Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: DCU News

  • ‘Lanterns’: DC Studios Search for John Stewart Reportedly Nearing Its End

    ‘Lanterns’: DC Studios Search for John Stewart Reportedly Nearing Its End

    Lanterns will be the first HBO original series created under the DC Studios banner that will be part of the shared narrative of the all-new, all-different DCU.  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.

    Developed by what Safran’s partner James Gunn described as “a crack team of writers” that consists of Tom King, Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof, the series was ordered straight to series by HBO earlier this year. Shortly thereafter, the studio began searching for a star to portray Jordan and after being turned down by a few big names, landed Emmy-award-winning actor Kyle Chandler for the part. With Chandler on board, the search for Stewart is underway and it seems to be moving quickly. Just hours after a rumored shortlist of actors for the part made its way online, THR’s Borys Kit reported that only two actors are left in contention.

    According to Kit’s report, either Rebel Ridge breakout star Aaron Pierre or Stephan James (Beacon 23 and Selma) is expected to land the role. Additionally, Kit’s sources believe that the casting could be finalized quickly with a decision being made before the end of September.

    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.

    –James Gunn and Peter Safran on HBO’s Lanterns

    Gunn and Safran’s DCU will debut this December with the animated streaming series Creature Commandos but, according to Gunn, kicks off in earnest when Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025. Fellow Green Lantern Corps member Guy Gardner, played by Nathan Fillion, will appear in Superman, setting the stage for the introduction of Jordan and Stewart when Lanterns hits HBO, presumably in 2026.

    Source: THR

  • Matthias Schoenaerts Lands Villainous Role in ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow ‘

    Matthias Schoenaerts Lands Villainous Role in ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow ‘

    With James Gunn‘s Superman in post production and reportedly shaping up to be a very solid start for DC Studios, Gunn and DC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran have some time to devote to getting the next round of projects ready to roll. The studio’s HBO streaming series, Lanterns,which is scheduled for a January shoot in Atlanta, has been making headlines lately and recently found its Hal Jordan in Kyle Chandler. Now, the studio’s next theatrical project has some casting news of its own.

    According to THR, Matthias Schoenaerts has signed on to be the main antagonist in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

    Based on Tom King’s DC Comics series of the same name, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is set to film in the UK in January ahead of a June 27, 2026 release. Milly Alcock landed the lead role of Kara Zor-El in January 2024, beating out Emilia Jones and Meg Donnelly to play the cousin of Kal-El. Alcock’s Supergirl is expected to first appear in 2025’s Superman.

    According to the trade report, Schoenaerts will play a villain known as Krem of the Yellow Hills. While that’s not a name that sounds as scary as Darkseid or Doomsday, Krem is a fairly ruthless baddie and, he did cross the line by inflicting damage on Kara’s dog, Krypto, in the comics, leading to Kara’s Shooter moment.

    Source: THR

  • DC Studios ‘Lanterns’ Finds Its Hal Jordan

    DC Studios ‘Lanterns’ Finds Its Hal Jordan

    First announced by DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran in January 2022, the streaming series Lanterns is poised to play a major role in the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Described by 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 basically supercops on “Precinct Earth” which will play “a really big role leading us into the main story” of the studio’s initial shared narrative.

    Led by what Gunn described as “a crack team of writers” that consists of Tom King, Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof, the series was ordered straight to series by HBO earlier this year. Following that news, the studio began searching for big names on both sides of the camera, eyeing Primetime Emmy Award-winning director Stephen Williams to direct the pilot and targeting star Josh Brolin to portray an older, grizzled version of Hal Jordan. With Brolin passing on the role, the studio continued its search for a big star but reportedly had trouble landing an A-lister for the role. With an eye on a January start of production, there was no true rush to find an actor to fill the role; however, according to a trade report, the studio has found its Hal Jordan.

    THR’s Borys Kit and Rick Porter reported that Primetime Emmy award winner Kyle Chandler will be suiting up as the DCU’s Hal Jordan.

    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.

    -James Gunn and Peter Safran on HBO’s Lanterns

    Chandler won his Emmy in 2011 for his portrayal of Texas football coach Eric Taylor in the NBC series, Friday Night Lights. Over the past decade, Chandler has had plenty of other memorable roles, starring as FBI Agent Denham in The Wolf of Wall Street and in both Godzilla: King of Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. With Chandler on board, the studio will continue its search for an actor to portray John Stewart, though Elvis star Kelvin Harrision Jr. was recently rumored to be a top choice.

