Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: dcu

  • ‘Superman’ Set Prop Solves New Teaser’s Major Mystery

    ‘Superman’ Set Prop Solves New Teaser’s Major Mystery

    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.

    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.

  • James Gunn Reveals the One Major Marvel Mistake He Won’t Repeat in ‘Superman’

    James Gunn Reveals the One Major Marvel Mistake He Won’t Repeat in ‘Superman’

    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 in because 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.

    “So I’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.”

    Source: Phase Hero

  • ‘Superman’ Star on Presenting a Different Type of Threat to Kal-El

    ‘Superman’ Star on Presenting a Different Type of Threat to Kal-El

    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.

    Superman lands in theaters on July 11, 2025

    Source: Comic Book

  • Matt Reeves Confirms When ‘The Batman Part II’ Will Begin Production

    Matt Reeves Confirms When ‘The Batman Part II’ Will Begin Production

    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.

    Sources: World of Reel, Variety

  • James Gunn Confirms ‘Superman’ Teaser Release Date as Official Logo and Poster Are Released

    James Gunn Confirms ‘Superman’ Teaser Release Date as Official Logo and Poster Are Released

    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.

  • What to Expect from the Future of the DCU and When To Expect It

    What to Expect from the Future of the DCU and When To Expect It

    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.

  • 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

  • ‘Creature Commandos’ Episode 3 Teases the DCU’s First Superteam

    ‘Creature Commandos’ Episode 3 Teases the DCU’s First Superteam

    DC Studios’ Creature Commandos opened with two strong, action-packed episodes that introduced Task Force M and an all-new DCU rich with history and the sort of lived-in vibe that allows for other stories to exist in just about any corner. By setting stories in a universe where Eric Frankenstein has been stalking The Bride for a century, James Gunn has provided room for other character’s stories to have existed as well. And in Episode 3, “Cheers to the Tin Man”, Gunn took advantage of another long-lived character’s story to potentially set the stage for the DCU’s first super team.

    Used to convey the history of G.I. Robot, the third episode of Creature Commandos introduced Doctor Will Magnus into the DCU continuity. Twenty years after the end of World War II, G. I. Robot finds himself in the possession of Magnus, a self-described AI specialist who hopes to study the robot in an effort to build the next wave of automatons. As the flashback to this time period comes to a close, Magnus is shown looking at a chalkboard that includes a set of symbols familiar to fans of DC Comics: the Metal Men.

    Created in 1962 by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru, DC’s Metal Men first appeared in 1962’s Showcase #37 and have evolved and survived throughout all the publishing houses new initiatives. Named after the metals from which they were built, Gold, Iron, Lead, Mercury, Platinum, and Tin also embodied the properties of the elements from which they were created. The team has served as heroes since the Silver Age of DC Comics and now can exist as such in the all-new DC Universe.

    Though there’s been no indication from DC Studios’ co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran that a Metal Men project is in the works, one doesn’t necessarily have to be in order for the team to play a role in the DCU. While there’s no need for Magnus to have survived into the present day, his automatons could have and could show up in any number of upcoming projects.

    As set photos from Superman have established, the DCU is already full of heroes who h whom the public is familiar. In a world where Hawkgirl, Metamorpho and a Guy Gardner are already active, it wouldn’t be shocking to learn that in-universe inhabitants are already familiar with the Metal Men. Of course, given their own rich comic book history, should someone present Gunn and Safran with a solid pitch, a Metal Men project could easily be used to flesh out the history of any number of years between the 1960s and 2020s. And therin lies the power of Gunn’s decree to tell stories for the sake of stories rather than for an overarching shared narrative. Given the success of Creature Commandos, an animated Metal Men streaming series would most likely be greeted warmly by fans.

    The first three episodes of Creature Commandos are now streaming on Max.

  • 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