Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: DCU News

  • DC Studios Updates Its 2026 Theatrical Release Slate

    DC Studios Updates Its 2026 Theatrical Release Slate

    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.

    One such project, a solo film featuring the Batman villain Clayface was just reported by Deadline to be moving ahead with a script by Mike Flanagan having pleased DC Studios powers that be. Though the report indicated the studio was still searching for a director, the belief was that an official announcement was imminent. And indeed it was.

    After being officially announced by DC Studios’ co-CEO James Gunn, Clayface has been slated for theatrical release on September 11, 2026.

    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.

    Taken in combination with the recent insider report that the studio had settled on the roster of heroes set to make up the Teen Titans, it’s worth monitoring the situation over thecnext few months. Whatever the mystery May project is, production on it would have to get underway in the next 5-6 months or so in order for it to make it to theaters on time.

    Should all dates hold, DC Studios 2026 theatrical release slate would be compromised of:

    May 29, 2026: Untitled DC Studios film

    June 26, 2026: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

    September 11, 2026: Clayface

    Source: Deadline

  • DC Studios Set to Move Forward with First Horror Movie

    DC Studios Set to Move Forward with First Horror Movie

    In recent weeks, James Gunn made it clear that one fundamental difference between the all-new DCU and the MCU, in which he worked for nearly a decade, will be be an emphasis on world building over story building. Whereas Marvel Studios builds Phases and Sagas around “big bads” such as Thanos, Kang and Doctor Doom, and weaves those characters and their stories into multiple projects, one goal of his at DC Studios is to make sure that each new DCU project can be enjoyed on its own merits.

    “These are interconnected stories but people are always going to be [saying], ‘Who’s the big bad?’,” Gunn explained to Josh Horowitz. “Are there big bads for connected films? Yes. But is this all about, ‘Hey, I’m telling this one story about this big bad’? No.”

    This is about a connected universe. We’re world building. We’re not story building. We’re not writing one story that has a beginning, middle, and end. We’re creating a universe in which people can go and join into this universe and experience it. It is much more like Star Wars than Marvel in that respect.

    -James Gunn on the narrative structure of the DCU

    What Gunn‘s goal helps DC Studios accomplish is to open additional avenues for talented creators who have ideas for original stories that wouldn’t necessarily mesh with larger, universe-defining narratives. Mike Flanagan, the creator behind Netflix’s horror series The Haunting of Hill House and its subsequent follow-ups, reportedly pitched one such project to Gunn in 2023: a Clayface solo film. Recent reports indicated that the project was among those the studio was preparing to move forward with soon. Now, a trade report has confirmed the project was given the green light.

    According to Deadline and Variety, production on Flanagan’s Clayface film will get underway in early 2025. Though Flanagan wrote the script for the project, he will not direct it.

    Though Clayface will be produced by Matt Reeves‘ 6th & Idaho Productions, it is expected to be part of the main DCU continuity rather than Reeves’ more grounded and practical Batman Epic Crime Saga. The character is set to make his DCU debut soon in Creature Commandos.

    Flanagan‘s history with horror projects could mean Clayface will mix and match elements from various iterations of the character that have appeared in DC Comics over last 80+ years. With an official announcement reportedly imminent, perhaps Gunn will shed some light on the direction of the project.

    Sources: Deadline, Variety, YouTube

  • James Gunn Reveals What Will Set His ‘Superman’ Apart from Prior Efforts

    James Gunn Reveals What Will Set His ‘Superman’ Apart from Prior Efforts

    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.

    Source: YouTube

  • James Gunn Addresses DC Studios’ Delayed ‘The Brave and the Bold’

    James Gunn Addresses DC Studios’ Delayed ‘The Brave and the Bold’

    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.“

    Source: Collider

  • DC Studios Streaming Project Gets Frustrating Update

    DC Studios Streaming Project Gets Frustrating Update

    Over the past several weeks, DC Studios co-chair James Gunn has made it clear that the relatively newly formed production company has one very important guiding principle: no DCU project is given the green light until a finished script has been turned in. As a result, some projects that were not part of the studio’s original list of upcoming projects have moved ahead of those that were. For example, Luca Guadagnino‘s Sgt. Rock film seems to have far more momentum at the moment than the studio’s first Batman and Robin story, The Brave and the Bold.