    Source: THR

  • DC Studios ‘Lanterns’ Struggling to Land A-List Lead

    DC Studios ‘Lanterns’ Struggling to Land A-List Lead

    While their Power Rings are flashy, the members of the Green Lantern Corps are nothing without willpower…and right now DC Studios could use a heavy dose of it as they continue the search for their Hal Jordan. Just a couple of weeks after a star-studded shortlist for the “grizzled vet” of the Corps was revealed, a new report indicates that several stars on that list have passed on the role.

    Nexus Point News originally reported that Goonies and Avengers star Josh Brolin was DC Studios’ top choice to bring Hal Jordan to life in the DCU. Shortly after that, THR’s Borys Kit and Aaron Couch shared the news that Brolin had passed on the role and that the studio was moving down its wishlist, which reportedly included names such as Chris Pine, Ewan McGregor and Matthew McConaughey. However, THR’s report cast some doubt on those reports while also sharing that McConaughey was not going to be suiting up as Jordan either.

    This is a story of a couple of Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan.
    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 in it they discover a terrifying mystery that ties into our largest story of the DCU.

    _James Gunn on DC Studios Lanterns

    With production on the series slated to kick off in Atlanta in January 2025, the studio still has time to fill the role of Jordan; however, given that the series will focus on both Jordan and fellow Lantern Jon Stewart, they’ll likely want to roll through at least a couple of rounds of table reads with potential actors for Stewart to ensure the two leads have the right chemistry.

    Described by DC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran as a “space opera” and  “terrestrial-based investigation story” in the vein of True Detective, Lanterns will play a “really big role leading us into the main story” of Chapter One. With a series bible put together by the “crack team” of Damon Lindelof, Tom King and Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy, Lanterns was ordered straight to series by HBO and DC Studios was reportedly eyeing Primetime Emmy-Award winning director Stephen Williams to helm the pilot episode. A new report by insider Daniel RPK indicates that the studio is also in talks with Lucy Tcherniak to direct some episodes of the series as well. However, until they land a Hal Jordan, Lanterns will remain grounded.

  • James Gunn Confirms Which DC Studios Project Will Follow ‘Superman’

    James Gunn Confirms Which DC Studios Project Will Follow ‘Superman’

    DC Studios’ new shared cinematic universe is set to get off the ground with Creature Commandos, an animated streaming series set for a December release on HBO. Studio co-chair James Gunn recently explained that Creature Commandos will give fans “a little nibble” of what to expect from the DCU before it begins in earnest in 2025 with Superman. Since Gunn and Peter Safran revealed their plans for the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters in early 2022, some projects have leaped ahead of others causing some confusion about what’s up next for DC Studios after Superman. Thanks to Gunn, that won’t be a problem anymore.

    While responding to a fan on Threads, Gunn confirmed that Peacemaker Season 2 is on deck behind Superman and on track for a 2025 release.

    Before the extended work stoppages in Hollywood in 2023, another streaming series, Waller, was expected to follow Superman. However, Gunn revealed that the writers’ strike had slowed Waller’s development, causing the studio to rethink its streaming slate.

    Season 1 of the John Cena-led Max series, which Gunn created, caught fans by surprise. Production on Season 2 began while Gunn was still working on Superman, leading to some speculation that David Corenswet’s Man of Steel could appear in the streaming series. Given that Peacemaker is now confirmed to be the direct follow-up to Superman, it does seem increasingly likely that not only will there be some crossover between the two projects but it will be used to explain how Cena’s character comes to be active in the new DCU.

  • ‘Creature Commandos’: James Gunn Reveals Animated Series Release Date, Teases Its Place in the DCU

    ‘Creature Commandos’: James Gunn Reveals Animated Series Release Date, Teases Its Place in the DCU

    James Gunn and Peter Safran set themselves the titanic task of creating an all-new, all-different DCU from the rumble of the previous iteration. To do so, the DC Studios co-chairs had to ensure that their projects looked and felt as different as possible from their predecessor…and by launching the new shared universe with a canonical animated series, they’ve done just that.

