It was all the way back in January 2023 when the Gunniverse Era of DC debuted. Three jam packed years! When it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran were taking the helm of the film and tv efforts showcasing DC’s universe of characters, it seemed like the troubled history of DC’s attempts to keep up with Marvel at the box office finally had a man with a plan. DC Studios launched with a quirky, colorful, comics-centric slate of film and TV projects announced, and the success of Peacemaker and, more importantly, Superman, seemed to get things off to a fine start.
But nothing is ever easy where DC is concerned, it seems.
We last updated the “Gods and Monsters” plan for the DCU, back in December, but following the Supergirl crash, it seems many cards are being shuffled in the deck….or thrown out completely.
The Ankler’s Lesley Goldberg, veteran of many a twist and turn in the DC story, broke the news that the Waller and Paradise Lost TV projects are both dead, and other projects have had a bumpy ride. Waller was a planned HBO series starring Viola Davis in the role she’s played in several previous DC films/TV shows. Paradise Lost was a Wonder Woman prequel set on Paradise Island.
Given Supergirl’s epic (and undeserved) trashing, it’s no surprise that two female-led series have been put on the shelf, even if it is a bit sad.
So let’s look at the original ten projects and see where they are at, and what unfolded.
Superman: opened in 2025, made $354,223,803 worldwide (the most of any Superman film), and was a hit on all fronts, and even made Superman cool again.
Supergirl: Opened in June, one of the lowest grossing DC films ever, and they will never make another Supergirl movie. They will probably never make another superhero movie with a female character in the title. But it did introduce Jason Momoa as Lobo.
The Brave and the Bold: Andy Muschietti is set to direct and Christina Hodson is reported to have finished a script in this Grant Morrison-infused Batman tale. But it’s kind of in limbo. Speculation abounds that Matt Reeves, director of the Robert Pattinson Batman, wants nothing to do with the Gunniverse, and his Batman is actually an Elseworlds film – and keeps getting pushed so far back on the schedule that Pattinson will have time to make about 50 more memes between now and then. So the most successful DCU character seems to be caught in a web of confusion.
The Authority: This movie was shelved earlier this year. Gunn wrote on Threads, “I would have never had time to do this and although I know this is a popular theory online I never had an intention of writing or directing The Authority. The script wasn’t quite there but more importantly it didn’t work in terms of the larger DCU both in terms of the story and practical concerns. Maybe some day. Not soon.” Yah a movie with dark superhero versions of Superman and Batman as lovers might not be the best idea in these times.
Swamp Thing: When this was announced with James Mangold directing I said it was a “no brainer” and apparently it’s still in development. In a Rolling Stone interview, Gunn said it was still alive, but you can parse his response for HOW alive:
Yeah, I mean, yeah, totally. Absolutely. Yeah. We’ve talked to him. He’s still invested. So we’ll see. Some things take a long time. We’ll see what happens.
“We’ll see what happens” is now an official state of development for a lot of this stuff.
In another interview Gunn said he and Mangold “talk about it occasionally.” I guess it was a brainer after all.
TV
Creature Commandos: Season One launched on HBO, was good, and a second season was greenlit. Success rice!
Peacemaker: Two seasons that were a storytelling triumph. Season two ended with a lot of cliffhangers, but according to the Ankler story, “there are no plans for a Season Three.” Gunn has said Peacemaker’s story will continue but probably as a supporting character in another project? We’ll see what happens.
Lanterns: Debuts this Sunday! Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre star as Hal Jordan and John Stewart in what we expect to be True Detective…in space (not really). Damon Lindelof and Tom King executive produce. I’m a Green Lantern agnostic, but I’ll be watching! What are the odds for a season two? According to the Ankler, neither King nor Lindelof will return IF there is one: HBO is waiting for the reactions from viewers and critics. Just in case, Halt and Catch Fire creator Chris Cantwell has been hired to work on a second season.
Waller: Dead
Paradise Lost: Dead
Booster Gold: I’ll quote The Ankler here:
Booster Gold, meanwhile, remains in development, and a search is underway for a new writer after David Jenkins (Our Flag Means Death) revealed his script also wasn’t moving forward.
WELL! “God and Monsters” is batting .400 in finished projects, and everything else…we’ll see what happens. Not a bad average in Hollywood terms, but nothing like the MCU turning out $1 billion movies like clockwork.
Of course, other projects have arisen in the past three years. Here’s where they stand:
Clayface: opens on September 11th. Tom Rhys Harries plays the disfigured title character, with Naomie Ackie co-starring. James Watkins directed and Mike Flanagan wrote the script. The body-horror focused trailer inspired both squeamishness and interest. If this is even a mid-level hit it would be HUGE for the DCU.
Superman 2: It’s called Man of Tomorrow and it’s filming and opens on July 9, 2027.
Jimmy Olsen TV Show: This is apparently also about Gorilla Grodd, so I’m invested. Skylar Gisondo returns as the kind of skeevy version of Jimmy Olsen he portrayed in the Superman film. The show appears to be moving forward, however the title, the venue and everything else is unknown. A recent IGN report just adds to the confusion:
Late last year, it was reported that DC Studios and HBO Max were developing a fictional true crime series set in the DCU called DC Crime. According to Variety, it would look and feel like a true crime docuseries presented by Jimmy Olsen, and the first season would focus on Gorilla Grodd. But Gunn has now denied the show is called DC Crime, saying in another post on Threads: “It is not and has never been called DC Crime.”