    Whether it’s a lesson learned from his time at Marvel Studios, one he’s learned since announcing a slate of 10 DCU projects that has already seen it’s order rearranged or a combination of the two, it’s something that’s clearly important to Gunn and will ultimately cause less consternation and confusion among fans.

    Perhaps the best example of how quickly even the best laid plans can change is the Viola Davis-led streaming series, Waller. Originally announced as the project set to follow Creature Commandos and planned to take place between Seasons 1 and 2 of Peacemaker, progress on Waller was slowed significantly in 2023 by a pair of protracted work stoppages in Hollywood. As a result, Season 2 of Peacemaker, which recently completed principal photography, jumped up in line while work continued on Waller.

    Like Peacemaker, the idea of Waller, a spinoff of Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad, predates the existence of the all-new DCU. In development since 2022, Waller is being written by Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (Supernatural, Doom Patrol). Gunn has said the series “won’t be as much a comedy as Peacemaker” while adding that it is “really fantastic and HBO loves it.”

    While the series obviously hasn’t been completely cast with no firm production start innsight, a few key characters will make their returns beside Davis’ Amanda Waller. One of those will be Steve Agee‘s A.R.G.U.S. agent John Economos, who played a key role in Season 1 of Peacemaker and will make an appearance in Creature Commandos. While promoting the latter in an interview with Screen Rant, Agee updated the progress on Waller.

    “I think they’re still doing scripts, so there’s no set time yet, and James won’t start something until he’s absolutely happy with the scripts and they’re they’re ready to go,” explained Agee. “So once they’re ready, I’m sure he’ll announce a start time – as an actor who loves to work, it can’t happen soon enough, though, for me!“

    And so a project once on track for a 2025 release date is currently undated and, as of now, still being written. While there’s no doubt that Waller will eventually make its way to HBO, it stands as a great example of why, moving forward, Gunn has decided to keep projects under wraps, at least officially, until they’re ready to roll.

    Source: Screen Rant

  • Rock, Sgt. Rock: DC Studios Targeting Daniel Craig for WW II Period Piece

    Rock, Sgt. Rock: DC Studios Targeting Daniel Craig for WW II Period Piece

    Ahead of the launch of the all-new DCU with the seven-episode animated series Creature Commandos, DC Studios’ co-chair James Gunn recently teased some surprises added to the impressive Chapter One: Gods and Monsters slate. “It’s really Creature Commandos, Superman, Peacemaker, Lanterns, Supergirl..and then some things people don’t know,” said Gunn. Now a new report may have identified one of those unknowns.

    According to Deadline, Gunn and co-chair Peter Safran are working to land former 007 Daniel Craig to lead director Luca Guadagnino‘s Sgt. Rock project.

    Word of the development of the project broke in September with Jeff “The In” Sneider reporting that Guadagnino was working with DC Studios on a film that Nexus Point News revealed to be a WW II period piece featuring Sgt. Rock. Rock’s infantry unit, Easy Company, has been confirmed to be included in Creature Commandos, leading to speculation that the character, who first appeared in 1959’s Our Army at War #81, may also appear.

    Craig and Guadagnino worked together on Queer, which premiered earlier this year in Venice and will hit theaters on a limited basis on November 27th. According to Deadline, should the pair reunite in Sgt. Rock, it is believed that Guadagnino will tackle the DC Studios’ project next, putting his American Psycho remake on the back burner for the time being.

    Source: Deadline

  • NYCC: DC Studios Head James Gunn Talks ‘Creature Commandos’ Team Dynamics and Rolls Out Bloody New Trailer

    NYCC: DC Studios Head James Gunn Talks ‘Creature Commandos’ Team Dynamics and Rolls Out Bloody New Trailer

    In less than two months, DC Studios’ all-new, all-different DCU will get with the debut of the canonical animated series Creature Commandos. Written by DC Studios co-chair James Gunn, the project will see characters from Amanda Waller’s Non-Human Internment Division team up with Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) to run black-ops missions.

