Today’s the day that co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran released their new vision for DC Studios. The 8 to 10 year plan does incorporate elements of what has come before and still allows for some side projects entitled DC Elseworlds. These guys know their comics.
“The DCU’s a multiverse, but we’re going to be focusing on one universe from that multiverse,” explains Safran on DC’s website. “And if something isn’t DCU, we’re going to make that very clear. So, strictly adult fare like Todd Phillips’ Joker, or kids animation like Teen Titans Go!, we’re going to make it very clear that those are DC Elseworlds, just the same way that they do it in the comic books.” One project that may not make it, though maybe just omitted because it would muddy the waters entirely: the sequel to Keanu Reeves’ version of Constantine.
Though Gunn made clear how much he respects Kevin Feige’s accomplishments at Marvel Studios, he also wants DC to forge a different path. “The history of the DC is pretty messed up,” he said at a press conference yesterday on the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank. (He could be referring to the comics as well.) “They were just giving away IP like they were party favors to any creators that smiled at them. And what we are going to do is we’re going to promise that everything from our first project forward is going to be unified.” He clarified that creators can still try and smile at them. “A lot of people are thinking this is going to be Marvel 2.0. It’s not.”
On the DC website he elaborates, “We’re coming into a world where superheroes exist and have existed for some time in one form or another, and that’s the universe. We are telling a big, huge central story that is like Marvel, except that I think we’re a lot more planned out than Marvel from the beginning because we’ve gotten a group of writers together to work the story out completely.” Both co-CEOs make it clear they’re still willing to be flexible. Plans change, people change.
Where it starts comes as a surprise: an animated TV show based on “Creature Commandos.” Gunn has written every episode, and this starts an interesting twist to their plans. The voice cast will be chosen specifically so they could potentially move into live-action as well. The team has been announced to be Rick Flag, Sr., Nina Mazursky (the Gill Woman), Dr. Phosphorus (a Batman villain), Grant Morrison’s version of Frankenstein and the Bride, the classic Silver Age G.I. Robot created by Robert Kanigher, and Weasel (played in The Suicide Squad by Gunn’s brother Sean). This launches the first chapter in Gunn and Safran’s saga, “Gods and Monsters.” So… that makes sense.
For the record, the Creature Commandos originally appeared in Weird War Tales #93, created by J.M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick. A slightly different and more traditional line-up of monsters, they fought hidden battles in World War II. The original human commander, Matthew Shrieve, appeared in Arrow played by Marc Singer.
Alongside Creature Commandos, Gunn brings back Viola Davis for the HBO Max series Waller. As some predicted, we have a loose continuity springing off Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker for HBO Max. She was last seen in Black Adam. Gunn elaborated that in this series created by Christal Henry and Jeremy Carver, she will interact with some members of Team Peacemaker. Again, a nebulous connection even to Black Adam. Maybe. Henry and Carver already have a history with DC projects, as Henry wrote for HBO’s Watchmen and Carver created the recently cancelled Doom Patrol.
Theatrically, it is going to begin where promised. Tentatively scheduled for July 11, 2025, Superman: Legacy will start the new era. That’s after Shazam: Fury of the Gods, The Flash ,Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In a post on Instagram, Gunn seems to imply that as all four films don’t directly establish anything they don’t want to work with, they may still count. Especially as The Flash resets the DC Universe anyway. All that’s known for sure is that Jason Momoa has made public that he’s happy. Nobody’s letting Ezra Miller talk yet, and Warner Bros. may want Zachary Levi to just be quiet for a while.
We also don’t know for sure who will direct the Superman film. Gunn either has written or is writing the screenplay which focuses on earlier years of the Man of Steel, and no star has been publicly attached. Safran commented that he hoped Gunn would direct, but let’s face it: his attention may be better spent on the big picture.
Perhaps appropriately for where things have gone in the comics, Superman: Legacy will be followed by The Authority, based on the Wildstorm series about superbeings who take matters into their own hands to protect humanity — mostly from itself. That’s an interesting choice, depending on which characters get used. Like the Suicide Squad, the line-up has always been amorphous, but tends to include two counterparts to Superman and Batman, Apollo and The Midnighter. Created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, The Authority originally operated in a separate universe. Thanks to a buy-out and a few reboots, they’re now part of the main line. Recently, Grant Morrison and Mikel Janin produced Superman and the Authority, forming an alliance in which the somewhat rogue team tries to be better behaved.
Creating their own in-universe version of Batman, DC Studios will produce the live action The Brave and the Bold, which will focus on the uneasy father-son dynamic between Bruce Wayne and his son/sidekick Damian Wayne. Gunn confirms that he’s looking heavily to the dynamic created by Grant Morrison (there’s that name again) and Frank Quitely. For those unfamiliar with this Robin, Damian is Bruce Wayne’s unknown son, who in his first 8 years of life was trained to be an assassin by his mother Talia al’Ghul.
This doesn’t mean that Dick Grayson doesn’t exist in the DCU. By including Damian, we can infer that this Batman will be a little older than Superman. As in the Snyderverse (sorry), we’re likely meeting a Batman who has been around for a while, which is fine. We all know the origin. Safran confirms other members of the Bat-Family will be involved, but Gunn also emphasizes that Batman will not be played by Ben Affleck. However, Affleck seems to be on their slate of creators.
