When James Gunn and Peter Safran pulled back the curtain to reveal their initial plans for DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters in January 2023, there were plenty of surprises. While the DC Studios’ co-chairs intended to–and in fact did–launch the new connected universe with one of comic’s greatest characters, Superman (originally titled Superman: Legacy), the slate also included projects featuring some DC Comics characters that aren’t necessarily household names.
One such project announced to be in development was a Swamp Thing feature film with James Mangold attached to direct. Described by Safran as a horror film intended to “investigate the dark origins” of the character, the film was said to be “tonally different” than other DCU fare while still being “interconnected” to the rest of the slate.
That slate has changed considerably, however, since being announced, leaving fans to wonder if many projects, Swamp Thing among them, are still being developed. In an interview with Josh. Horowitz, Gunn was asked to update the status of Swamp Thing and revealed that for the time being, the project is still being worked on.
“We talked to James (Mangold) the other day. No, he hasn’t delivered a script. He’s been distracted with his billion of movies,” said Gunn. “We’re talking about it again.”
One of those films distracting Mangold may be his Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi movie which was recently said to have been coming together relatively quickly and moved ahead of the Daisy Ridley-led Star Wars: New Jedi Order project. If that’s the case, it’s highly unlikely that Swamp Thing finds its way into theaters at any point within the next two years which was the original plan for the first ten projects revealed in 2023. However, with a Wonder Woman film gathering momentum at the studio, it seems the focus has somewhat shifted toward getting DC’s Trinity and other heavy hitters to the screen sooner than expected, while still leaving room for other projects such as Clayface or Sgt. Rock.
During a recent press event, DC Studios revealed that the slate it presented in January 2023 had more or less broken down for various reasons with multiple projects having apparently fallen by the wayside and replaced by others. One of those new projects is Sgt. Rock, a World War II period piece set to be directed by Luca Guadagnino.
News of the development of Sgt. Rock first broke in September 2024 and by November 2024, trade reports had former 007 Daniel Craig in line to headline the project. Those reports were recently disputed by DC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran who said he and James Gunn “never met with Daniel.” At the time, Gunn and Safran revealed that they hoped for Sgt. Rock to begin principal photography this summer but only if they could lock down “the perfect actor.” Now it looks like they’ve just about made it happen.
According to THR, the studio is in talks with Colin Farrell to portray Easy Company boss Sgt. Franklin John Rock. The character first appeared in the first DCU-set project, the animated streaming series Creature Commandos.
Image Credit: DC Studios
The role would make Farrell a DC two-timer as he currently plays Oz Cobb, a major player in Matt Reeves‘ Epic Batman Crime Saga, which is set outside the main DCU continuity. According to THR’s report, the new won’t interfere with filming on The Batman Part II, which won’t film until the end of the year at best while Sgt. Rock will get underway in the UK in a few months.
With the additions of David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham, DC Studios’ Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow has begun to build its supporting cast. Though original reports of their casting indicated that Krumholtz and Beecham were playing Supergirl’s parents, it was unclear if the pair alhad signed on to play Zor-El and Alura In-Ze, the Kryptonian parents of Kara, or Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers, her adoptive Earth parents. That’s no longer in question.
Following the trade report, Krumholtz took to Instagram to celebrate the news, calling it a “mindblowing privilege” to join the DCU while clarifying he had been cast as Zor-El.
Based on Tom King‘s limited comic book series of the same name, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow follows Kara across the galaxy as she attempts to find a renewed purpose. It’s unclear just how one-to-one DC Studios’ adaptation of the book will be but Krumholtz‘s role as Zor-El may be relatively small if it’s similar to the role played by the character in King’s work. In the comic, Zor-El and Alura appeared as Kara recalled her final days in Argo City as her father prepared to send her away to save her life.
Given that Superman will not include Kal-El ‘s origin story, it’s possible that Kara’s memories of her home planet may be the first time it is seen in the DCU. It’ll also be interesting to see what James Gunn and Peter Safran have in mind for Zor-El, who in recent years has become a cyborg under the control of Brainiac.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is expected in theaters on June 26, 2026.
Filming on DC Studios’ second film, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, got underway in the UK this week and it didn’t take long for news to escape Leavesden. According to THR’s Borys Kit, David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham have joined the production as the parents of Milly Alcock‘s Kara Zor-El.
It’s unclear if Krumholz and Beecham are teaming up as Kara’s Earth parents, Jeremiah and Eliza, or her space mommy and daddy.