    With a cast of stars including David Harbour, Maria Bakalova and Sean Gunn joining Grillo and Steve Agee, who will be reprising his role as John Economos from Peacemaker, Creature Commandos will set the tone for the DCU and, if the new trailer that debuted at NYCC 2024 is any indication, it will be a far more brutal and bloody universe than many expected. But while the trailer looked like it might give Amazon Studios’ Invincible a run for its money in terms of straight-up savagery, Gunn explained that the DCU does not have an “overall aesthetic.” “Each project out of DC Studios is going to be its own thing,” said Gunn. “It’s a connected universe, but there’s not an overall aesthetic.” So despite the gory trailer shown at NYCC, fans probably shouldn’t expect David Corenswet‘s Superman to have too much in common with Homelander.

    Gunn proved to be incredibly capable of balancing the dynamics and screentime of teams with Marvel Studios Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy; however, according to the Creature Commandos writer and producer, there’s some difference between the two team projects. “The characters aren’t all perfect,” said Gunn before adding that some characters in the series die for no reason. As for how the team comes together, Gunn explained that while that happens in Episode 1, “Lost-style” flashbacks will provide additional background on the Commandos. From there, a bromance between David Harbour‘s Frankenstein and Grillo‘s Flag was teased as well as an interesting romance brewing between Flag and Princess Ilana Rostovic, played by Bakalova.

    It looks as though Creature Commandos will have a lot going for it when it streams on HBO beginning December 5th.

    Source: Comic Book Club

  • ‘Superman’ Teaser Confirms Fan Favorite Character’s Appearance in the 2025 Film

    ‘Superman’ Teaser Confirms Fan Favorite Character’s Appearance in the 2025 Film

    In nearly every way imaginable, DC Studios’ Superman may be the most pivotal comic book movie since 2008. By choosing to write and direct the project and have it lead off the studio’s all-new, all-different DCU, DC Studios’ co-chair James Gunn went all in on making the Man of Steel a priority for the fledgling shared universe. In this way, Gunn’s vision for the character will be the audience’s first true impression and likely define whether or not the DCU ultimately takes off.

    The good news there is that Gunn’s love for the character and the incredible mythology that’s been built up around him over the last 86 years is well known. And while that doesn’t guarantee Superman will be a success, photos from the set and reports from screenings have given fans reason to hope, which is what the character is all about. Some of those set photos seemed to tease the inclusion of one of Superman’s most loveable supporting characters, Krypto. Now, Gunn has not only confirmed the inclusion of the Superdog but also shared a first look at the powerful pup!

    A well-known animal lover, Gunn also shared a touching story about how his own dog, Ozu, whoche and his wife rescued from an unfortunate situation. From the sounds of the story, Krypto will be both an integral part of the story and also cause some chaos!

    Gunn has always been a fan of Krypto and, dating back to when he first started work at DC has explored using the character in a project. Back in 2021, we erroneously reported that Gunn was developing a Krypto project for Warner Bros but Gunn’s interest in the character has clearly not waned. 

    Superman will land in theaters on July 11, 2025.

  • DC Studios Lands ‘Penny Dreadful’, ‘Doctor Who’ Director to Helm ‘Lanterns’ Openers

    DC Studios Lands ‘Penny Dreadful’, ‘Doctor Who’ Director to Helm ‘Lanterns’ Openers

    DC Studios’ first live-action streaming series, Lanterns, continues to evolve into a n impressive construct worthy of its two lead ring bearers. Led by what DC Studios’ co-chair James Gunn labeled as a crack team of writers, the project has begun to sound more and more like a potential prestige series for HBO. After nabbing Kyle Chandler to portray Hal Jordan, the studio has narrowed the search for an actor for co-lead John Stewart to the impressive pair of Aaron Pierce and Stephan James. And now it’s being reported a director for the first two episodes has also been found.

