Let me start by quickly highlighting a piece I did back in December. In I Think James Gunn Needs to Slow Down Before He Repeats the Mistakes of the DCEU, my point was to bring to your attention how the new DCU was already starting to replicate the old DCEU by announcing numerous movies that weren’t even on the Gods and Monsters slate — Teen Titans, Clayface, Sgt. Rock, Deathstroke and Bane, etc. Let’s now fast-forward to February 21. On this day, there was a small meeting between Gunn, Safran, and members of the press at the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, California — lots of updates and lots of details on upcoming projects.
It sounds like Gods and Monsters is being changed to Monsters… and whatever else we can get quickly working on the side. Aside from Superman and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, everything else seems to either be up in developmental limbo or currently put to the side in favor of more appetizing selections. Waller, Booster Gold, The Authority, and Swamp Thing are just not coming along smoothly. There are four titles right there. The reasons may very well be legitimate, but a different excuse for every single one of them. Why announce them in the first place, then?
I was never too interested in Booster Gold, but Waller and Swamp Thing both had potential. Success from Waller could have been a strong move against Marvel’s massively disastrous Secret Invasion, and Swamp Thing could have captured fans who are yearning to see more of Man-Thing (if we’re putting one up against the other). Now Waller doesn’t have a proper timeline because Peacemaker is flowing along at breakneck speed, and Swamp Thing is stalled because the potential director was focusing on his Oscar-nominated film (good for him!)
Superman, Supergirl…and Who Else?
Anything regarding the Caped Crusader is a mess. Robert Pattinson is hopefully coming back for The Batman sequel. He could very well be the Batman that meets David Corenswet’s Superman (even though The Batman is an Elseworlds story), but that’s probably dependent on a lot of factors. On top of that, Gunn and Safran are looking for a new face to portray Batman in The Brave and the Bold, and he might show up in something before his featured movie. But don’t be concerned; both Clayface and Dynamic Duo have phenomenal scripts.
The Wonder Woman prequel series titled Paradise Lost is another one that has seemingly been given little update. This title was on the first phase slate as well. Superman is coming, Batman is being, well, sorted out, and there’s nothing but a soft thumbs-up-like response to the Themyscira drama. Right now, Lanterns is the only thing keeping my hopes up about the supposed Avengers: Endgame-style Justice League movie that Gunn and Safran talked about in this informal conference.
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James Gunn Reveals Exactly What DC Comics Era the DCU Is Inspired By
James Gunn has some incredibly ambitious plans for the DCU, and he is not holding back.
Supposedly, the True Detective-esque show will lead us into “the main story we are telling across film and TV.” Take that quote with a grain of salt, though, as it comes from the slate announcement. Forget about the inclusion of a Trinity character, though, as we have title treatments for three animated shows! Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that shows are being made for potentially younger audiences, but it seems like we’re surging ahead on every comic book-based route except the most crucial ones.
Was James Gunn’s DCU slate a lie? I can’t say it was because some are coming in strong, like Superman, Supergirl, and Lanterns. On the other hand, I do feel like I was overcharged when it came to this specific corner of comic book cinema hype because every title on that list was originally sold to us (in a video by Gunn himself!) like it was just around the corner, waiting to be filmed. Now, we’re getting this instead of that and that instead of this. At least Superman will arrive in theaters on July 11, 2025.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