If it’s the latter, Krumholz will portray Zor-El, a Kryptonian scientist who is also the uncle of Kal-El, aka Superman. After surviving the destruction of his home planet, Krypton, the character has evolved into an antagonist to his daughter and nephew in recent years. Beecham would then fill the role of Alura In-Ze who also survived Krypton’s apocalypse and has also caused her own share of problems over the years despite working mostly as a force for good. If the actors are playing Supergirl’s birth parents, the film’s plot could contain some Brainiac bread crumbs.
Given the lack of clarity on THR’s report, however, the former option must be considered as well and, in one particular way, would be interesting. If Krumholtz and Beecham are set to pay Kara’s adoptive Earth parents, it could bring into play one of DC Comics more interesting clandestine organizations, the Department of Extranormal Operations. Tasked with tracking metahumans on Earth, that D.E.O. recently reactivated in the comics.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is set for a June 26, 2026 theatrical debut.
After nearly a decade in development hell, The Flash finally hit theaters in 2023. Mired in controversy due to star Ezra Miller‘s legal trouble and dead on arrival as Warner Bros. had committed to rebooting with the DCU in late 2022, the film performed poorly at the box office and served as a dour sendoff to the DCEU. Now, as DC Studios continues to forge ahead, it seems as though the specter of The Flash may continue to haunt the world of DC Comics’ greatest heroes.
While responding to a question about the recently announced Clayface film on Threads, DC Studios’ co-CEO James Gunnclarified that a DCU-set Flash project won’t happen anytime soon.
“We’re holding a beat on development,” said Gunn of a potential Flash-led project. No Flash-centric project was announced during the January 2024 reveal of projects expected to be part of DC Studios’ Chapter One: Gods and Monsters and even as the makeup of that batch of projects evolves, no word about the Scarlet Speedster getting another crack at a solo outing has come.
That’s not to say, of course, that Barry Allen, Wally West or both won’t appear in other projects. Though the studio’s Teen Titans film is expected to feature the same core cast as Teen Titans Go!, Wally West, aka Kid Flash, appeared in over a dozen episodes over five seasons and has always been a core team member in the comics. Additionally, a character who many have presumed to be Wally West was among the dead heroes shown to Amanda Waller in a vision of one possible future of the DCU.
The first teaser for DC Studios’ Superman garnered over 250 million views in its first day, making it, according to DC Studios’ co-chair and the film’s director James Gunn, the most viewed trailer in the history of DC and its parent company, Warner Bros. Given the latter’s century-long history of producing some of Hollywood’s biggest movies, that’s an incredible accomplishment.
The teaser provided the first look at David Corenswet‘s Man of Steel and the all-new DCU and it looks as though there will be a lot going on both in Metropolis and around the globe. In fact, it’s possible that at least a few of those 250 million views came from fans checking out the trailer multiple times while trying to uncover some clues about a mysterious figure seen on the front page of The Daily Planet.
Visible in several different scenes, the front page story of the paper boasts the headline “Hammer of Boravia Creates Havoc Downtown” next to a photo of said Hammer. Without a clear look at the photo, fans began to theorize about who the character may be with classic DC villain and Legion of Doom member Gorilla Grodd a popular pick. The character does, after all, appear in Creature Commandos and the blurry image does contain a pretty bulky figure. However, a high-res copy of the paper obtained by Twitter user DCU Updates reveals exactly who the chaos causer is and some very intriguing details that add context to the teaser.
Here is the high res version of the paper and below is the article, written by Clark Kent of course pic.twitter.com/WiXhUtFEza
It turns out the mysterious “Hammer of Boravia” is actually just the Hammer of Boravia, a character it seems that Gunn created for the movie rather than someone drawn from DC Comics’ lore. And he’s made the front page The Daily Planet because he came to town looking to tangle with Superman after the Man of Steel took it upon himself to end Boravia’s invasion of its neighboring country, Jarhanpur.
Metropolis was targeted by a superpowered mystery man on Sunday, resulting in over 20 million dollars in damage to the city. The self-titled “Hammer of Boravia” attacked Downtown Metropolis claiming it was retribution for the recent political interventions in Boravia by Superman. This vengeful expedition turned into a terrorist assault on American soil, hospitalizing 22 Metropolis citizens. Boravia has been the source of numerous headlines worldwide in recent weeks as it invaded its neighboring country Jarhanpur, only for the brief war to be swiftly ended by the Superman. The President of Boravia, Vasil Glarkos(?), maintains the Hammer of Boravia is not a representative of the national government, but rather an independent vigilante.
