DC Studios: First Projects Officially Unveiled by James Gunn and Peter Safran
James Gunn and Peter Safran officially unveiled some of the first projects as part of the DC Universe slate, the first pieces of a proposed plan that will cover 8-10 years of content for DC Studios to work on.
General Details
Since getting the job as co-heads of the newly-reorganized DC Studios back in October of last year, Gunn and Safran have been incredibly busy setting up what’s been described as an eight-to-ten-year plan, with the promise that they would unveil a first glimpse at the first three years of this plan. Yesterday, Warner Brothers set up a presentation for the press outlining their plans for the future. Here are some general details on what they’ve announced and how it relates to everything else:
- At the panel, they revealed that this slate of films and shows will be referred to as The DC Universe: Chapter One – Gods and Monsters. They also indicated more projects are part of the Chapter One slate than what they have already announced, with the revealed projects representing roughly the first half of their plans for Chapter One. The eight-to-ten-year plan that’s been described also has a Chapter Two, but will not represent the conclusion of the overall franchise should all go well.
- Gunn has assembled a creative team of writers – including Christina Hodson, Jeremy Slater, Drew Goddard, Christal Henry, and Tom King – who have figured out many of the main beats of the big picture well in advance.
- The DC Universe will represent a massive multimedia franchise where actors cast by DC Studios for in films and television will portray their same characters in animation and video games, with actors signing on to all of that as part of their new contracts. Gunn explained that it’s his and Safran’s job to keep these projects all connected, though exceptions will continue to exist.
- The Batman franchise, started with last year’s film, will not be part of this slate, but it will continue for its planned trilogy as an “Elseworlds” tale, set in its own universe and not relevant to the overall continuity. “Elseworlds” will be used as branding for all ongoing DC projects that are not part of the slate that Gunn and Safran are developing for the multimedia shared universe. Other projects moving forward as Elseworlds-branded films and shows include Joker: Folie à Deux, Superman and Lois, Teen Titans Go!, and the J. J. Abrams-produced Black Superman movie written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which is apparently still happening. While there is indeed a multiverse, DC’s focus will be on the reconfigured continuity established by the events of The Flash.
- Any details on intellectual properties with upcoming films like Shazam!, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman were completely absent from this slate reveal beyond a statement that the four DC Extended Universe movies releasing this year will lead into the DC Universe proper in some way. That being said, it was later indicated that a third Aquaman movie with Jason Momoa starring is being planned, that The Flash director Andy Muschietti is set to work on future content for DC Studios, and Ben Affleck will most likely direct an upcoming project not tied to the Batman franchise (with Gunn indicating that he is interested in one or two potential movies).
- Some cast members from the DCEU will return for the DCU, while other characters will be reimagined with new actors. Actors are not expected to pull double-duty, despite speculation that Momoa may try his hands at playing a certain Czarnian bounty hunter instead of the King of Atlantis.
- Gunn has stated that his priority is that the visions of the writers and directors are unique and that their voices shine through in each project that they put together: “Storytelling is always king – that’s all that matters to us.” As such, the DCU will feature projects with a variety of tones and target audiences while all stories contribute to the larger arc in some capacity or another.
- Video game projects will not be mere tie-ins, but will fill in gaps in the larger story and explore narratives that the other projects might not directly approach.
- Safran expects that DC Studios will release at least two movies and two films per year once things are in full swing.
Today, James Gunn released a video talking about the slate of projects:
The Wrap has reported the ten projects that will make up a portion of the first slate of projects. Now, onto the ambitious DC Studios slate…
Superman: Legacy
The new slate invited a bit of controversy right out of the gate with the news that Henry Cavill, who managed to make a cameo in last year’s Black Adam, would not be returning to the role for the next Superman movie (although he’s leading the charge on the Warhammer 40,000 franchise to keep himself busy in the meantime). Instead, the story will involve a newer, younger actor in a story set early into the Man of Tomorrow’s superhero career. Though there will be glimpses at Superman’s past, it seems that we’ll mostly be skipping the origin this time around – when the movie starts, Clark Kent will already be acquainted with the staffers of The Daily Planet and the people of Metropolis, with the narrative focused on Superman balancing who he wants to be for a world that thinks that his brand of kindness is too old-fashioned, his Human upbringing, and his Kryptonian heritage. James Gunn will write the film, and while he is being considered as a possible director, he has not officially made that commitment. The movie will be released on July 11, 2025.
The Brave and the Bold
DC’s turbulent history on film in the past decade or so has had tons of questions about the role of Batman, between Ben Affleck wanting to exit the role before agreeing to return for The Flash, while Robert Pattinson plays the part for a trilogy (and possibly some spin-off shows), and Michael Keaton was intended to return to the character for a handful of projects after The Flash. While it appears that Keaton, Affleck, and Pattinson won’t be part of DC’s long-term shared universe plans after that movie, it instead looks as though we’re going to get yet another actor in the role for DC’s shared universe – and he won’t be crusading alone, as this new project will introduce Robin as a co-lead of a live-action Batman project for the first time since 1997’s maligned Batman and Robin. The story will involve Bruce Wayne parenting his long-lost son Damian, who spent several years of his life being trained by the League of Assassins, which naturally leads to issues with Batman trying to rein in his son’s more violent tendencies as he becomes the latest incarnation of Robin. Aside from Batman and Robin, Gunn has indicated that other members of the Bat-Family will appear in the film, potentially including previous Robins and Batman’s other sidekicks and allies; when asked specifically if Dick Grayson, the first Robin who later became the fan-favorite superhero Nightwing, would be involved, he coyly answered “maybe”.