    Written by Gunn, the seven-episode streaming series Creature Commandos will provide what he calls “a little nibble” of what to expect from the DCU, allowing fans to “see what it tastes like.” Now fans finally know when they can expect the hors d’oeuvres.

    Gunn took to social media to reveal that Creature Commandos will debut on Max on December 5th.

    In an interview with EW, Gunn explained that part of what drew him to Creature Commandos was how far removed it was from the “mainstream” DC Comics series that most folks know and love.

    The thing I’ve always loved about DC Comics was that you had your mainstream comics that always ran, but they also had these tonally different comics like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns and All-Star Superman. It was different from Marvel in that way. That’s something that I really want to retain within the studio, that every project is going to bring a different vision by the artists who are creating it.

    -James Gunn, EW, September 2024

    And for Gunn, dealing with “different” has proven to be his wheelhouse in superhero fare so far. While working with Marvel Studios, Gunn bravely launched a Guardians of the Galaxy franchise full of misfit comic book characters that general audiences had never heard of before and turned them into household names. While fans might see some similarities between the Guardians and the Commandos, Gunn cautions that this isn’t just an animated Guardians redux. “I’m used to dealing with oddballs and irregular types and weirdos,” said Gunn. “That’s what Guardians is, and Creature Commandos is kind of like Guardians without the sentimentality. The Guardians are all really good characters at their heart, and that just isn’t necessarily the case with the creatures.“

    While kicking off an all-new, all-different shared universe with an animated series filled with characters that only hardcore fans of DC Comics will know and that may not prove as loveable and Rocket and Groot might seem risky, Gunn is confident that Creature Commandos will effectively set the table for the DCU. “Superman is the true start of everything, it’s a humongous epic. This is a way for people to just take a little nibble and see what it tastes like,” Gunn says. “There are a ton of fun references to other DC stuff, a bunch of hints for things that are coming. So I think it’s just an extraordinarily fun way to start.“

    Source: EW

  • DC Studios Reportedly Reuniting ‘Challengers’ and ‘Queer’ Creatives for Upcoming Period Piece

    DC Studios Reportedly Reuniting ‘Challengers’ and ‘Queer’ Creatives for Upcoming Period Piece

    When DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran revealed the first 10 projects of the DCU’s first chapter in its all-new shared narrative, they made it clear that there were plenty of other projects in the creative pipeline yet to be announced. Since then, a Teen Titans film was reported to be in the works with Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow writer Ana Nogueira developing the script. Now, it seems as though another new project is in the works, the identity of which is pretty surprising.

    Following a report by Jeff “The In” Sneider that Challengers and Queer director Luca Guadagnino was “being courted” by DC Studios for an unnamed project, a second report is filling in the blanks.

    According to Nexus Point News, Guadagnino will reunite with scribe Justin Kuritzkes, with whom he worked on Challengers and Queers, to create a Sgt. Rock film for DCU Studios. Additionally, the site claims the film will be a period piece set during World War II.

    Given the attention Gunn and Safran seem to be devoting to DC Comics heavy hitters, a Sgt. Rock project was probably not on a lot of folks’ bingo cards. However, the character has nearly been brought to the big screen multiple times before with talent such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis attached to star and Guy Ritchie once attached to direct.

    Originally reported to be in development by the DCU Leaks Reddit page, this is the first bit of news about the Sgt. Rock project in over six months. At the time, it was reported that an “A-list” director was interested in helming the project.

    Source: NPN

  • DC Studios Eyeing Primetime Emmy Award-Winning Director for ‘Lanterns’

    DC Studios Eyeing Primetime Emmy Award-Winning Director for ‘Lanterns’

    Co-chair James Gunn described DC Studios’ streaming series Lanterns as playing a “really big role leading us into the main story” of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. And Gunn and Peter Safran have assembled an incredibly talented group of creators to put the project together. In May, Gunn announced the “crack team of writers” behind Lanterns: DC Comics writer Tom King, Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy and Lost and HBO’s Watchmen creator, Damon Lindelof. Having already put together a team of heavy hitters to create the show, the studio next set out to land some big talent to put in front of the camera, offering the role of Hal Jordan to Josh Brolin. Now, as they wait on Brolin’s decision and continue to prepare for production to kick off, they’ve also begun searching for directors for the series and, once again, have shot for the stars.