As theorized here, Superman seems to have taken inspiration from one of the character’s earliest comic book adventures which saw him single-handedly put a stop to a civil war raging in Boravia. It remains to be seen what stake, if any, LuthorCorps has in the Boravian invasion of Jarhanpur and if that’s how Superman ends up in the sights of Nicholas Hoult ‘s Lex Luthor.
When addressing the political ramifications of his actions, Superman said, “While critics thousands of miles away from this conflict continue to argue if what I did was right or wrong, the bottom line is peoples lives were threatened. I had to act.”
The notion of Superman inserting himself into global geopolitics isn’t novel, having played a major role in the character’s DC Comics history, with the character once having renounced his U.S. citizenship in Action Comics #900. “I’m tired of having my actions construed as instruments of U.S. policy,” the hero said, adding “Truth, justice and the American way – it’s not enough anymore. The world’s too small. Too connected” And that certainly seems to be the vibe Gunn was after by having the character involved in the invasion of Jarhanpur.
After a nearly decade at Marvel Studios in which he built the foundation for the MCU’s Cosmic corner, James Gunn has now endeavored to build something far more massive. As the co-CEO of DC Studios, Gunn seeks to find the sweet spot that allows for DC Comics rich stable of characters and stories to carve out its own space in the spotlight while also providing a way to ensure the fledgling shared universe has the same kind of staying power Marvel Studios has managed to display.
Gunn’s experience at as a filmmaker Marvel, where he directed three films and one special presentation in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, certainly wasn’t entirely positive. While Guardians of the Galaxy was nearly universally beloved, each of its sequels presented their own unique challenges, including, according to Gunn, some of his own making and one in particular that he’s eager to avoid as he builds the base of the DCU.
While talking to Phase Hero about DC Studios’ first theatrical project, Superman, Gunn was asked if the film would feature any end credits scenes, a tradition fans of superhero projects have grown accustomed to thanks to Marvel Studios. Gunn‘s response indicated that his ideas on the popular scenes have evolved over time.
“Sort of,” said Gunn when asked by Brandon Davis is Superman would have a credits scene. Before explaining what his plans were, he explained what they are not.
“If you look at my credits scene on the Marvel movies, the one time I fucked myself was when I put Adam Warlock inbecause then I’m like, ‘Oh shit, now I gotta put Adam Warlock in the next movie,’ which actually was a pain in the ass.”
-James Gunn
Admitting to having painted himself into a corner by having to work Adam Warlock into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 isn’t all that surprising both because Gunn has always been incredibly introspective and because it was fairly obvious to anyone who watched the film that the character wasn’t a great fit for the story. Gunn’s awareness that Marvel’s credits scene tradition, which began as fun, well-intended source of “water cooler conversation”, has developed into an issue for the studio is refreshing. The scenes have distracted from the films, aren’t always followed up and have dipped in quality over the years; in short, it’s time for them to go, or at least become less important. And it sounds as though that’s what Gunn has in mind for whatever credit scenes he has cooked up for Superman.
“SoI’m not gonna set up whole universes with end credits scenes,” Gunn told Savis. “I love giving audiences who sit through all of the credits end credits scenes but I’d rather it be something that’s fun for fans and not necessarily ‘Hey, we’re setting up the whole next part of the universe.” So while Nathan Fillion‘s Guy Gardner, who will debut in Superman, will have a role in the streaming series Lanterns, maybe don’t expect a scene that sets the stage for his role in the series… because that scene can just be included in the first episode of Lanterns and allow Superman to tell Superman’s story.
As if Gunn’s pragmatic, experience-based reasoning isn’t enough, there’s also the fact that developing superhero projects has proven to be a very fluid process, something of which he’s keenly aware as DC Studios gets up, up and away. As he’s made clear, being in development and being in production are two very different ideas at DC Studios.
Projects which seemed to be close to being realized when the DCU slate was first revealed in January 2024 have moved down the list while others have been bumped up. Gunn recently stated that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was not initially intended to be the DCU’s second film and Clayface, which will go into production early next year, wasn’t even part of the original list of Chapter One projects. So, as Gunn points out, why add something important to the end of a project when so much can change.”Because I know how it goes and I know what it’s like,” said Gunn of why the credits scenes shouldn’t carry so much importance. “You think of the best credits scene, but then you gotta adhere to that down the road.”
While Alexander Joseph Luthor is inarguably one of the greatest comic book villains of all time, he may also be one of the greatest comic book characters… period. For over 80 years, Lex Luthor has proven himself over and over again as a worth archenemy of Superman and capable of challenging the combined might of DC Comics’ greatest heroes, often defeated only by his own imperiousness and humanity.
