The countdown has begun for James Gunn's DCU vision to kickoff in 2025. Here are five Chapter One projects we're ready for and five we want to see happen.
As 2024 comes to a close, comic book fans have much to look forward to in '25. On the Marvel side, there's The Fantastic Four, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts waving the MCU banner on the movie front. While Marvel will bring in plenty of moviegoers, DC has a chance to give Disney real competition, starting with Gunn's take on the Man of Steel. It's exciting times, indeed.
SUPERMAN
Release date: July 11, 2025
We finally have that long-awaited Superman teaser trailer, and it looks like Gunn has a massive hit on his hands. Of course with tribalism having fully set in, those far too loyal to a singular brand are already convinced that Superman will trip over its own cape. However, leave it to Gunn to turn those naysayers into fans by the time the movie reaches theaters.
In many ways, Superman has the chance to either make or break the revamped DCU. Not only is this the first film in Chapter One, but Gunn is tackling DC's most famous property. The writer/director has proclaimed that Superman will not get the GOTG treatment, but Marvel loyalists are convinced Supes will be a comedy act. Judging by the trailer, Gunn is giving fans a comics-accurate Superman with far more action and drama than gags.
Release date: Sometime after 2026
Dark Knight fans, the new DCU will give you all the Batman content you can watch. Gunn has been clear that Matt Reeves' The Batman universe will continue to branch out and exist in its own separate world outside the main DCU. The Batman 2 is officially in production, The Penguin has been a major hit on MAX, and there's word that Clayface will be starring in his own horror project. That alone is enough to have The Batman audiences drooling.
While those movies and shows roll forward, Gunn and The Flash director Andy Muschietti are working on their own Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold. The news coming out of last year's Chapter One announcement was the inclusion of Damian Wayne as Robin in the upcoming flick. Does that mean we will see Dick Grayson as Nightwing helping to mentor Robin? Could we see the Teen Titans spring from Brave and the Bold? There's plenty of intrigue when it comes to this one.
Release date: Unknown
This could be a game changer in the superhero cinema department. Yes, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had horror elements, but it was far more slapstick comedy than anything genuinely scary. Swamp Thing should be a much different story. Sticking to its comic roots, it will be a horror movie, a first for the mainstream superhero movie-verses (as long as Todd McFarlane doesn't finally get his Blumhouse-produced Spawn movie off the ground before then).
Where Marvel struggles to recruit A-list directors, Gunn and Safran have already secured a legend in superhero cinema: James Mangold. After directing The Wolverine and Logan, what is widely regarded as one of the best superhero movies ever made, he is a boon for Gunn's DCU. Hopefully, Mangold will take inspiration from Alan Moore's incredible, horror-heavy Swamp Thing run.
Release date: 2026
This is the Little Engine That Could of DC projects. The first talk of a Green Lantern live-action series goes back years before Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC's film division. It crossed into Development Hell for a time, looking like it would never come to life despite Geoff Johns' assertions that it was still on the table. Then came Gunn's Chapter One announcements, and Lanterns was officially on the agenda.
With such a huge cast of characters and the entirety of DC space to explore, Lanterns can push DC Studio's creative envelope to many possibilities. Being that Lanterns will air on HBO, this could be an R-rated series in the vein of Peacemaker. If that is the case, then we could finally see one of the best Green Lantern stories ever published come to life: "The Sinestro Corps War."
TEEN TITANS
Release date: Unknown
Here is a superhero project with massive mainstream potential. Thanks to the Titans' popular animated incarnations, namely Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!, the property comes with a ready-made, mainstream fanbase. While we have seen them in live-action on the CW, they've never been featured in a big-budget movie. Likely, Brave and the Bold will lay the team's foundation, with Damian Wayne and Dick Grayson's sibling rivalry taking center stage, but that is entirely guessing at this point. The real mass appeal will be in the combination of humor, drama, and action with a young cast that will appeal to a large swath of viewers.
THE WISH LIST
The DCU is quickly building a large slate of upcoming projects that have fans daydreaming. Just when we think the schedule is full, Gunn announces more movies and shows in development. What else would we like to see on the big or small screen? Here's a few suggestions.
FOURTH WORLD
There is ample potential for an expansive franchise with major players in The Fourth World. Created by Marvel legend Jack Kirby, Fourth World covers the New Gods, which would inevitably lead us to Apokolips and Darkseid. By the time Chapter Two rolls around, there will have been enough time between the MCU's Thanos and Zack Snyder's Darkseid for casual fans to see the ultimate DC villain as character all his own. For comic book readers, the real treat would be exploring the range of characters that inhabit Apokolips. In fact, there could be an entire movie about Darkseid and the hellish landscape he rules with an Nth-metal fist.
If ever there was a character with Gunn's name written all over him, it's Lobo. Before Deadpool broke the fourth wall with his signature wisecracks, nods, and winks to the comic book audience, there was Lobo. He's brutal, he's crude, and he can be downright hilarious in the right hands. Considering Gunn's affinity for the more absurd aspects of the superhero world, that makes Lobo a perfect fit with the director/DC Studios co-chief.
Not only would this give fans a chance to see the various Supermen on the silver screen, but it would provide an opportunity for Gunn to reimagine Doomsday. Kick off the film with "Death of Superman" and Doomsday's epic battle with the Man of Steel could be so much more than what we got in Justice League. From there, the plot transitions to the replacement Supermen - Superboy, Steel, Eridactor, and Cyborg Superman. Personally, I just want Cyborg Superman to get his moment in the limelight with the proper special effects to bring him to life. Imagine if Gunn were to hire Henry Cavill to play Hank Henshaw in a movie, that would be a blockbuster hit, for sure.
NIGHTWING
Yes, a Teen Titans movie is in development, and Nightwing will surely be a protagonist. As excited as we are for that feature film, Dick Grayson deserves a spotlight all to himself. The character's rich history goes back 84 years, and in all that time, he's never starred in his own movie or show. His character development as he graduated from sidekick to superhero is enough for an engaging plot in itself. What would be most interesting is to go the Spider-Man route and have Nightwing do everything on his own. Instead of Dick leaving for Bludhaven with pieces of Batman's tech, he would have to balance his vigilantism with real-world problems, like having a job and paying rent. Without any involvement from Batman or the larger Bat-Family, how would he fare? That's a secondary plot worth watching.
Where Marvel Studios has an issue with finding and keeping quality writers and directors, Gunn seems to not be having that trouble, at least not at this point. Likely due to Disney's heavy-handed oversight, it's not often that Marvel recruits established directors with name recognition. As mentioned earlier, Gunn has already enlisted Mangold for Swamp Thing. It would not be a surprise to see other A-list creators join the DCU, and Seth Rogen should be at the top of that list. Although best known for his comedy roles, Rogen has proven himself in the comic book corner with his influence on The Boys, Invincible, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. In fact, if Gunn can't doesn't have the bandwidth for, say, Lobo, that would be a great fit for Rogen. Then again, he could probably tackle any DC project and make it gold.
