All eyes turned to newly minted DC Studios co-heads Peter Safran and James Gunn yesterday. The reason? An official press conference to announce what’s coming for the WB comic book arm. Some of the news is pretty standard- upcoming films, ideas and characters- but other things were….surprising.
The new DC Studios world order will kick off with a first part, called “Chapter 1: God and Monsters.”
“It’s not the Gunnverse, it’s not,” Gunn told the assembled press. “It’s got to be all these different feels from all these different stories. That’s what makes it so fun. The stories are completely different and each has the individual expression of the writers and the director that are making those projects. Not every filmmaker is going to be happy. Because if someone is doing something that isn’t working, we’re going to be honest.”
“Creature Commandos“: Gunn writes this animated tv series for HBO Max, already in production. So, this was that mystery project he was teasing, more than likely. Taken from the idea of classic Universal (and other) monsters fighting Nazis, there will more of a modern approach here. No casting to report yet.
“Waller“: Viola Davis is getting her own Amanda Waller spinoff live action series for HBO Max. Davis will star in this “Peacemaker” spinoff. Christal Henry (“Watchmen“) and “Doom Patrol” series creator Jeremy Carver are penning this one.
“Superman: Legacy“: This will be the non Henry Cavill film Gunn is writing and directing. “It’s not an origin story,” Safran said. “It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness as old-fashioned.” It has a placeholder release date of July 11, 2025.
“Lanterns“: This is a NEW project about the Green Lanterns. The long-gestating series being developed by Greg Berlanti is dead, and this is a new live-action limited series for HBO Max. It’ll center on Hal Jordan and John Stewart, and will reportedly be in the vein of “True Detective.”
The Authority: Is a live-action movie!
James Gunn says: This is one of my real passion projects. I’ve been working really hard on it with the writers and we’re starting to put together the entire story. This is a big movie. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the Authority. They’re WildStorm characters. WildStorm was a comics imprint that was bought by DC that I really love. We’re moving a lot of these WildStorm characters into the DCU.
The Authority’s a very different kind of superhero story. They are basically good-intentioned, but they think that the world is completely broken and the only way to fix it is to take things into their own hands, whether that means killing people, destroying heads of state, changing governments—basically, whatever they want to do to make the world better. We’ll see how that journey goes for them.
There are morally gray characters (in our DCU), of which these are.
PS: We love that they think the ends justify the means and they’re the ones that decide what the right ends are.
“Paradise Lost“: Taking place BEFORE the two Patty Jenkins “Wonder Woman” films, imagine a “Game of Thrones” style live-action tv series based in Wonder Woman’s birthplace, Themyscira. Expect “political intrigue and scheming between power players.”
“The Brave and the Bold“: This will be the new Batman live-action movie, that will NOT star Robert Pattinson. Yes, we’re still getting “The Batman” sequel from Matt Reeves (dated October 3rd 2025), but this one will be “the introduction of the DCU Batman.” Yes, it’s based on Grant Morrison‘s comic. This film will introduce Damian Wayne as Robin, “who is a little son of a bitch.”
“Booster Gold“: This one is finally happening, and it will be a live-action series for HBO Max. “It’s about a loser from the future who uses basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero,” Safran said. Expect to see “imposter syndrome as superhero,” according to Gunn.
“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow“: Inspired by Tom King‘s mini-series, expect to see the difference between Kara Zor El and Kal El in this live-action movie. “Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl, raised on a rock, a chip off of Krypton, and who watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life and then come to Earth. She is much more hardcore and not the Supergirl we’re used to.”
“Swamp Thing”: Expect a horror film featuring the great character, which will reportedly close out “Chapter One.”
