At a press event on Monday, January 30th, new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran welcomed media to the Warner Bros. lot to the future of the new DC Universe. The new direction includes a fresh Superman film written by Gunn, a new introduction to the Batman family, a Wonder Woman TV prequel series, and much more.
Gunn and Safran met with a writer’s room that included Drew Goddard (The Martian), Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), Christina Hobson (The Flash, Batgirl), Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Tom King (DC Comics’ Batman, Mister Miracle). “We sat down in a room for a few days and we started to bash out what the basic overall plan could be,” said Gunn. “Not so much that it ties your wrists, but enough that we know what the basic story is, where we’re going. And it’s something that we’ll continue to do.”
To that end, Safran and Gunn aim at releasing two films and two TV series per year, though they won’t force projects into production to meet that goal unless the scripts are completely ready. The pair also said the door remains open for Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ezra Miller (The Flash), and Zachary Levi (Shazam) to return to their characters, while Viola Davis is locked in as Amanda Waller for an HBO Max series called Waller. Henry Cavill, however, is still officially out as Superman.
Dubbed “Gods and Monsters,” Chapter 1 of the new DCU will exist within a multiverse, though the first run of titles will all live in a singular universe. Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie á Deux, and the in-development Superman movie from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates will continue to exist outside the DCU under the new DC Elseworlds branding. The animated Teen Titans Go! and Reeve’s Batman spin-off centered on Colin Farrell’s Penguin will also fall under the Elseworlds brand.
Here’s a rundown of what James Gunn and Peter Safran have planned for the future of the DC Universe:
Superman: Legacy
Launching the DCU with a Superman story makes sense, and that’s what Superman: Legacy will do with its targeted July 11th, 2025 debut. Penned by Gunn (with Safran hoping the filmmaker “can be persuaded, perhaps, to direct it as well”), the story will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing,” according to Safran. “He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.”