We’re still reveling at the first look at James Gunn’s upcoming Superman and, striking while the hype iron is hot, the director has now shared new updates about the broader future of the DC Universe.
The co-head of DC Studios took to social media to explain that while many upcoming entries into the comic book universe have been announced, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll all get made. Gunn clarified in a post on Instagram Threads, in response to a report claiming he had confirmed that every announced DC project is still coming.
“Just to clarify, I said everything we originally announced was still in development, not that it’s still coming,” the director wrote. This means that while some forthcoming DC titles have been announced, the in-development stage of their production might result in revisions, complete overhauls, or cancelations altogether (we hope that’s not the case!).
Whether or not the announced DC projects make it to screen is dependent on one thing, at least according to Gunn. “That all depends on the scripts!” he wrote. “We’ll never put a half-assed script in production just because it was announced.” Here’s hoping those upcoming DC films tap some top-tier writers so that all these promised announcements don’t go unfulfilled.
Gunn’s clarification came after he responded to an earlier post on Threads confirming that everything on the announced slate of forthcoming DC films is in development. It’s promising news, to be sure, but as Gunn reiterated in a separate post, being in development does not automatically ensure a project will see the light of day.
“Some scripts are IN DEVELOPMENT, either looking for writers or being written or rewritten,” Gunn clarified. “When scripts are finished and they’re ready to be made they are greenlit and then they are IN PRODUCTION.” It sounds like there’s a lot of red tape and admin involved in movie-making, and Gunn could join the circus for his ability to juggle this many projects. So which films exactly are in these stages of development and production?
The upcoming slate of DC projects includes the much-anticipated Superman starring David Corenswet in the title role and the the animated series Creature Commandos due out later this year. The Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film is also in the works, and so too is season two of Peacemaker and the debut installment of fellow series Lanterns, which recently cast its two leads in Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler.
In terms of things confirmed to not be happening in the DC Universe, we do know that Gunn isn’t on the hunt for an older, zaddy-type actor to portray Batman (sigh), and that porn actor Johnny Sins won’t appear in Superman (double sigh).
On the actually-confirmed front, titles like Swamp Thing and The Authority have been announced, but again, they are subject to changes and potentially being scrapped since they’re still in development.
In the meantime, I’m focused on Krypto, the adorable pup who appeared in the first look of Superman, and am completely wrapped up in the heartwarming story behind him being cast in the upcoming flick.