Also announced is Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which borrows elements from Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s recent comics mini-series. And probably should, as it’s a story that establishes Kara Zor-El as having a different attitude than her technically younger cousin Superman. Gunn confirms that King is in the brain trust, which is good. He had previously been brought in by Ava Duvernay for her now dead (or dead for now) New Gods project.
By the time of the film’s release, four actresses will have played Supergirl onscreen. Helen Slater in the 80s film, Laura Vandervoort on Smallville, Melissa Benoist for the Arrowverse on the CW all preceded Sasha Calle who will be an alternate Supergirl in The Flash. A different version than we’re used to seeing, Calle could also be a holdover for the new DCU (no longer DCEU), especially as The Flash may still essentially be hitting an official reset button. Though King and Evely’s comic portrays the blonde Kara most people know, there’s no reason Calle couldn’t continue in the role. Things change.
Finally on the announced film slate, Gunn knows us. He really knows us. No, it’s not Ambush Bug, though with Gunn, it’s not out of the question. Swamp Thing rises from the muck of studio politics once more, and though we’d love it if they keep Derek Mears in the role… all we know is that it’s supposed to be darker in tone than the rest of the slate. Both J.J. Abrams and Guillermo del Toro have wanted to bring Swamp Thing into the spotlight, and if any studio chief could bring del Toro into the fold, it would be Gunn.
From comics, the other element in the mix is a new Swamp Thing, Levi Kamei, created by Ram V and Mike Perkins. Kamei co-exists with the better known Alec Holland and is able to appear in human form. If the film leans on the comics mythos of the Parliament of Trees bringing forth new champions every few decades, this could be a grotesque and wonderful generational saga. Even in his original appearance from Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, we got a 19th century Swamp Thing who would later evolve into the ongoing weird hero we know today. He’s had two films, two live-action series, and one solo animated series so far in addition to various kids’ cartoon appearances. Despite being a muck-encrusted monster, Swamp Thing has a tight hold on pop culture.
These will also tie in to HBO Max (for now). Greg Berlanti’s proposed Green Lantern series has been shelved. It’s unclear if Berlanti will still be involved, but Gunn announced “Lanterns,” focusing on Hal Jordan and John Stewart as key members of the Green Lantern Corps. Berlanti’s version seemed to have been more of an anthology allowing for the focus to shift around, the main Lanterns he had cast were Alan Scott and Guy Gardner. This take will keep them as Corps members patrolling the Earth precinct, and uncovering elements of the larger mystery in the DC Universe.
Whatever name HBO Max assumes in the next year, the streaming service will be the hub for the official main storyline, leaving room for the undiscussed “Superman and Lois” and “Gotham Knights” to still exist on the CW if that network’s new owners care. Following “Lanterns,” the plan calls for “Paradise Lost,” which they describe as being in the vein of “Game of Thrones.” (Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav must have perked up at that.)
Hinted at in previous films, this will dig into Themyscira in ancient times, creating their society and before the birth of Diana aka Wonder Woman. Does that mean no Wonder Woman? Who knows? As recent DC comics have truly expanded and diversified the role of the Amazons, this could lead to a more diverse group of heroes in the modern age. Kudos to Gunn and Safran for trying something different, even if it bears a superficial resemblance to a beloved HBO property.
For the third time in live-action, we’ll get Booster Gold. The time-traveling superhero of dubious skill appeared in the last season of “Smallville” as well as the finale of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” where he was played by Donald Faison. Though there’s a sizable (or loud) fandom for the latter series that begged Gunn to save that series, it’s doubtful Faison would reprise the role. Gunn says they’re talking to an actor for the role now.
This also bodes well for Xolo Maridueña to appear again as Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle. In comics, Booster and another Beetle, Ted Kord, are a duo called Blue and Gold, and “Smallville” teamed Jaime with Booster. With “Cobra Kai” coming to an end on Netflix, Maridueña might want to stick around and show up somewhere in “Booster Gold” on HBO Max.
The proposed order of projects after the old slate wraps up:
Creature Commandos (animation – HBO Max)
Waller (live action – HBO Max)
Superman: Legacy (live action -theatrical)
Lanterns (live action – HBO Max)
The Authority (live action – theatrical)
Paradise Lost (live action – HBO Max)
The Brave and the Bold (live action – theatrical)
Booster Gold (live action – HBO Max)
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (live action – theatrical)
Swamp Thing (live action – theatrical)
Safran teased that there may be more to come. This is all they’re willing to share at this point. Over in the Elseworlds slate, Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II got a release date of October 3, 2025. At this point, it seems that “The Penguin” on HBO Max is just fine. (“Arkham Asylum” has been quiet for a while.) According to The Hollywood Reporter, the alternate Superman take scripted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and produced by Michael B. Jordan is still developing.
Wisely, Gunn and Safran did not utter the word “Batgirl,” but star Leslie Grace could still pop up in The Brave and the Bold. Accoding Lady Gaga will still play Harley Quinn in the sequel to Joker: Folie a Deux, but Margot Robbie and Gunn get along too well for us not to see her take on Harley pop up in the main universe somewhere. Whether or not Dwayne Johnson returns as Black Adam, it would be cool to give Aldis Hodge another shot at playing Hawkman.
Also, some of this all might tie into games. Emphasis on might. As we’ve been for a few years, we’re on a precipice of the lines blurring among media, and back to the beginning here, Marvel has done much to blur. Gunn and Safran might be the ones to blur it more effectively.
Here are just a few of our plans. Up, up, and away! #DCStudios #DCU @DCComics pic.twitter.com/8XNDNLUEPq
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 31, 2023
