Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: dcu

  • Matthew Lillard’s ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Role Could Streeeeeetch Into a Terrific New DCU Team

    Matthew Lillard’s ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Role Could Streeeeeetch Into a Terrific New DCU Team

    The internet has a funny way of remembering things, and right now, it’s fixated on a 26-year-old conversation between two friends. Following the news that Matthew Lillard has officially joined the cast of Man of Tomorrow, a persistent and highly logical theory has taken over: Eel O’Brian is finally coming to the big screen.

    While Plastic Man sounds like a wild swing, the evidence suggests this isn’t just fan-casting—it’s a decades-long manifestation.

    The bedrock of this theory isn’t just Lillard’s lanky frame; it’s a direct confirmation from James Gunn himself. Back in March 2023, Gunn took to social media to confirm a long-standing rumor: while filming the first Scooby-Doo in 2000, he and Lillard spent their downtime discussing a Plastic Man movie.

    Gunn has gone on record stating that he always thought Lillard’s physical comedy and rubbery facial expressions made him the definitive choice for the role. In his recent “no reason” photo with Lillard on Instagram, fans noticed the actor’s current look—lean, expressive, and wearing a very Eel O’Brian style of glasses.

    Why introduce Plastic Man in a Superman sequel? Perhaps Gunn is continuing that development of another group of heroes to the new DC Universe.

    The Terrifics

    We already know that Man of Tomorrow features the returns of Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). In the comics, these two are the core of a team called The Terrifics—and the third member is almost always Plastic Man. Lillard’s chaotic energy would be the perfect foil to Gathegi’s stoic intellect and Carrigan’s tragic Metamorpho. Introducing him here allows Gunn to build toward a Terrifics spin-off without needing a full origin story movie.

    Some fans have argued the 56-year-olf Lillard might be too old, but Gunn has alreadly pivoted his DCU to feature seasoned heroes, like Lanterns Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan. A veteran Plastic Man who has been stretching for years fits the established timeline of this universe.

    If Lillard is Plastic Man, it’s a full-circle moment for two of the industry’s most resilient creators. Gunn wrote the scripts that helped make Lillard a 2000s icon, and now he’s bringing him into the Gods and Monsters era. Plastic Man is a character that requires a specific mix of tragedy and absurdity—traits Lillard has mastered from Scream to The Bear.

  • Greg Mottola Tops Short List for DC Studios’ Secret (Six) Deathstroke and Bane Film

    The “Gods and Monsters” slate just got a lot more lethal. In a blockbuster exclusive, Deadline reports that Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) is among the favorites to direct the Deathstroke & Bane team-up film for DC Studios.

    While Mottola is best known for his sharp, character-driven comedies and indie dramas, James Gunn and Peter Safran are deeply familiar with his work thanks to his time on Peacemaker.

    Though a script is still being written, it’s believed that the film will be a standalone villain-centric entry, similar in tone to the Suicide Squad. Indeed it’s been speculated that the project may be a Secret Six film with Deathstroke and Bane at its center.

    The screenplay is being penned by Matthew Orton (Moon Knight, Captain America: Brave New World), suggesting the tactical, military elements will be grounded and gritty.

    Source: Deadline

  • Mystery in Metropolis — Matthew Lillard Reunites with James Gunn for ‘Man of Tomorrow’

    Mystery in Metropolis — Matthew Lillard Reunites with James Gunn for ‘Man of Tomorrow’

    The Matthew Lillard Renaissance is officially hitting the DCU. According to Deadline, horror icon and fan-favorite Matthew Lillard has joined the cast of Man of Tomorrow.

    While his role is being kept under a fortress-level” secrecy by DC Studios, the casting marks a major 20-year reunion for Lillard and James Gunn, who famously collaborated on the live-action Scooby-Doo films written by Gunn in the early 2000s.

    Lillard is currently on one of the most impressive runs of his career, and joining the DCU is the cherry on top. Fans just finished seeing Lillard as the enigmatic Mr. Charles in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, where he played a manipulative political fixer working against Kingpin.

    Mr. Charles (Matthew Lillard) in Marvel Television’s DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN SEASON 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Jojo Whilden. © 2026 MARVEL.

    Gunn is known for alumni casting, and Lillard—the definitive live-action Shaggy—is a perfect fit for Gunn’s quirky but high-stakes world-building. Between returning for Scream 7, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and the upcoming Carrie series, Lillard is officially the hardest-working man in genre film right now.

    As usual, the internet is already rife with theories for the undisclosed role. Some believe he could be playing a character like Snapper Carr or a high-ranking government official (perhaps a DC version of his Born Again role) who serves as a liaison between Superman and the U.N. With Brainiac (Lars Eidinger) as the main threat, some theorists are looking at Lillard to play a more eccentric, tech-based villain like Winslow Schott, aka Toyman.

