James Gunn Reveals the First Slate of DC Studios Projects - Superman, Batman, Lanterns, and More

After teasing for a month, new DC Studios head James Gunn and Peter Safran have officially revealed the first slate of next-generation DC Studios, which will be linked between TV shows and films.

Today, Gunn and Safran announced the first ten interconnected DC Studios projects, which include five movies and five HBO Max TV series. All ten of them will be set within the same shared universe and will frequently share characters. However, there will be films set outside the shared continuity (the main DC Universe), like the already announced Joker: Folie à Deux, and Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman Part II.

“The DCU’s a multiverse, but we’re going to be focusing on one universe from that multiverse,” said Safran. “And if something isn’t DCU, we’re going to make that very clear. So, strictly adult fare like Todd Phillips’ Joker, or kids animation like Teen Titans Go!, we’re going to make it very clear that those are DC Elseworlds, just the same way that they do it in the comic books.”

“What we’re starting with today is the first part of the first chapter of our universe,” reveals Safran. “That first chapter’s called ‘Gods and Monsters.’ Many of the following projects are already being worked on, but we’re remaining flexible and we’re going to adjust because we’re never going to put a project into production before the script is right. This is a general timeline, but there will be flexibility within it.”

Below are all the live-action films along with their description, announced today:

Superman: Legacy

Written by James Gunn, Superman: Legacy focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice, and the American way. He is kind in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.

The film is not a Superman origin story, and it won't be a good vs. bad guy story. This film will focus on some gray areas showing a more complex side of Superman. James Gunn may also direct it. Superman: Legacy will release on July 11, 2025.

The Authority

 

Based on WildStorm Comics, The Authority will be 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, or whatever they want to do to make the world better. We’ll see how that journey goes for them.

The Brave and the Bold

This will be the introduction of the DCU’s Batman, who is not Robert Pattinson or Ben Affleck. Based on the Grant Morrison comic run, The Brave and the Bold is a story of Damian Wayne, who’s Batman’s actual son whom he didn’t know existed for the first eight to ten years of his life. Known as Robin, he was raised as a little murderer and assassin. The film will feature other members of the extended Bat Family.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s wonderful comic, Superman was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents. Kara was on Krypton. She was on a piece of Krypton that drifted away from the planet, and she lived there for the first fourteen years of her life in a terrible situation where she watched everyone around her die. So, she’s a much harsher and more f*cked-up Supergirl than anyone has seen thus far.

Swamp Thing

This film will investigate the dark origins of Swamp Thing.

Below are all the live-action TV Shows along with their description. announced today:

Waller

Set between Peacemaker Season 1 and Season 2, Viola Davis will reprise her character, Amanda Waller. This is also going to have some of the Peacemaker team in it as regulars on the show. This basically follows the events of Peacemaker. Christal Henry, who was a writer on Watchmen, and Jeremy Carver, who created Doom Patrol -  are working on this series.

 

Booster Gold

 

The HBO Max series follows a loser from the future who uses his basic future technology to come back to today to pretend to be a superhero. It’s a character story that’s going to be a very different type of show.

Lanterns

The HBO Max original Lanterns will follow two Green Lanterns — Hal Jordan and John Stewart. It is more of a True Detective-type mystery with the two Lanterns. A terrestrial-based mystery that leads into the overall story told throughout the different movies and television shows. We find this ancient horror on Earth, and these guys are basically supercops on “Precinct Earth.”

Paradise Lost

This series is described as a Game of Thrones-type story about Themyscira/Paradise Island, home of the Amazons and the birthplace of Wonder Woman. Set before Diana’s birth, Paradise Lost is an origin story of how this society of women came about. What does it mean? What are their politics like? What are their rules? Who’s in charge? What are the games that they play with each other to get to the top?

Below is the only animated series part of the DCU Slate:

Creature Commandos

 

The first series was announced today by James Gunn, who has already written the entire series. Creature Commandos is an animated TV series based on the great team from DC. The animated series will be tied directly into live-action. Television, movies, and games all intertwine within the same universe. The actors who will be cast in this, are going to be able to play the characters in this, as well as in other things, some of which we’ve already cast. Gunn has written all seven episodes of this show and it’s in production now.

The animated series will include Rick Flag, Sr. He's going to show up in other stuff. Then Nina Mazursky. Doctor Phosphorus, is a Batman villain. Frankenstein—Eric Frankenstein, specifically. The Bride of Frankenstein, who's the lead. Finally, G.I. Robot and Weasel.