DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran revealed their upcoming slate for DC and it includes a brand new Batman as well as the previously announced Superman film.
The slate was revealed in a lengthy expose by Borys Kit at The Hollywood Reporter (THR) , alongside a video released by Gunn. In the video, Gunn claims his vision for DC moving forward is to make sure it’s all connected.
He explained, “It’s one of our jobs, mine and Peter’s, to come in and make sure the DCU is connected in film, television, gaming, and animation. That the characters are consistent, played by the same actors and it works within one story.”
Gunn continued, “And if something is outside of that like Matt Reeves’ Batman, or Todd Phillips’ Joker, or Teen Titans GO! that it is clearly labeled as DC Elseworlds, outside of the mainstream DCU continuity.”
Gunn then went on to explain how DC’s upcoming film releases specifically with Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash tie into his vision.
He detailed, “First, we have Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Shazam has always been off kind of in his own part of the DCU so he connects very well. That moves directly into The Flash, a fantastic movie that I really love, that resets the entire DCU universe.”
“And then to move into Blue Beetle, a fantastic film about a kid who is a marvelous part of the DCU and then into Aquaman 2, which leads directly into our next few projects,” he stated.
Whether or not these characters and actors continue on in Gunn’s DCU vision is still unclear. He told THR, “There is nothing that prohibits that from happening.”
Next, Gunn revealed the first chapter of his DCU vision is called Gods and Monsters and began to reveal the slate which he says is “part of the first chapter, it’s not the entire first chapter.”
Interestingly, in the expose from The Hollywood Reporter Gunn and Safran also expanded on their vision for DC with Gunn explaining, “One of our strategies is to take our diamond characters, which is Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and we use them to prop up other characters that people don’t know.”
Safran added, “To build those lesser known properties into the diamond properties of tomorrow.”
Creature Commandos
However, the timeline of the slate seems to indicate this is not really the strategy at all as it begins with a rather obscure animated series called Creature Commandos.
This animated series will be seven episodes in length and is being written by Gunn and is reportedly already in production. Kit describes the show, “Originally a team of classic monsters assembled to fight Nazis, this is a modern take on the concept.”
Gunn didn’t really provide any details on the series in the video, but he noted, “Something that we’re going to do that is a little bit different at DC is that we’re going to have characters move into animation, out of animation, usually having the same actor play their voice as who plays them in live action.”
The Creature Commandos first appeared in Weird War Tales #93 back in 1980. The team consisted of Lt. Matthrew Shrieve, Elliot “Lucky” Taylor as Patchwork, Vincent Velcro, and Warren Griffith aka Wolfpack, and Myrra Rhodes aka Medusa.
The new team as pictured above includes Rick Flag Sr., Nina Mazursky, Doctor Phosphorus, Frankenstein a.k.a. Eric Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, who DC describes as the show’s lead, G.I. Robot, and Weasel.
Waller
Next, up on the slate is a series called Waller. Gunn explains, “This is a story of Amanda Waller played by Viola Davis. Viola Davis is going to team up with members of team Peacemaker.”
“This is a story that’s been created by Christal Henry, who did Watchmen, and Jeremy Carver, who created the Doom Patrol TV series,” he added.
Safran revealed the series takes place between the first and second seasons of Peacemaker.
Superman: Legacy
Gunn then moved on to what he is calling “the true beginning of the DCU. This is called Superman: Legacy.”
He added, “I’m in the middle of it. I’m having a great time doing it. And Superman will be released into theaters July 11, 2025.”
While Gunn punted on whether he will direct the film, Safran says he hopes he will, “We’re hoping that he will direct it. It’s not an origin story. It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.”
Lanterns
Gunn then revealed an HBO TV series following Hal Jordan and John Stewart titled Lanterns.
He detailed, “This is the story of a couple of Green Lanterns, John Stewart and Hal Jordan, and we have a few other Lanterns peppered in there, but this is really a terrestrial-based TV show, which is almost like True Detective with a couple of Green Lanterns who are space cops watching over precinct Earth.”
He added, “In it they discover a terrifying mystery that ties into our larger story of the DCU.”
The Authority
Again, contradicting the idea of using “diamond” properties to launch the DCU, Gunn revealed their second film will be The Authority.
Gunn revealed, “The Authority is a passion project of mine. It’s based on the marvelous Wildstorm characters we are now bringing into the DCU and will interact with all of our primary DCU characters.”
“The Authority are a group of superheroes who think the world is broken and they want to fix it by any means necessary,” he explained. “I think it’s very different look at superheroes.”
Paradise Lost
Gunn then jumped right into a live-action TV series called Paradise Lost. He explained, “Paradise Lost is a story of Paradise Island, usually known as Themyscira, which is the birthplace of Wonder Woman.”
He then teased, “It’s almost like Game of Thrones with Westeros, but with all the inhabitants of Paradise Island.”
The Brave and the Bold
The third film will see the introduction of the DCU’s Batman, which is separate from Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s vision.
Gunn notes, “The Brave and the Bold is the story of Batman and his actual son, Damian Wayne. This is based on Grant Morrison’s great comic book run. Damian Wayne is my favorite Robin. He’s a little assassin who Batman tries to get in line. So this is the story of two of them and the beginning of the sort of the Bat family in the DCU.”
Booster Gold
Booster Gold was announced as a new live-action TV series with Gunn saying, “Booster Gold is one of comics’ really popular cult heroes. He’s a fascinating guy. He’s a loser from the future, who uses future technology to come back to present day and become a superhero so people will love him.”
“It’s basically the superhero story of imposter story on an HBO Max series,” he added.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Gunn then revealed that Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series was one of his favorite comic books from last year and that it will be turned into a “big science fiction, epic film.”
“Now, Superman is a guy who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents, whereas Supergirl in this story, she’s a character who was raised on a chunk of Krypton. She watched everybody around her perish in some terrible way so she’s a much more jaded character.”
Swamp Thing
Finally, Gunn announced Swamp Thing describing the film as “a very dark horror story and the origins of the monster who is Swamp Thing.”
“And although it’s tonally outside the rest of the DCU, it will still feed into the rest of the stories,” he added.
What do you make of this slate and Gunn’s vision for DC?