Paradise Lost
Shortly after the cancellation of the planned third Wonder Woman movie from Patty Jenkins, James Gunn clarified that there were absolutely plans for Diana in this new tapestry of stories, including the first few projects that he was planning to announce. Enter Paradise Lost, a story set around Wonder Woman’s home of Themiscyra (also known as Paradise Island), which will – shockingly – take things to HBO Max despite the theatrical success of the franchise thus far. The series is a prequel set before Wonder Woman is born, with the tone and nature of the story being likened to Game of Thrones as the highs and lows of the society that sculpted Wonder Woman into the heroine that she is gets fully explored. There is currently no word on if Diana will appear in a cameo role, or if Gal Gadot will be returning to play her, but given the show’s status as a prequel, her absence may be pretty easily explained.
Lanterns
Green Lantern is an IP that has had multiple false starts since the 2011 film bombed at the box office, including plans for a time-spanning epic across the galaxy that ultimately seemed to be too ambitious and too tied to the former regime’s plans to properly include. Instead, Lanterns will be proceeding as a small-screen adventure for HBO, starring two of the most well-known iterations of the superhero – John Stewart, a Marine and architect, and Hal Jordan, an Air Force pilot – working side-by-side, alongside a few other Green Lanterns, who uncover a terrifying mystery connected to the long-term story of Chapter One of the DC Universe. The story is described as Earth-based and similar to True Detective in terms of tone.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Warner Brothers has had plans for a new take on Supergirl after the oft-forgotten 1984 film and the more recent CBS/CW series. The Flash introduces a new iteration of the character portrayed by Sasha Calle, although it is currently unclear if she will be starring in this project. Gunn has stated that he is adapting the story from the Tom King comic book run of the same name into a film, set to tell a story of a more jaded version of Supergirl than some are expecting as she confronts the causes of her prior trauma.
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing has had an interesting history as a horror IP, getting its live-action start with a Wes Craven and most recently having a cancelled-too-soon television series for the DC Universe app (since folded into HBO Max). The franchise will be returning to the realm of films as the new movie tells a dark origin story for Alec Holland and the monster that he turns into. It’s described as tonally outside of the rest of the franchise, but it will feed into the other stories that are being told. James Mangold is in discussions to direct the film.
Booster Gold
A fan-favorite character of comics readers and viewers of animated shows like Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and Justice League Action, the Booster Gold IP centers around a superhero from the future who made a mess of his life in his past and is seeking to try to help the world hundreds of years before he was born – in part because his heart’s in the right place, and in part because he hopes that it can pay well. Booster Gold will be an HBO Max series about what Gunn describes as “the superhero story of impostor syndrome”.
Waller
Amanda Waller has proven to be a crucial figure in the DC Universe, first coming into prominence in the animated realm as CCH Pounder voiced the character, briefly being portrayed by Angela Bassett in the ill-fated Green Lantern movie, and most recently being portrayed by Viola Davis in Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and Black Adam. Initially announced as an HBO Max spin-off to Peacemaker, this series will feature Waller doing what she does best as she has to navigate the world of underhanded intelligence operations and metahumans. Davis will return as Amanda Waller, with characters from Peacemaker returning. The show will air between the first and second season of Peacemaker, which has been delayed due to Gunn’s commitment to Superman: Legacy and Creature Commandos (see below). Crystal Henry (who co-wrote the fourth episode of HBO’s Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (who developed and wrote multiple episodes for Doom Patrol) wrote the story for this series.
Creature Commandos
The most obscure IP on this slate, Creature Commandos takes a motley crew of horror archetypes and makes them a small army of action heroes. What’s notable is that, unlike the other projects on this list, this film be a seven-episode animated television series, written entirely by James Gunn, and the series is already in production. Davis will also be playing Amanda Waller in this series, and the character of Weasel will be returning following his debut in The Suicide Squad. In addition, one of the characters introduced in this series will be appearing in the Waller show.
The Authority
Perhaps the biggest surprise on this initial list of DC Studios projects for the first half of Chapter One is the absence of a traditional team-up film like Justice League and instead a film representing a variation on the theme, with a completely different set of characters. While the Justice League often fight to eliminate crime and threats to global security while preserving the status quo, the Authority often seek more radical means to change the world that disrupts existing power structures around the planet. Initially, these characters were introduced as being part of an alternate continuity, but as part of the Infinite Frontier publishing initiative, they were fully integrated into the mainstream DC Universe, and from the sound of things, they’ll be part of the the same continuity as the other films and shows that the people at DC Studios are developing. Maybe one day, they may cross paths with the Justice League. Gunn has indicated that The Authority will be one such work that explores more of the shades of grey involved in the DC Universe in a narrative that will set things apart from other contemporary comic book movies.
The Batman – Part II
As mentioned earlier, Matt Reeves’s take on the Caped Crusader is considered an Elseworlds story and is not an official part of the slate for DC Studios shared universe, but nonetheless, some details were discussed here. The movie is tentatively titled The Batman – Part II, and will be opening on October 3, 2025. A third film remains on the table, as Reeves has indicated that his story is a “crime saga” that he will be able to tell in full, although it is not clear if there will be additional projects past that and the already-planned spin-off shows (such as The Penguin).
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
