie as an original story, and judging by the fact that you just thought that HQ&JML or whatever it's called was an alternate universe and not Joker, they haven't done that yet. (But again, these projects have not been formally announced, so...)

 

I know people give Zack Snyder a lot of sass, but I honestly think that, based on how WB was run prior to his involvement with the mainstream DCU, the setting is better than it would have been without his involvement. Looking at the messy production of Green Lantern, which was made under a different executive than the one they have now, it was clear that they didn't have an idea of what they were doing with any property that wasn't Batman or Superman. And sure, Nolan was doing great with his Batman trilogy, but he's an aueter - he did those movies so he could get his other projects greenlit, not because he was necessarily a huge Batman fan at heart. But Snyder managed to adapt the unadaptable Watchmen into a 2.5-hour (or 3-hour, or 3.5-hour depending on which version you're watching) movie that was for all intents and purposes the best movie they could have made in that format - so it only makes sense that they approached him to take their first movie on.

What I think they should have done was split the project that would become BVSDOJ into two movies - one, a Superman-focused narrative handled under a different director that would flesh out the greater DCU and was lighter than Man of Steel while further exploring the themes built upon that movie, and two, a Batman-focused narrative that served as a prologue for Justice League and built off the story of the other movie. After that, everything else could have fallen into place in a smoother fashion. But even though they didn't do this, I think the impression that they've given off is that they're learning from their mistakes - or most of them - and are going to use 2018 as a transition year while they figure out a game plan. Their problem was that they put all their eggs in one basket with their second movie (and I say this as someone who has yet to actually dislike one of the DCEU films), and now they're being more cautious.

 

On another note, once Justice League comes out, I'm completely resetting the poll aside from leaving Aquaman and Shazam. I plan to put some of the options into categories (IE: all the Batman spin-offs will go in one place, all the villain-based spin-offs will go in another).