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How is the new slate of DC movies and TV shows structured? The new DC Universe, explained

The new DC Universe isn't exactly getting rid of the old DC Universe.

Image via DC Comics

DC Studios is launching a reboot of the DC Universe, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all previous projects are out of continuity now.

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Co-CEOs of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran, announced a slew of new film, TV, and animation projects under the banner of DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. An eight-to-ten-year plan was outlined and a promise of a more connected universe than there has been in the past. Several previous characters, and characters whose projects have yet to be released, are still being brought into the new DCU fold.

aquaman
Image via Warner Bros.

The old DCU

The mainstream DC continuity will apparently still involve the four upcoming DC movies. Shazam has always been mostly on his own (Superman appeared at the end of the first movie, but his face was never shown) and will remain in continuity, so count Shazam! Fury of the Gods as part of this new DCU. The story also still fits into the theme of gods and monsters in this initial chapter.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will move directly into The Flash movie, which will reset the entire DC Universe, so it’s looking like Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen will still be in the DCU.

After this comes Blue Beetle, which has the benefit of being an introduction to the character, so it doesn’t come with as much baggage. Cobra Kai star Xolo MaridueƱa will play Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teen who finds an alien scarab that turns him into a high-tech superhero. With this being his origin story, he’ll be able to fit more seamlessly into the new DCU.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes up after that, and while he’s assuredly the superhero on this list who has the strongest connection to the previous DC Universe, we shouldn’t count him out just yet. Jason Momoa and Miller both appeared in Peacemaker, and with the series being one of Gunn’s creations, it’s going to survive the reboot. The characters have already interacted with one another, so Aquaman will likely be another character saved after The Flash resets the universe.

Creature-Commandos
Image via DC Comics

The new DCU

After these four movies, the new DCU will begin in full. DCU Chapter One; Gods and Monsters will begin with Creature Commandos, an animated series that will move in and out of animation with the voice actors also portraying their characters in live-action. The team consists of supernatural antiheroes and the first season will be seven episodes. Gunn’s writing the series and as of yet, there’s no release date, but with this being the first project out of the gate, it shouldn’t be too long of a wait.

Following this will be Waller, a live-action series starring Viola Davis as Amanda Waller who will team up with members of Team Peacemaker. It’s from Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol). Waller has appeared in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and made a cameo in Peacemaker, so she was essentially a shoo-in.

The real beginning of the new DC Universe will be Superman: Legacy, which will follow a younger Clark Kent as he balances his Kryptonian heritage and his humanity. The actor who will play the younger Superman has yet to be cast, but it’s been confirmed as a PG-13 movie that will release on July 11, 2025.

After this comes Lanterns, a TV show that will feature Hal Jordan and John Stewart with a few other Green Lanterns making appearances. It’s described as being True Detective-inspired and it’ll be terrestrial-based as they work to solve a mysterious case. This is a change from the previous direction, which was set to star Alan Scott and Guy Gardner, two characters that don’t have that much of a connection between them. Alan Scott is the Golden Age Green Lantern who uses the Green Flame as the source of his powers and not the Green Lantern power batter, so this pairing between Jordan and Stewart makes more sense.

The Authority
Image via Wildstorm/DC Comics

The Authority will be a movie about a super-powered organization that wants to fix a broken world. Unlike the Justice League, they’re not so worried about crossing the line to do what they consider is right, even if that means bypassing political red tape. The intention of this is likely to juxtapose the more family-friendly DCU that DC Studios is going for. DC Comics stories go to dark places and there’s a constant internal moral battle with superheroes. With the Authority on the opposing side, there’s bound to be some power clashes in the future akin to Kingdom Come.

The Paradise Lost TV series will be set on Wonder Woman’s homeworld of Paradise Island and will be a Game of Thrones-style story that takes place before Hippolyta’s daughter is born. With Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 seemingly on indefinite pause, DC Studios would want to ensure that the character has a presence without actually being present on-screen. DC’s Greek mythology plays a major part in Wonder Woman’s story, and if the story is taken seriously (as the show’s inspiration indicates), it can pull off a more effective epic tale than what the Thor movies have woven.

Following that comes the Brave and the Bold and will be a Batman and Robin movie with Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian Wayne. Damian is Bruce’s son with villainess Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, and he was trained by the League of Assassins. Under the tutelage of Batman, he teaches his violent son the right way to fight crime. This is a nice departure from the typical Batman releases that have in recent years seen a Batman devoid of Robins. Hopefully, Batman’s more supernatural rogues appear as well.

Image via DC

Following that comes the Booster Gold TV series about a superhero from the future who (in the comics) time travels to the past and uses his futuristic technology (and knowledge of the future) to monetize his superhero brand. Gunn describes it as “The superhero story of imposter syndrome on an HBO Max series.” Depending on which direction the story goes, it could be written as a deconstruction of the superhero narrative. Booster Gold uses the commercialization of iconography and it could raise relevant themes relating to the morality of superheroism.

The Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow movie will be inspired by Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s lauded comic book story is up next. It’s a sci-fi adventure, and unlike Superman, she was raised on a chunk of Krypton and saw scores of people die and so her worldview is darker than his. This will be a different Supergirl from The CW series, who was more of a Clark Kent analog. In the comics, Kara Zor-El is a lot brasher and quicker to anger with a more Kryptonian sensibility.

The Swamp Thing movie will be a horror movie that explores the character’s dark origins. It’s the quintessential monster story about a man who becomes a monster and has to battle between both sides of himself. Swamp Thing is one of the most powerful characters in DC Comics with one of the best comic book stories, Saga of the Swamp Thing by Alan Moore,  Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben. The Swamp Thing TV series from Aquaman director James Wan was a triumphant horror story before it was canceled, so the movie will have a lot to live up to.