    Filming is already well underway in Atlanta under the working title “Exodus.” Lillard joining the cast now suggests he may have a significant role in the film’s second act. Man of Tomorrow is locked in for a July 9, 2027 theatrical release, serving as the first true sequel in Gunn’s new DC Universe.

  • James Gunn Explains Why One of DC Studios’ Original Gods and Monsters Projects Won’t Be Made Anytime Soon

    James Gunn Explains Why One of DC Studios’ Original Gods and Monsters Projects Won’t Be Made Anytime Soon

    When DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran rolled out the initial slate for their new company, The Authority was one of a few non-traditional, non-household projects that caught fans’ attention.

    Through Matthew Vaughn was reported to be attached to the project, it never gained enough traction at the studio and was eventually discarded. Now, Gunn has taken to social media so address one particular rumor about The Authority and why it never made it to the screen.

    “I would have never had time to do this, and although I know this is a popular theory online, I never had an intention of writing or directing The Authority,” Gunn revealed on Threads. “The script wasn’t quite there, but more importantly, it didn’t work in terms of the larger DCU, both in terms of the story and practical concerns. Maybe someday. Not soon.”

    As usual, Gunn’s very matter-of-fact approach to the explanation of why the project was shelved leaves little room for further questioning. As intriguing an idea as it was, The Authority was perhaps too big of an idea to bring to the DCU in its current state.

  • The Future of the DCU — James Gunn Updates a Pair of Projects Thought to Have Been Scrapped

    The Future of the DCU — James Gunn Updates a Pair of Projects Thought to Have Been Scrapped

    The architect of the DCU has spoken, and he’s clearing the air on two projects  from the original Gods and Monsters slate that were believed to have been scrapped. Taking to social media, James Gunn took a moment to address the production status of Booster Gold and the Wonder Woman prequel series, Paradise Lost.

    While fans have been worried about the radio silence surrounding these titles, Gunn’s update suggests that things are moving at two very different speeds.

    Booster Gold: Still in the Lab

    Regarding the time-traveling showman Michael Jon Carter, Gunn confirmed that Booster Gold remains in active development.

    Described in 2022 by DC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran as a “loser from the future who uses his basic future technology to come back to today to pretend to be a superhero“, Michael Jon Carter isn’t one of DC Studios household names but has been a character Gunn has been locked in on since putting together DC Studios Chapter One: Gods and Monsters slate. Though there had been rumors that Kumail Nanjiani had landed the role of Carter, no official word has ever come on the matter.

    In July 2025, Deadline reported that David Jenkins (Our Flag Means Death) had taken over duties on cracking the code on a pilot and, potentially, taking over as showrunner if Gunn and Safran were pleased.

    Paradise Lost: “Extreme Development”

    The bigger surprise came when Gunn described Paradise Lost as being in “extreme development” (no, I don’t know what that means, either).

    Set on the island nation of Themyscira before the birth of Wonder Woman, Paradise Lost was described as a “Game of Thrones’-ish story” that will explore “the political intrigue behind a society of all women,” according to Safran. Gunn expanded on Safran’s comments about the series, which he said will examine the “beautiful” and “ugly truths” behind Paradise Island.

    Gunn isn’t rushing. By putting Paradise Lost into “extreme development,” he’s signaling that the prequel isn’t just a spin-off—it’s a prestige epic designed to redefine the Amazons. Meanwhile, keeping Booster Gold “in development” shows he’s willing to wait for the perfect creative team rather than hitting a release date for the sake of it. Above all else, the news reveals that the DCU–or at least Gunn’s plans for it–will live on into the late 2020s despite concerns to the contrary.

  • ‘Clayface’: James Gunn Confirms New Film’s Place on the DCU Timeline

    ‘Clayface’: James Gunn Confirms New Film’s Place on the DCU Timeline

    Following the release of the teaser trailer for DC Studios’ Clayface, fans expressed some confusion about if the film’s titular monster was the same character that debuted in Season 1 of Creature Commandos. It’s a fair question given that the title of Clayface has belonged to more than half a dozen characters in the pages of DC Comics and also because in it’s short history, the DCU’s timeline has expanded chronologically…until now.

    While responding to a fan’s question about when Clayface takes place within the DCU, DC Studios’ co-chair James Gunn revealed that the events of the new film are set before Superman, making it “the first DCU film out of chronological order.”

    Set in Gotham and inspired by Batman the Animated Series, Clayface will tell Matt Hagen’s origins as the muddy menace. With it being set an undisclosed period of time before Superman, it leaves plenty of room for DC Studios to either explain how Hagen continues on as the character or pass the mantle to another character.

    Clayface will “center on an ascending actor whose face is disfigured by a gangster. As a last resort, the actor turns to a fringe Elizabeth Holmes-style scientist for help. At first, the experiment is a successful but … well, it wouldn’t be a horror movie if the story ended right there, would it?”

