Beginning in 2024, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios will launch the DC Universe. In an effort to make more cohesive shared universe, the DCU will connect streaming series, video games and films through narrative threads. Though Gunn and Safran are building a new, interconnected continuity, there will still be DC projects produced outside of this continuity (such as Matt Reeves Batman Epic Crime Saga) under the Elseworlds banner.
What’s next for DC Studios? Who’s recently joined the cast of your most anticipated series or film? Where can you find the teasers and trailers? Look no further, true believers. Everything you need to know about the future of the DCU has been collected for you here. Click on each logo to learn what we currently know about the upcoming DCU projects.
Chapter One: Gods and Monsters
Elseworlds
Projects set outside of the main DCU continuity, the Elseworld projects allow artists to tell stories without attempting to weave them into the DCU’s narrative tapestry.
As the one-year anniversary of the announcement DC Studios’ initial slate draws near, it’s becoming increasingly clear that there’s much more to Chapter One: Gods and Monsters than initially revealed. With Creature Commandos making a solid first impression for the new studio and an enormous amount of attention being given to a discussion about when the first look at Superman may or may not arrive, other projects have quietly made progress behind the scenes.
Clayface will reportedly be a small-budget ($40M) horror-tragedy set within the all-new DCU and may take inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series version of the character.
Also seemingly lost in Deadline’s report on Clayface’s release date is that DC Studios has a third theatrical release date scheduled for 2026. The trade reports that May 29, 2026 has been set aside by Warner Bros. for a currently unknown project. While it shouldn’t be taken as confirmation, a recent Production Weekly listing indicated that DC Studios’ Teen Titans, written by Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow scribe Ana Nogueira, may be ready to go into production next year.
With Creature Commandos having made its debut on Max, the all-new DCU is officially underway. As DC Studios’ co-CEO James Gunn has said, however, the animated series is designed to be an appetizer, a way “for people to just take a little nibble [of the all-new DCU] and see what it tastes like.” In that metaphor, the main course becomes Superman, written and directed by Gunn, which is set to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.
To date, fans haven’t truly been able to get a good idea for the feel of the upcoming film but that’s all about to change with the debut of the film’s first teaser trailer expected before Christmas. Trailers for superhero films alwyas find themselves under intense scrutiny but it’s reasonable to assume that for a multitude of reasons, the first look at DC Studios’ Superman is facing a challenge worthy of the Man of Steel himself. With so many live-action iterations of the character already having made their way to screens big and small, everyone has a favorite Superman which means David Corenswet‘s version of Kal-El will be compared to all of them.
To that end, Gunn, who has loved Superman since seeing Richard Donner‘s 1978 film in theaters, has smartly taken measures to set Corenswet’s Kal-El apart from those that came before him. In an interview with Josh Horowitz, Gunn has explained that the biggest difference is that his inspiration for the character came from DC Comics’ Silver Age, in which Superman was a nigh invulnerable powerhouse.
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen the big science fiction Silver Age Superman aspects that we have in our movie,” said Gunn. “We’ve never seen…you’ll see when the movie comes out, but we’ve never seen this specific part of Superman’s life.” It’s not entirely clear to what Gunn is referring in the second quote, however, the Silver Age Superman came to Earth as an older child complete with memories of Krypton and began a superhero career as Superboy during his time in Smallville making him a known quantity much earlier than Henry Cavill’s Snyderverse version.
Whatever it is Gunn has planned for Superman, it’s clear that it will involve his comic book archenemy antagonizing him in a much different way than has been shown onscreen so far.
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen the Lex that [Nicolas Hoult] is,” explained Gunn.”Nic is imposing. You go, ‘Oh, fuck, poor Superman.’ That’s the thing we never see, not in film,” Gunn added. And, of course, he is not wrong. While Gene Hackman‘s Luthor may well be iconic, he was nowhere near as fully developed as many iterations of Lex have been in the comics, which seem to be serving as a waypoint for Hoult’s Luthor.
“Sometimes in the comics you go, ‘Oh, Superman is fucked because Lex is so smart and so good at what he’s doing’,” said Gunn, ” but in the movies, you’re going, ‘Lex is about to get fucked.’” From what we’ve seen from set photos, it does indeed seem that Luthor will gain a significant advantage over Kal-El in Superman.
Leading off an ambitious effort to create an ongoing shared cinematic universe with an animated series about a group of monsters that are certainly not anyone’s favorite DC Comics characters proves that DC Studios will not be fully dependent on DC’s Trinity. However, as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman go, so too, ultimately, will the DCU. And to that end, DC Studio’s co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran, also made sure to include projects featuring Superman and Batman and one that at the very least is adjacent to Wonder Woman when they revealed 10 of the projects that will be part of the first wave of DC Studio’s new era of storytelling.