    According to THR, James Hawes has agreed to direct the first two episodes of Lanterns. Over a career that has spanned three decades, Hawes has directed episodes of sci-fi staple Doctor Who, Penny Dreadful and, most recently, AMC’s Snowpiercer and Apple TV’s Slow Horses.

    John Stewart and Hal Jordan are two of DC’s most compelling characters, and Lanterns brings them to life in an original detective story that is a foundational part of the unified DCU we’re launching next summer with Superman.

    Though previous reports had the studio targeting HBO’s Watchmen director Stephen Williams to helm the pilot, THR’s report would seem to indicate that either Williams passed or could be working on another part of the series.

    Described by DC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran as a “terrestrial-based investigation story” in the vein of HBO’s True Detective, the series will be focused on Green Lantern Corps members Hal Jordan and John Stewart who “find this ancient horror on Earth, and these guys are supercops on “Precinct Earth” which will play “a really big role leading us into the main story” of the studio’s initial shared narrative.

    Source: THR

  • Shadow of the Bat: With Two Robins on the Way, the DCU’s Batman Won’t Be Far Behind

    Shadow of the Bat: With Two Robins on the Way, the DCU’s Batman Won’t Be Far Behind

    As James Gunn and Peter Safran work to build out their vision of the DCU, the DC Studios’ co-chairs have made it clear that the shared narrative will extend beyond the screen and into multiple other media. Live-action streaming series, animated streaming series and video games will all help create the all-new, all-different canon of the DCU and part of the plan to maintain a sense of continuity is to have one actor play a role across all the different medium.  As an example, Frank Grillo will enter the DCU as the voice of Rick Flag Sr. in the animated Creature Commandos and then reprise the role in live-action in Season 2 of Peacemaker.

    Television, movies and games all intertwine within the same universe. We’re going to cast actors that are going to be able to play the characters in this, as well as in other things, some of which we’ve already cast.

    -James Gunn

    According to Gunn, part of the reason that they’ll seek to maintain continuity between the different projects is to ensure that all DC Studios’ projects are in equal ground. “We don’t want the series to feel in any way like step-children or lesser than,” said Gunn in a 2023 interview. It’s an intriguing way to move forward as it may continue to allow, as is the case for Grillo, actors to enter the DCU first with their voice before physically embodying their character.

    With that notion in mind, the recently announced animated film, Dynamic Duo, could become the door through which the DCU’s Caped Crusader enters the chat.

    Animation will lead into live action and back into animation. It’s a way to tell stories that are gigantic and huge, but without spending, you now, $50 million an episode.

    -James Gunn

    As part of the initial reveal of DC Studios’ Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, The Brave and the Bold was announced and described by Gunn as “a very strange sort of father-son story.” As one of the first five movies to be announced, it was easy to assume that The Brave and the Bold would make its way to screens sooner rather than later but for a multitude of reasons, that’s not yet come to pass. And that brings us to the newly announced Dynamic Duo.

    It’s important to note that as of now, there’s no clarity on whether or not Dynamic Duo will be set within the DCU, only that despite Matt Reeves‘ 6th and Idaho producing the film, it is not set in Reeves‘ Batman Epic Crime Saga. Indeed earlier this year Gunn cautioned that not every DC Studios’ animated project would be set in the DCU and Dynamic Duo may be the first example of that; however, if it is not, then it seems extremely likely that a project which features two Robins would also include Batman. In fact, Reeves pretty clearly indicated it would.

    I have wanted to make a film with Arthur and Swaybox for many years, and for that film to be Dynamic Duo, an incredibly special and unique Batman and Robin story for families, is a dream.

    With a script by Coco and Lightyear scribe Matthew Aldrich already in the works and a director on board, work could begin on the project at any time which means casting could get underway imminently. When that happens, will Gunn be searching for the voice of (and eventually the face of) the DCU’s Batman? Hopefully, given his social media presence, that question is answered by Gunn before long.

    Sources: CBR, Cartoon Brew, Deadline