James Gunn reveals DC Studios’ plan for Superman, The Batman, Supergirl and more

James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new vision for the DC Studios franchise is starting to take shape, and now we know Superman is leading the way.

The filmmakers revealed an impressive slate for the future, which will include movies like Superman: Legacy, The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, and The Authority. The TV series will also be included on HBO Max and will include shows like Lanterns, Creature Commandos, Booster Gold, Waller, and Paradise Lost.

There’s also a Supergirl project in the works, though it’s unknown if it will include the same version of the character in The Flash. Gunn and Safran began their jobs as co-CEOs of DC Studios last year and it’s safe to say that the future for DC is looking bright.

Superman: Legacy will be heavily influenced by the iconic All-Star Superman story and is being written by Gunn himself, and there is hope that he will direct the project. The Brave and the Bold is said to be a new take on Batman that will feature a new actor in the role, though it won’t affect plans for The Batman Part 2 or Joker: Folie à Deux. Instead, it will be a movie that includes the entire bat family and focuses on the team of Bruce Wayne and his biological son Damien Wayne. Swamp Thing is said to be a separate reboot of the HBO Max/DC Universe series that premiered in recent years, and The Authority will introduce a new super team to the franchise.

Here are just a few of our plans. Up, up, and away! #DCStudios #DCU @DCComics pic.twitter.com/8XNDNLUEPq

—James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 31, 2023

On the TV series side, Lanterns is a reworked take on the Green Lantern Corps series that won’t involve Greg Berlanti, instead focusing on Hal Jordon and John Stewart in a series that was described as DC’s version of True. Detective. And, unsurprisingly, the next continuation of Gunn’s forays into The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker will feature Amanda Waller in Waller. Paradise Lost will focus on Wonder Woman’s homeland of Themyscira before she was even born. Booster Gold will focus on, well, you know, the time-traveling Booster Gold. And Creature Commandos is the only confirmed animated series with seven episodes already written by Gunn himself, who promises that the lead actors cast as the voices will also appear in live action.

Warner Bros. Discovery has been working hard to change some of the ways the company did business before its big merger. The newly appointed CEO, David Zaslav, canceled a bunch of upcoming movies like Batgirl and Wonder Twins to get tax breaks and even promised DC Comics they would return Superman to the front of the cinematic universe.

Zaslav also revealed that he was on the hunt for a Kevin Feige-type executive to lead his DC Studios arm and ended up hiring James Gunn and Peter Safran in that role. As co-CEOs, Gunn and Safran have been hard at work building a ten-year slate of films, and the duo vowed to release part of that slate this month. Today, the co-CEOs of DC Studios have officially revealed a slate that will hit theaters and HBO Max over the next three to four years.

After the new head of Warner Bros. Discovery announced the duo of Safran and Gunn, they released a statement about their enthusiasm for the work.

“We are honored to be the guardians of these DC characters we have loved since we were children,” Gunn and Safran added in a joint statement. “We look forward to collaborating with the world’s most talented writers, directors and actors to create a multi-layered, integrated universe that still allows for individual expression by the artists involved. Our commitment to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn and the rest of DC’s characters is matched only by our commitment to the wonder of human possibilities these characters represent. and the greatest stories ever told”.

The film is directed by David F. Sandberg (Shazam!, Annabelle: Creation) and produced by Peter Safran. The Fury of the Gods was written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan. Shazam!: Fury of the Gods hits theaters on March 17.