    This is a story of a couple of Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan.
    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 in it they discover a terrifying mystery that ties into our largest story of the DCU.

    -James Gunn on Lanterns
    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, DC Studios has contacted Prime Time Emmy Award-winning director Stephen Williams about directing the pilot episode of Lanterns.

    Williams checks all the boxes as an excellent choice for Lanterns having directed two episodes each of HBO’s Watchmen and Westworld as well as multiple episodes of Ray Donovan, The Walking Dead, and, of course, twenty-six episodes of Lost. A frequent collaborator with Lindelof, Williams would be working from what Gunn described as “a wonderful pilot script and bible” from the creative team. At this time, no other directors have been mentioned for Lanterns, which was ordered straight to series at HBO earlier this year.

  • ‘Lanterns’: New Report Reveals More Stars on DC Studios’ Short List for Hal Jordan

    ‘Lanterns’: New Report Reveals More Stars on DC Studios’ Short List for Hal Jordan

    DC Studios’ Lanterns is shaping up as a major HBO prestige series. With a series “bible” created by a writers’ room loaded with talent, the studio is now targeting Prime Time Emmy Award-winning director Stephen Williams to helm the pilot and star Josh Brolin to fill the role of Hal Jordan, one of the series’ two leads. However, should he pass, it sounds as though DC Studios co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran have more big-time talent in mind to bring Jordan to the all-new, all-different DCU.

    Alright, Alright, Alright…

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, should Brolin turn down the role of Jordan, Matthew McConaughey is one of at least two big names DC Studios has interest in approaching. Though he has only recently dabbled in superhero fare as the voice of Cowboypool in Deadpool & Wolverine, McConaughey is no stranger to working with HBO on a prestige series. McConaughey’s role as Detective Rust Cohle in the first season of True Detective landed him ten award nominations, making him one of the series’ most recognized talents. McConaughey would be a bold choice for the role of Jordan and would certainly bring with him the requisite charisma and brashness of the former test pilot turned space cop.

    Hello There!

    If McConaughey‘s name appearing on a short list of actors for the role of Hal Jordan surprised you, Ewan McGregor would certainly do the same and then some. Alas, Sneider shared the news that Obi-Wan Kenobi is on DC Studios’ radar for the role of Jordan. McGregor most recently starred in the Hulu series A Gentleman in Moscow and also received rave reviews for his work on Fargo and won a Primetime Emmy for his role in the Netflix limited series Halston.

    While there’s been no official timeline provided by Gunn or Safran, with a casting search underway for the series’ leads, it would seem reasonable to assume that production on Lanterns could begin in early 2025.

  • A Major DC Studios’ Project Is Already Reportedly Facing Delays

    A Major DC Studios’ Project Is Already Reportedly Facing Delays

    Though the first project set in the all-new DCU does for several more months, there are plenty of good vibes about the shared universe being shepherded by DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran. The animated series Creature Commandos will bat leadoff for the DCU with the studio’s biggest star, Superman, on deck for a 2025 release. Plenty of other projects have made news lately, including Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which seemed to be coming together quickly. A new report indicates DC Studio has pumped the brakes a bit on the film.

    According to insider Daniel RPK, once on track to start production later this year, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow now won’t begin principal photography until January 2025.

    In our story, we have Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents. Kara was on Krypton. She was on a piece of Krypton that drifted away from the planet and she lived there for the first fourteen years of her life in a horrible situation where she watched everyone around her die. So, she’s a much harsher and more fucked up Supergirl than you’ve been used to thus far.

    -James Gunn on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

    Ana Nogueira‘s screenplay for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will be based on the 2021 comic book run of the same name which was written by Tom King. “Tom has been one of the architects of this entire situation,” said Gunn of King’s involvement in creating the foundation of the DCU. “He’s been one of the guys in the room with us, along with four or five other writers. I love his take on these characters. He just turns them slightly to be something very unique.“

    Despite the slight delay in getting things up and running, there’s no indication that director Craig Gillespie‘s film won’t make its June 26, 2026 release date. It is expected that Kara Zor-El, played by Milly Alcock, will make her first DCU appearance in 2025’s Superman.