As DC Studios launches an all-new cinematic universe, Luthor will rightly find himself front and center in Superman, the DCU’s first theatrical offering. Given the task of bringing Luthor into the DCU and immediately establishing him as a true threat is Nicholas Hoult (Juror #2), who, among others, follows Gene Hackman, Michael Rosenbaum and, most recently, Jesse Eisenberg as the power-hungry genius. Following the release of the first trailer for Superman, DC Studios lifted a standing embargo on interviews with the cast, including one in which Hoult explained how he hoped to carve out his own spade among the many iterations of Luthor across multiple mediums.
According to Hoult, part of what will make this Luthor different–perhaps a big part–is that he exists in a world full of heroes. Having learned to thrive in a world full of metahuman characters would certainly be a departure from previous iterations in which Luthor dealt only with Superman or was just coming into his own. “The thing about this Lex, I think that was most exciting to me was being in a James Gunn universe,” said Hoult. “Like you said, so emotionally raw and powerful, but huge in the scope of the world and what he’s creating.” For Hoult’s Luthor, that means leaning heavily into his ingenuity and ability to think ahead.
He’s smart and ruthless and he has to outmaneuver Superman on certain levels because he can’t match him in others.
-Nicholas Hoult on Lex Luthor in Superman
While Gunn is adamant that Superman exists only to tell this story and not to set up the next several DC Studios’ projects. At the same time, he’s also made it clear that the future of the DCU is indeed riding on the success of Superman. Should it succeed, it’s nearly impossible to imagine a passionate comic book fan like Gunn would utilize Luthor as a one-and-done villain, allowing Hoult the opportunity to take on Superman again or, possibly, emerge as an even larger threat as part of the Legion of Doom. If that’s to happen, Hoult’s Luthor would need to be the type of villain that is both hateable and relatable, an idea of which the actor is keenly aware.
“But there’s also something about this character, hopefully from my standpoint, where even though you perhaps don’t agree with his process, there’s an element where you can understand on some levels where he’s coming from and why perhaps what he’s pushing as his ideology is perhaps better for humanity,” explained Hoult. As with Marvel Studios Loki or Thanos, villains whose motoves the audience can at least partially understand make for wonderful cinema because they offer a true challenge to the hero. While this isn’t the type of Luthor that’s often been presented in animated or live-action Superman adaptations, it looks to be the goal here and given the character’s status, it’s well-deserved and well past time that Superman’s greatest for can offer more than some snide remarks and Kryptonite traps.
Recent news about the state of the sequel to 2022’s The Batman has raised concerns among fans. Direct word from DC Studios’ co-CEO James Gunn indicated that writer/director Matt Reeves had not turned in a complete script yet and with the Gunn having made it clear that projects will not be given the green light to move into production without completed and approved scripts, buzz started to grow that The Batman Part II may not make its 2026 release date.
That concern was alleviated to some extent when World of Reel shares news that the film was on track for a May 2025 start of principal photography and that the project is expected to “blow away” fans of the Caped Crusader. However, as encouraging as that was, nothing is officially official until it’s official…and now it’s official.
In an interview with The Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz, Reeves confirmed that while he has not completed the script for The Batman Part II, principal photography remains on track to get underway in 2025.
“Yeah, we’re finishing the script. We’re going to be shooting next year,” Reeves said in response to Kravitz inquiring as to if he was writing the script for the sequel.
As World of Reel reported, a May 2025 start of filming would allow for the film’s star, Robert Pattinson, to complete his obligations on Christopher Nolan‘s next project in time to prepare for his return as Vengeance. Should things stay on track, The Batman Part II should have no problem meeting its October 2, 2026 release date.
Following weeks of speculation over the release of the first teaser trailer for DC Studios’ Superman, director and DC Studios’ co-chair James Gunn has put an end to what’s been a growing online debate.
Through a pair of social media releases, fans now know when the teaser will be released to the public, have their first look at an incredible new motion poster featuring David Corenswet‘s Kal-El and a glimpse at the official logo.
Following the debut of the trailer to press on December 16th, the trailer will be released online on Thursday, December 19th, at 9:00 AM EST/6:00 AM PST.
The nostalgia-driven motion poster calls on fans to “Look Up” as it brings to mind 1978’s Superman: The Movie by playing an altered version of John Williams’ iconic “Superman March” while Kal-El defies gravity.
DC Studios’ first theatrical entry in the all-new DCU, Superman will soar into theaters on July 11, 2025.
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