In an Instagram comment, Gunn denied claims the series started out as a Jimmy Olsen show and has become a Gorilla Grodd show instead. “It didn’t become anything,” he said. “It is what it’s always been, including pitching it as part of the package before I even started at DC.”
Oh boy will we EVER see what happens! But according to The Ankler, it has showrunners Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda (American Vandal) and writers, Mary Holland and Jimmy Tatro, so the show is being actively worked on. Whatever it is.
Mister Miracle Animated Series: This was announced with Tom King as showrunner last year, and the Ankler didn’t say it was dead PLUS Nathan Fillion has just been added as Guy Gardner, so Darkseid is…looking forward to watching this on HBO Max someday.
Blue Beetle Animated series: While Xolo Mariduena is reported to return as Jamie Reyes in Man of Tomorrow, a report from last week suggest that shifting priorities at HBO Max have put this on the shelf:
While a youth-targeted animated series was in the works for streaming for a little bit, it might be off the table as of recently. To be clear, DC Studios did not hit the project with a formal cancellation, but its status is in doubt. At HBO Max, it quietly stalled, and, moreover, industry reports label the series dead in the water.
Internally, the platform is shifting its strategy for programming away from animation geared toward children and young audiences. Despite focusing on family-oriented animation in this new shift, Max is also pivoting more heavily into more mature content—hence the announcement of an Absolute Batman adaptation. Blue Beetle, as developed by Casagrandes co-creator Miguel Puga, targets a demo deemed too young for the new mandate.
The Penguin Season 2: According to the Ankler this is “in limbo.”
Absolute Batman: Announced at the Annecy Animation festival a few months back, this will be an animated series executive produced by Scott Snyder with Nick Dragotta also as a producer. No more details but I would call this a no-brainer.
Joker Laugh Riot: Another animated series, this time for adults. Jim Krieg is executive producer and Yasuhuro Aoki directs. No release date
Krypto: An animated Krypto series for the little ones has been barking around the perimeter for some time. This was also announced at Annecy, and C.H. Greenblatt will produce.
Static Shock: This was once going to be a movie produced by Michael B Jordan, but that project got stalled out. A throwaway line in a story about a Phantom TV show from Reinald Hudlin suggested that he was working on a live action Static movie:
A feature film based on Milestone’s Static Shock character is currently in development.
But Hudlin was also attached to the Jordan project so…not much to go on.
Wonder Woman: something is in development. Wonder Woman will always be in development. I believe Dr. Manhattan mentioned that when he was walking around on the moon.
If you want to read more what mights for the DCU – Colin Farrell as Sgt Rock – there is a long, detailed, exhausting list at Rotten Tomatoes.
Anyway, as you will note DC’s project limbo is a very crowded one! Gunn’s nimble usage of social media means there are a lot of short clips to quote but not a lot of details, just let’s see what happens, maybe, we talked, script isn’t ready. Making movies is hard.
It’s easy to assign most of this limbo to the utter turmoil at Warner Brothers Discovery which you might have heard of. Nobody knows what or when anything is going to happen there, and the studio as a whole is on a slippery slope. A harrowing recent story at THR painted a frustrating picture:
The deal itself also has certain explicit limits on what Warners can and cannot do and monetary thresholds above which WBD needs Paramount’s permission to act. While the merger agreement gives WBD a broad remit to keep operating, and a source at the company says that Paramount has not withheld consent on any issues brought to them thus far, another executive who lived through prior deals notes that the longer a deal drags on, the harder it is to maintain that status quo.
The first six months after a deal is announced tend to be the most straightforward, this exec adds, with things getting more complicated as it stretches beyond that. With the six-month mark looming and no end to litigation in sight, the pressure appears poised to ramp up. New shows and seasons will need to be ordered, blockbuster movies need to get a green light, licensing deals need to be signed, and streaming agreements need to be executed (many, in fairness, already have). But if Paramount and Warners find themselves at odds over a series pickup, over a film budget, over a licensing deal, things could go south fast.
Veteran observers of the DC story will note that developing DC projects is always the source of a lot of confusion. Although Safran and Gunn were brought in to be steadying hands, there was so much to steady that WBD has slipped into its old ways of not knowing what to do with all these characters. The Supergirl flop was really unfortunate on so many levels. The studio went all out on promoting it, and you can bet that some people are going to be gunshy in the future because of this failure.
Also this paragraph from the Ankler piece kind of made me sad:
At the time, Berlanti and Guggenheim had successfully built The CW’s interconnected DC TV universe (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Superman & Lois, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Gotham Knights, etc.) and produced hundreds of hours of stories that generated billions of dollars for DC and Warner Bros. Television — where Berlanti remains based with an overall deal. Together, the pair navigated the strict guidelines of what they could and couldn’t tackle as multiple executives at DC’s entertainment division prioritized films over the low-budget CW originals.
There was SO MUCH DC ON TV!
HBO Max’s Pennyworth, Berlanti’s Titans, Doom Patrol, Gotham Knights and Superman & Lois, the latter of which was the last pre-Gunn and Safran DC show to air on The CW under Nexstar.
Truly a golden era for fans, and one we’re unlikely to see repeated ever again.
Meanwhile, with the MCU once again setting box office records, you can bet that people will once again look at DC’s ultra valuable IP and try over and over again to make money off it. Even David Ellison has affirmed that he likes superheroes. But with all the turmoil and uncertainty, will Gunn and Safran ever get the chance to reveal what comes after “Gods and Monsters,” their initial slate? We’ll see what happens.
