James Gunn & DC Studios Reveal Chapter 1 Of The DCU, Includes 5 Movies & 5 TV Shows

James Gunn, Peter Safran and DC Studios have revealed their new slate for upcoming DC Comics adaptations set in the new DC Universe (or DCU), which includes 10 new projects. Five will be movies and five will be TV series.

However, no directors or actors are attached to any of the projects as of yet, though all of them will be in one universe. These 10 projects will be Chapter 1: Gods And Monsters of the new DC Universe. Viola Davis is the only one confirmed to reprise her role as Amanda Waller.

To build the overarching story for the DCU, Gunn assembled writers such as Drew Goddard, Jeremy Slater, Christina Hobson, Christal Henry and comics writer Tom King.

Exceptions will be movies like The Batman Part II (which will release in October 2025), Joker Folie à Deux (which will release in October 2024) and a separate Superman movie produced by J.J. Abrams through Bad Robot, and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. These will be outside of the DCU and will be part of DC Elseworlds (the multiverse).

Check out the new DC Universe Chapter 1: Gods And Monsters slate of movies and TV shows below (courtesy of Variety):

MOVIES

Superman: Legacy

It will release on 11 July 2025 and mark the proper start of the DCU.

Peter Safran said:

“It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.”

The Authority

Superman: Legacy will lead directly into The Authority, an ensemble movie about superhumans who have a less-than-idealistic approach to saving the world.

These characters come from Wildstorm comics, which are now part of the DC Universe. The Authority was originally created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch as a superhero team that is darker than conventional teams like the Justice League.

James Gunn said:

“It isn’t just a story of heroes and villains, and not every movie and TV show is going to be about good guy versus bad guy. There are people that are very questionable, like the Authority, who basically believe that you can’t fix the world in an easy manner, and they take things into their own hands.”

The Brave And The Bold

This movie will introduce the DCU’s version of Batman and the Bat-family.  This version of Robin is Damian Wayne; who is the son of Batman. The project is based on the run of Batman comics by Grant Morrison.

Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow

This movie will be based on Tom King’s comics run of the same title from 2021 and 2022, featuring Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El.

James Gunn said:

“We see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he’s an infant, versus Supergirl, who was raised on a rock chip off of Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life.”

Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing will investigate the dark origins of Swamp Thing via horror. Swamp Thing is a humanoid/plant elemental creature who is given the power of The Green, the primordial power/element of plants in the world, by the Parliament Of Trees.

TELEVISION

Creature Commandos

This animated series for HBO Max is the very first project greenlit by Peter Safran and James Gunn, who has written every episode. The show is already in production.

The Creature Commando characters were first launched in 1980. The premise features Frankenstein’s monster teaming up with a werewolf, a vampire and a gorgon to fight Nazis in World War II.

Waller

This is a sort of sequel to Peacemaker as the Peacemaker team will appear alongside Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.

Along with Christal Henry, who was part of the DCU writers room, Waller will be executive produced by Jeremy Carver, who created the beloved DC series “Doom Patrol,” which was recently cancelled by HBO Max.

Both Creature Commandos and Waller will premiere before Superman Legacy.

Lanterns

Lanterns will focus on two of the best-known members of the Green Lantern corps.: Hal Jordan and John Stewart, who investigates a mystery together.

This will not be related to the cancelled Green Lantern series by Greg Berlanti.

Peter Safran said:

“Greg’s vision was more of a space opera. Our vision is much more ‘True Detective,’ terrestrial-based investigation story.”

Paradise Lost

This “‘Game of Thrones’-ish story,” Peter Safran said, is set on the island of Themyscira before the birth of Diana (a.k.a. Wonder Woman).

James Gunn added:

“How did that come about? What’s the origin of an island of all women? What are the beautiful truths and the ugly truths behind all of that? And what’s the scheming like between the different power players in that society?”

Booster Gold

Finally, there’s Booster Gold, which focuses on the time-traveller named Mike Carter, who is a loser from the future who uses basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero. In the 25th century, Mike is a disgraced former football star who uses a time machine on display in the Metropolis Space Museum.

You can check out James Gunn presenting the DC Studios Chapter 1 Gods And Monsters slate below, as well as our thoughts on the new DCU slate: