Few things are guaranteed in life: Cheeto-dusted fingers, the Bills tanking the playoffs, and DC fumbling its cinematic universe. Warner Bros. (WB) was in a rough position post-Snyderverse. Deciding to play tag with Marvel was about as smart as running with scissors through a sea of Legos. Operating under a mountain of debt, with returns coming in slower than a Zack Snyder action scene, IPs needed to be leveraged in an effective manner. In 2023, after the official death of Snyder’s film universe, WB tapped Marvel alum James Gunn to resuscitate an arm of the studio. Alas, sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Jumping Ship
In 2018, James Gunn was in a unique position. Off the back of two massively successful Guardians of the Galaxy films, Gunn found himself without a job and on the wrong end of a cancel culture case gone wrong. Warner Bros., dealing with the exit of Zack Snyder post-Justice League, was actively looking to keep a universe afloat without a captain at the wheel. With their goals aligned, Gunn was hired and given creative freedom to direct a soft Suicide Squad reboot. Filming took place in 2019 and early 2020, still under the banner of the Snyderverse. Following production, the global COVID pandemic hit just as Snyder returned to complete a director’s cut of Justice League.
The Good Years
Between 2020 and 2021, the ship was rocking at DC Studios. It was officially announced that Justice League‘s director’s cut would mark the end of Snyder’s Universe. A move that coincided with the release of Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. As one era died, another flourished. While the pandemic hurt its box office numbers, Gunn’s movie killed it with critics and streaming audiences. He stayed on to write a spinoff series for HBO Max focusing on a squad member, the self-titled Peacemaker.
Both of Gunn’s projects were technically a part of the shuttered Snyderverse, though each remained in the background of the main canon. By the time Peacemaker released in 2022, internal talks were already going on about the fate of the DCEU. By the end of the year, Warner Brothers made it official: Gunn, with the help of his longtime producer Peter Safran, would be the new heads of DC.
A Full Plate
Come 2023, Gunn and Safran were in full swing at DC. Both of Gunn’s initial works were adjusted and brought into a revised canon. At the beginning of the year, the duo released their initial schedule for Chapter One projects in their new universe, titled “Gods and Monsters.” Between 2025 and 2027, ten projects were going into development.
On the movie side of things, Gunn himself would come out of the gate with Superman (originally titled Superman: Legacy), followed by other tentpole IPs like The Brave and the Bold (featuring Batman and Robin) and Supergirl. Side projects included a horror film based on Swamp Thing and a niche film about The Authority.
Meanwhile, TV production would see a Peacemaker spinoff called Waller, an animated series titled Creature Commandos, and a Lanterns TV series, along with other properties like Booster Gold and Paradise Lost.
Quantity Over Quality
In 2026, we are officially three years into Gunn and Safran’s DC relaunch. However, recent years have severely eroded the superhero boom. A once-rough playing field has become outright abrasive in the years following the release of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. DC’s own Snyderverse releases hold major blame as well for what many outlets and fans are now calling “superhero fatigue.”
After over a decade of world-building, Marvel suffers from clear directional issues. Three films have nosedived at the box office since Endgame wrapped its generational arc. The Marvels (2023) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) failed to profit in their respective runs. Meanwhile, last year’s Captain America: Brave New World (2025) struggled just to break even.
DC contributes to the issue on the opposite side of the spectrum. In a bid to catch up to a run that Marvel and Disney built over ten years, the studio saturated theaters with rushed, inconsistent Snyder-directed films. They eventually axed the entire universe just to reset. One studio putting a bow on a tightly wrapped present and the other using tin foil and toilet paper. It’s no surprise that viewers are less than motivated to purchase expensive tickets just to be strung along.
Sense and Sensibility
James Gunn is building on this floodplain. Off to a good start earlier in 2025, he released the animated series Creature Commandos to positive reviews. It was followed up by the theatrical release of Superman, where David Corenswet donned the iconic red cape alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
Gunn’s first film drop rounded off to a respectable $616 million worldwide. However, overhead costs significantly slashed studio profits. After marketing bleed, budget differentials, and the standard 50/50 theater split, that $616 million gross dove closer to a $308 million studio return. Because Superman’s net profit needed to exceed $350 million to break even, the film initially trailed at a slight loss. Fortunately, it was able to return to marginal profits post-run through VOD rentals, digital platforms, and physical media sales.
Superman’s tight profit margins weren’t totally unexpected, as Gunn’s new universe has a ton of hurdles to clear. DC Studios needed to release structural building blocks to re-establish trust with audiences. A modest profit for a film or series that released to very positive reviews would successfully kickstart that process. Subsequent quality releases would build upon one another, driving post-pandemic ticket sales while snowballing profits to justify an astronomical increase in technology prices. That’s an important consideration in VFX-heavy superhero films and high-quality animation rendering.
Not All Tentpoles
Unfortunately, such tight margins and high expectations are a double-edged sword that can deliver a nasty backswing. A reality experienced by this year’s Supergirl. Gunn’s 2025–2027 universe outline featured a few oddballs. Only two out of ten announced projects could easily be considered tentpole superhero properties. Meaning that between a Superman or Batman film, Supergirl was always going to be the odd one out.
Touching back on superhero fatigue, part of the issue is oversaturation. Heavy hitters with a decent story stand a much better chance to garner a profit in the current cutthroat environment. Furthermore, when studios double-dip outside of a direct sequel, the chosen character needs a broad, undeniable appeal. While Supergirl is reasonably popular, a lot more factors are at play. A tighter, more concise story is required to justify the outing to a split demographic. Not to mention, it needs a much larger marketing push to garner interest and attract new fans. Unfortunately, the film suffered through some of these exact pitfalls.
Box Office Kryptonite
James Gunn served as producer for Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl. The script was based on the hit graphic novel Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. The narrative focuses on Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El. Having lived through the horrors of losing her parents and planet, she harbors a much darker perspective than her cousin. The death of a young girl and her family drives Kara into an alcohol-infused downward spiral to avenge their deaths against the villain Krem.
Problems began to arise when the film hit its post-production testing phase. Screeners walked away with a lukewarm perception of the film. This was soon followed by metrics that grouped online buzz in mediocre ranges, drawing comparisons to notable genre flops. These factors strongly contributed to a bloated marketing campaign that topped out close to $120 million for DC Studios.
Worry Grows
The situation escalated as trailers circulated at conventions and across social media. Influencers and fans voiced concerns that the film suffered from poor CGI and a heavy-handed “James Gunn” tone. It was reminiscent of his work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Accusations of major deviations from the source material became an issue as well. Kara’s general demeanor and characterization came under fire, along with the inclusion of DC’s on-and-off-again anti-hero mercenary, Lobo (Jason Momoa), who was shadow-dropped in a surprise trailer.
His inclusion fell far outside the comic’s established canon, which some fans viewed more as a panicked studio addition than a legitimate story beat. All of these factors actively worked against a massive production budget on a movie that was already taking major creative chances. The negative sentiments carried over directly into the theatrical release, and Supergirl bombed like a Kryptonian space shuttle in a cornfield. With production and marketing driving the break-even point to around $315 million, a paltry $126 million global box office run left Warner Bros. with a devastating loss of roughly $200 million.
Back to Basics
Seemingly as a result of Supergirl‘s loss, Gunn’s production schedule has taken a massive hit. Since its 2023 reveal, only four of the ten planned projects have seen the light of day. Creature Commandos, Superman, and Supergirl, along with this month’s Lanterns, have all hit inside their release windows.
Meanwhile, the Batman and Robin project, The Brave and the Bold, and the Swamp Thing horror film have both halted development. Other IPs, like Booster Gold, have been relegated to a production waitlist. Three projects are being outright canceled: The Authority has been taken off the board alongside the Peacemaker spinoff Waller and the Wonder Woman prequel, Paradise Lost.
Outside of two films currently in production, it seems DC Studios is shifting its focus back to key, proven franchises. An R-rated horror film featuring Batman villain Clayface is scheduled for an October release, while a Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is slated for July 2027.
Nerdbot will keep you informed on all the latest updates inside the new DCU. As always, trust Nerdbot for all your pop culture needs.
