The Hollywood Reporter reports on a presentation by Warner Bros. chariman and CEO Barry Meyer to investors. The big news is a release date for the next Sherlock Holmes movie (December 2011), but he also talked about upcoming super-hero movies, saying that the Flash movie is “nearing” a greenlight.

WB has previously said that they intend to make DC’s super-heroes the new “tentpole” movies once the Harry Potter series is over (the last book has been split into two films, with part two coming out in July next year). Green Lantern will arrive in theaters June 17, 2011, and Batman and Superman films are in the works for 2012. Meyer also mentioned Wonder Woman and Aquaman movies in development…and, oddly enough, Mad Magazine characters. (I’m blanking. Maybe a live-action Spy vs. Spy? Could the premise actually sustain a full-length movie?)

The Flash has taken a long, slow road to the silver screen, starting with the David Goyer version announced in 2004. Since then, Warner Bros. has gone darker, lighter, then darker again, dropped Goyer’s script entirely, and run through several directors. The current version of the film is being written by Dan Mazeau from a story treatment by Geoff Johns.