  • ‘Clayface’ Trailer Reveals a Terrifying Body Horror Vision for the DCU

    Look fear in the face—or what’s left of it. DC Studios has officially dropped the first trailer for Clayface, and it is a stark departure from the traditional superhero aesthetic.

    Written by horror maestro Mike Flanagan and directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil), the film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, an actor whose face is destroyed in a brutal attack. The footage shows Hagen in a hospital bed, bandaged and bloody, before shifting into The Fly territory as his cells begin to liquefy. We get a shadowy glimpse of Hagen transforming his arm into a spiked mace, but the horror remains grounded in the tragedy of his lost identity.

    This is a full-blown body horror movie that just so happens to me set in the DCU. The trailer concludes with Hagen in a bathtub literally wiping his own face away with his hand. If you want the dark, tragic side of Gotham without the Bat-Signal, this is your movie.

  • ‘Clayface’ Trailer Rumored for Today; “Regenerative Medicine” Teased

    DC Studios has been quietly dropping breadcrumbs for their Clayface movie and now they’re about to introduce the DCU’s first true monster movie. Following a week of viral teasers focused on actor Matt Hagen’s “fading looks,” the first trailer for Clayface is expected to drop later today.

    After launching anInstagram account for the film which serves as a viral marketing tool, a new teaser for Gotham Medical magazine features a headline about “The New Face of Regenerative Medicine.” Reports suggest the first trailer is dropping today.

    The viral campaign has focused on a fictional publication called Gotham Medical, highlighting Dr. Caitlin Bates’ (Naomi Ackie) breakthrough in regenerative medicine. The “tragedy” of the film reportedly stems from Hagen using this untested tech to restore his face after a disfiguring accident, only to have his cellular structure become permanently unstable.

    Clyafacs is shaping up as a movie monster tragedy. The marketing is framing Hagen’s transformation as a failed experimental treatment to save his acting career, rather than a simple accident. Descriptions of footage from the film shown at CinemaCon suggest a film that is part The Fly and part Phantom of the Opera. It’s a grounded, heartbreaking look at a man who can become anyone but can no longer remain himself.

  • First ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Set Photo Reveals Logo, Teases Classic Luthor/Superman Battle

    First ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Set Photo Reveals Logo, Teases Classic Luthor/Superman Battle

    Production has begun on DC Studios Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, and director James Gunn has wasted no time in teasing the film’s core dynamic and revealing a sneaky look at the film’s logo.

    In a photo shared by Gunn on social media, a chess board sits front and center near a badge that confirms Nicholas Hoult‘s Lex Luthor will still be in Van Kull prison when the film begins. Fans of the comics will likely recall that Luthor is a bit of a chess master and has played the game against both Clark and Jonathan Kent while they visited him in prison.

    While it’s intentionally a little tougher to see, a logo that combines the crest of the House of El with the iconic three-dot Brainiac can be seen on the clapboard at the top of the photo.

    In Man of Tomorrow, Brainiac, played by Lars Eldinger, will pose a threat so great that Superman and Luthor will team up to stop him.

  • Sydney Chandler Reportedly Cast in Upcoming DC Studios Animated Project

    The roster of Task Force M is officially getting a major power upgrade—and a brand new voice. According to the latest casting updates for Creature Commandos Season 2, Sydney Chandler (Alien: Earth, Don’t Worry Darling) has been officially cast as Nosferata after reading for a key role in Man of Tomorrow.

    The character, who was teased in the Season 1 finale as a new recruit for the team, is set to be a series regular in the upcoming season as the DCU explores the more supernatural corners of its mythology. Unlike the hulking monsters we’ve seen so far, Nosferata brings a different kind of  undead energy to the team.

    In the pages of DC Comics, Nosferata is a vampire created during the 1940s experiments of Project Moreau.

    In the DCU, after spending decades as an inmate at Belle Reve, she was recruited by Amanda Waller to join the new iteration of the Creature Commandos led by The Bride.
    She was first seen playing ping-pong with Doctor Phosphorus in the Season 1 finale. In Season 2, she’ll be a core member of the squad, filling the void left by the death of Nina Mazursky.

    Per James Gunn’s rule for the DCU, Sydney Chandler will provide the voice for the animated series and is expected to play the character in any future live-action appearances. Chandler joins an already stacked voice cast, including Indira Varma (The Bride), Alan Tudyk (Doctor Phosphorus), Sean Gunn (G.I. Robot/Weasel), and David Harbour (Eric Frankenstein).

    Season 2 is currently in active production, with Gunn confirming that animation is underway. While a release date hasn’t been locked, the show is expected to return to Max in late 2026 or early 2027, picking up after the events of Peacemaker Season 2.

    Source: The Insneider