Nearly two years after rolling out a peek at Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, things seem to be moving along smoothly. Creature Commandos will debut on December 5th, Superman will hit theaters next summer and both Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and the HBO streaming series Lanterns are set to kick off production in early 2025. However, despite reportedly having landed a director in Andy Muschetti, development on the studio’s Batman and Robin vehicle, The Brave and the Bold, remains static. Recently, Gunn has made it clear that the 10 projects he and Safran revealed were not necessarily the first 10 that fans would see, explaining that the slate is far more fluid and flexible and that projects that were not announced are far closer to beginning production than some of those that were. In an interview with Collider, Gunn took the time to give deeper insight into the studio’s process behind the scenes, explaining why cameras won’t be rolling on The Brave and the Bold any time soon.
“There’s no set timeline for anything,” said Gunn when asked when The Brave and the Bold might hit theaters. “The one thing that I’ve tried to make clear to people from the beginning, and the way that I hope we’re different, is that everything in DC is gonna be based on the writers. Until we have a screenplay that I’m totally happy with, that movie is not going to get made, no matter what it is.” One doesn’t have to be an expert at reading between the lines to understand why Bruce and Damian Wayne swinging into theaters together in 2025.
Gunn went on to explain that a pair of projects, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Lanterns, were able to move ahead in the queue because their scripts, written by Ana Nogueira and the team of Tom King, Damon Lindelof and Chris Mundy, respectively, came together quickly and wowed him. “We have been really fortunate with some screenplays,” Gunn explained. “Supergirl came in, and just, wow, Ana did such an amazing job. The Lanterns pilot came in, and now the whole Lantern series came in, and it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s wonderful, wonderful work.’”
While The Brave and the Bold was never given a release date, its inclusion in the initial slate reveal did give the impression that it would be making its way into theaters relatively quickly. As projects from the initial slate and others like Luca Guadagnino‘s Sgt. Rock, which DC Studios has not officially announced, start to move toward casting and production, the perception is that The Brave and the Bold might be in trouble; however, without naming any specific projects, Gunn reiterated that the reason some move ahead and other don’t is simply because the scripts aren’t where he believes they need to be to make a good film. “There are a couple of other things that people don’t know about. There are a couple of movies and TV shows that are green-lit or near-green-lit,” teased Gunn. “But it’s going to be based, always, on the story because, at the end of the day, if we’re happy with the story that we’re telling, that’s what matters most. And once Brave and the Bold gets to that point, then we’ll make the movie. That’s really all it is.“
Very few, if any, comic book superheroes boast a rogues’ gallery that rivals the one accumulated by Batman over the years. While the mainstays like Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman have found their way into many of the different versions of Batman’s theatrical and television stories over the years, the Caped Crusader has another dozen or so villains who are arguably more formidable than many other heroes’ archenemies.
As Matt Reeves‘ Batman Epic Crime Saga unfolds, it’s clear that his grounded Gotham will continue to focus on the aforementioned baddies as well as the city’s organized crime families. Meanwhile, DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran are charting a separate course for their vision of Batman who will play within the DCU sandbox that is still very much under construction. As part of the first public reveal of the plans for the DCU, the co-chairs shared the news that they were developing The Brave and The Bold as a vehicle to introduce not only Batman but also an as-yet undisclosed number of members of the Batfamily. Now, even as that project continues to be developed, a new report indicates the studio will utilize a pair of Batman’s deadliest rogues in another project.
According to THR’s Borys Kit, DC Studios has hired Captain America: Brave New World rewrite scribe Matthew Orton to develop a script that features Batman baddies Bane and Deathstroke.
Both villains have appeared in prior Batman films with Tom Hardy bringing Bane to life in The Dark Knight Rises and Joe Manganiello portraying Slade Wilson in the DCEU. A follow-up report by Deadline indicated that the nature of Orton’s project is not clear and that the film may not feature Bane and Deathstroke as the central characters of the piece but rather as part of a larger ensemble. As such it remains unclear what the project is but numerous online personalities are already laying down hints that Orton may be writing a Secret Six film for DC Studios.
Once dubbed the “Miistake on the Lake, Cleveland, Ohio has been the butt of plenty of jokes over the last century. However, the city has undergone a bit of a renaissance over the last decade, seeing the downtown transformed into an exemplar of how to revive long abandonded downtown areas. Downton Cleveland has served as the backdrop for several major films over the last few years and will do so again in DC Studios’ Superman. And as the area is being prepared for filming, photos of the areas being used to double as downtown Metropolis have been revealed and it is FULL of Easter eggs, nods and some plain old comic accurate depictions of key locations.
The most noteworthy example of how much attention to detail is being paid by James Gunn‘s design and production crews comes in the way of Cleveland’s Leader Building. Crews are turning the building into the exterior of The Daily Planet, complete with comic accurate logos and a near perfect front entrance.
