During a presentation of DC Universe Chapter 1, studio heads Peter Safran and James Gunn discussed what the next 10 years will look like.
MCU watch out. You might have some competition on your hands.
On Tuesday morning, the new heads of DC Studios, Peter Safran and Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, announced their plans for the extended DCU. And if things go as planned, it’s going to be a banner couple of years for the brand.
Gunn, who became the co-chief of DC just three months ago, started out by addressing the checkered past of the iconic brand. “The history of DC is pretty messed up,” Gunn said. “We’re going to promise that everything from our first project forward is going to be unified.”
During the presentation, Gunn and Safran announced the first 10 film and TV titles for the rebooted DC Universe. They are calling the first phase “Gods and Monsters” and it will feature projects like a new Superman movie; a Batman and Robin movie; a prequel series based on Wonder Woman; and a Green Lantern show.
This phase will unfold over a period of eight to 10 years and it will coincidence with movies outside of the DC Universe (like the Joker sequel, Folie a Deux.)
Here is the entire slate below:
Superman Legacy
Finally — a new superman movie is in the works.
“This is really the start of the DCU. It’s currently being written by James and I sincerely hope that he can be persuaded, perhaps, to direct it as well,” Safran said. He also added that the movie will not be an “origin story” adding that it will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.”
Henry Cavill, who last played Superman, will not be returning to the franchise. And Gunn is said to be looking for someone younger to play the Man of Steel.
Creature Commandos
Good news: James Gunn has already written all of the episodes of the upcoming animated series Creature Commandos, which is about a team of creatures and monsters who come together during World War II. He has also revealed which characters from the obscure comic book series will be in the show: The Bride of Frankenstein, Rick Flag Sr., Nina Mazursky, Dr. Phosphorus, Eric Frankenstein, G.I. Robot, and Weasel.
Now the bad news: the show is still in early development and they haven’t even started casting yet.
Waller
Viola Davis has played agent Amanda Waller in multiple Suicide Squad movies. She’s not going anywhere. Davis will reprise her role in a TV series called Waller.
Gunn talked about the show, saying:
“Some of the characters that we’re doing we’re changing out – this is a multiverse – some of the characters we’re using the same actors. Viola is still playing Waller and she has Team Peacemaker with her.”
Lanterns
Safran compared the upcoming Green Lantern show — called Lanterns — to True Detective, which sounds absolutely insane.
Here’s what Gunn said in his words:
“It’s terrestrial-based, it’s got two of our favorite Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, star[ring] in a ‘True Detective’-type mystery and it plays a really big role leading into the main story that we’re telling across our film and television.”
The Authority
In 1992, Jim Lee, the legendary comic book writer and artist, launched the WildStorm universe under the DC imprint; The WildStorm universe was largely detached from DC and had its highs and lows. One high was The Authority storyline, which was a comic book series about a group of superheroes who sometimes got things done in morally ambiguous manners.
On The Authority movie, Gunn said:
“There are black hats, white hats and gray hats. There are people that are anti-heroes, and there are people that are very questionable, like The Authority, who basically believe that you can’t fix the world in an easy manner, and they sort of take things into their own hands.”
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is Gunn’s attempt at expanding the Wonder Woman universe. It will be a TV series based on the Themyscira, the all-women birthplace of Wonder Woman. During the presentation, Safran compared the show to Game of Thrones.
Booster Gold
The Booster Gold series will see DC exploring the lighter side of things. Here is what Safran said about the upcoming show: “[He’s] a loser from the future who uses basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero.”
Gunn added that Booster Gold “is imposter syndrome as a superhero.” You know what, sign us up.
The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold is another Batman movie. Based on Grant Morrison’s Batman run, The Brave and the Bold will be sponsored around the relationship between Batman and Robyn. The movie will exist separate from Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves’ Batman.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Supergirl was a relatively successful TV series that ran on the CW. The show was canceled after six seasons back in 2021. Now DC wants another crack at it.
They are launching a new Supergirl movie that seemingly will have a more cosmic feel.
“In our [DCU] we see the difference between Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant vs. Supergirl who was raised on a rock chip off of Krypton and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life,” Gunn said.
Swamp Thing
In 2019, DC released the Swamp Thing TV show, which was quickly canceled after only one season. Well DC is giving it another go. They are releasing a movie about the character, which will be an origin story.
