Writer/Director and co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn has lit up the internet by announcing future project releases and I guarantee your shock and excitement level will be off the charts. His new DCU Slate is nothing short of groundbreaking.
In his video announcement on Twitter, Gunn starts by explaining that his and co-CEO Peter Safran’s remit is to address the fractured nature of DC output and “to make sure the DCU is connected”. That includes a DCU slate not just featuring films and TV shows, but also gaming and animation.
He talks about characters slipping in and out of different projects, with the same actors performing in the roles, and all stories connected to the one big story. If something is outside of that one story it will be clearly marked as a DC Elseworlds project. Gunn then cites Matt Reeve’s The Batman, Todd Phillps Joker, and Teen Titans Go as examples of this which squashes any suggestion that Robert Pattinson will be the official Bruce Wayne of this new era of DCU entertainment.
Gunn then briefly covers the four projects this year. Shazam: Fury of the Gods, which “moves directly into” The Flash. Gunn describes The Flash as “a fantastic movie that I really love that resets the entire DC universe”, which would account for its survival in the face of the project culling which went on that saw the loss of Batgirl, especially with reports of untoward behavior from the movie’s star Ezra Miller. Blue Beetle gets name-checked, along with Aquaman 2 which will lead directly into the next project.
The DCU slate Gunn announced is formed of an eight-to-ten-year plan of releases that represent a part of, not the entire, first chapter of what Gunn’s calling “Gods and Monsters”.
Are you ready for this?
The Creature Commandos
Animated series. The fact that James Gunn has written the episodes is evidence, once again after Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy, how much Gunn loves a rag-tag team of misfits.
Waller
This TV series will focus on Amanda Waller teaming up with members of Team Peacemaker. Once again, the character will be played by Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis. The project is to be helmed by Christal Henry (Watchmen TV series) and Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol).
Superman: Legacy
Movie. Gunn refers to this as “the big one. The True beginning of the DCU”. He says that he’s in the middle of writing it and it’s due to be released on July 11th, 2025.
Lanterns
Another TV series, this one featuring Hal Jordan and John Stewart and, teasingly, “a few other Lanterns peppered in there”. Indeed one of the most exciting projects from the announcement, Gunn explains that the series will be set on Earth “almost like True Detective”, with the Lanterns acting as “space cops watching of district Earth”. He then explains that Jordan and Stewart “discover a mystery which ties into the larger story of the DCU”. Just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?
The Authority
This one’s a Movie! Who saw that coming? The Wildstorm superteam is integrating with the DCU. Again, we should’ve expected this as The Authority is the ultimate bunch of rule-breaking misfits but on the same tier of powers as the Justice League and Gunn refers to it as his passion project.
Paradise Lost
Another TV series. All we get about this is that it’s set on Paradise Island, the birthplace of Wonder Woman, and that Gunn hints at a Game of Thrones vibe – just name-checking one of the most successful and epic TV shows of all time!
The Brave and the Bold
Boom! This finally brings us to the introduction of the new DCU Batman. Not only that, but we finally get a Robin, although some people may have been surprised to learn that the version of Robin will be Damian Wayne, who Gunn confesses in the video, is his favorite Robin. The project will be based on Grant Morrison’s run of Batman and Robin and features “the beginning of the Bat Family in the DCU” which adds weight to why the recent Batgirl movie was pulled.
Booster Gold
TV series. Another leftfield announcement although, as Gunn points out, “loser from the future” Michael John Carter is something of a cult favorite.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Movie. This is great news for fans of this under-appreciated 2022 series written by Tom King and with stunning art by Bilquis Evely. Gunn says that this is one of his favorite comics from last year and will be getting a full, big-budget adaptation to convey the alien worlds and capture Kara Zor-El’s “jaded” character.
Swamp Thing
Described by Gunn as a “very dark horror story”. He says that it will be tonally different from the rest of the DCU but will still feed into the bigger story.
James Gunn isn’t dismissing all that came before. In fact, he’s in a great position because we’ve already seen all the major DC characters, and his penchant for lower-level characters means that he’s not going to be rushed into treading the same ground. Instead, he gets to take his time luxuriating in the rich variety of characters in the DCU.
“I’ve loved the DC characters since I was a child”, he says. “They’ve incredibly important to me”. That’s what makes this journey so exciting, which is the word he uses at the end of the video. “I hope this was exciting for you because it’s exciting for me”.
You may have heard an enormous collective roar of the affirmative in general, but what are your thoughts on the new DCU slate? Be sure to let us know online and read the full, official DC Press Release here, and watch Gunn’s announcement below:
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