Signs around town also reference New Troy, one of the boroughs of Metropolis where key locations such as The Daily Planet, Lexcorp Tower and the Ace of Clubs Pub.
Another round of photos show some storefronts including the Wounded Duck,a bar owned by Tim Drake, aka Robin, on Earth-2. It’s also very worth nothing that a storefront for Jitters coffee shop, featured in CW’s The Flash has been created, and gives a look at the Metropolis skyline. From the looks of it, The Daily Planet will be sporting its trademark massive globe atop it. It also looks as though a Lexcorp building may be outlined in the far left of the Jitters’ logo.
We certainly haven’t found all the references and nods but it is clear that Superman is being created with a deep reverence to quite possibly EVERYTHING DC-related that has preceded it.
For some time now, it’s been believed that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow would be the next DC Studios’ film to go before cameras. With a completed script and star Milly Alcock cast as Kara Zor-El, almost all the pieces have been in place to get production underway but one. And now, according to a trade report, that final piece has been found.
Deadline is reporting that DC Studios has Cruella director Craig Gillespie in its sights to helm the film. Should Gillespie sign on, the studio will look to begin principal photography before the end of 2024.
It’s hard to imagine a live-action Batman film franchise without Harvey Dent. Indeed, iterations of the character have already inhabited the Burton-verse and Nolan-verse, helping the charismatic wild card join the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin and Catwoman as household names among Batman’s rogues gallery. Rumors have persisted that Matt Reeves‘ The Batman Part II might feature the character and given the Gotham created by Reeves in 2022’s The Batman it’s easy to imagine Dent could play an integral role in the sequel. Now a rumor from an unfamiliar and unproven source suggests that DC Studios has found their man to fill the Elseworld’s role.
A quick check of IMDB shows that a stunt double and a personal assistant for Boyd Holbrook are listed for The Batman Part II. According to Medium’s “source”, Holbrook has joined the cast as Harvey Dent, though they mention that DC has declined to comment. Of course, taken by itself, IMDB can be misleading if not entirely unreliable, and time will bear out the reliability of Medium as a source for breaking news.
Previously, Josh Hartnett and Joel Edgerton had been rumored to be up for the role of Harvey Dent. With the release date having recently been moved forward a year to October 2, 2026, it’s possible that both of those of actors became unavailable, forcing DC to go looking for someone else to fill the role. According to Medium, that same release date shift allowed Holbrook’s schedule to be cleared up for the role.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s early projections are in and it looks like the fall box office continues to be questionable moving forward. Early projections by Box Office Pro are hinting at an opening weekend that matches the rest of the year so far, as it may open between $32M to $42M. That is quite a drop and even lower than The Marvel’s opening just a few weeks ago.
The only difference is that Aquaman sequel has the holiday legs in its favor given it’s releasing over the Holidays. Yet, even the reliable holiday season has become questionable as Thanksgiving isn’t giving many major releases a bigger push than some were hoping to see from their newest high-budget releases like Wish and Napoleon.
It’s starting to look like the original pre-COVID mapping of massive projects released in the fall is starting to drop. There’s not a lot of box office to gain here given recent numbers, but 2023 is generally been a detrimental box office disaster across the board. Many are pointing at the classic “superhero fatigue” but considering just how many productions have been hit, it seems like the year was just overstuffed and the price of admission was simply to high if there wasn’t a reason.
Outside of a few exceptions (this year’s Top 10 tells you everything you need to know about 2023), the year wasn’t kind to any new release and we’ll likely see a change in how they handle it. Sony is currently dedicated to pushing out as many projects as possible while Marvel Studios took a step back. Disney has reshuffled its schedule and not much is known about the rest. So, we’ll see what the future holds.
Ahead of an expected January start of production, DC Studios’ Superman: Legacy continues to add to its cast. According to a trade report, Portuguese model Sara Sampaio has signed on to play the role of Eve Teschmacher.
First introduced in Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman where the character was played by Valerie Perrine, Eve Teschmacher is an ally and possible love interest of Lex Luthor. Luthor will be played by Nicholas Hoult, who recently landed the role after months of speculation.
Superman: Legacy has been described as the “launch of the DCU” and, according to DC Studios co-chair Peter Safran, will be centered “on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.” The film was written and will be directed by Safran’s partner James Gunn who explained that Superman, played by David Corenswet, “is for everyone.[Superman] four-quadrant film that should speak to everyone in the world,” explained Gunn. “With our stories, we want to take it away from good guy vs. bad guy. There are really good—almost saintly—people and Superman is among them,” added the director.
Gunn’s saintly take on Kal-El is slated to hit theaters on July 11th, 2025.
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