Checking in on the DCU’s 10-Year Plan
In 2022, James Gunn and Peter Safran were named co-biggest boys of DC Studios. Shortly thereafter, the pair announced that they had an “eight-to-ten-year” plan for how the DCU would be connected across movies, TV, and video games. In that initial press conference, the duo unveiled their Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, the big keystone of which was Superman. Or as it was known then, Superman: Legacy. Other pieces set to follow included an Amanda Waller cartoon, some live-action Green Lantern shenanigans, and the film debut of Damian Wayne. So how has James Gunn and Peter Safran’s 10- (or 8-) year plan been going?
Here are just a few of our plans. Up, up, and away! #DCStudios #DCU @DCComics pic.twitter.com/8XNDNLUEPq
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 31, 2023
Pre-Chapter One housekeeping
Before Gunn and Safran could get their vision underway, they had to finish out the projects already chugging along the Warner Bros. Discovery assembly line. Okay, not all of them. A third Wonder Woman film was axed in December 2022.
It was always unclear how much of the old DCEU would be making it into the Gunniverse. Viola Davis is playing Amanda Waller across the Suicide Squad movies, but after the underperformance of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Jason Momoa transitioned from Ocean Man to Space Bounty Hunter. He’s playing Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl film. Then there’s The Flash. In his initial rollout video, Gunn said the film would “resets the entire DC Universe.” But that reset ended with George Clooney as Batman, so how central to the continuity can it be?
What has already come out?
The first official release from the 10/8-year plan was the animated Creature Commandos. It was Gunn’s trial run of having the same actors play characters across animation and live-action. Frank Grillo plays Rick Flagg Sr. on the show and in Superman. The show introduced animated Amanda Waller, voiced by Viola Davis, cementing her place in the nuDCU. It also means G.I. Robot can fight Nazis in live-action, should the need arise.
But obviously the most important release for this 10-year plan was Superman. And now that it’s breaking box office records, Gunn and company can de-clench a little. The film sets up the Green Lantern Corps, Supergirl, and even brings Hawkgirl from Peacemaker into moviedom.
What’s next?
Supergirl
The ending of Superman sets up Milly Alcock as Supergirl, a hot mess Kryptonian party girl. Turns out, Krypto is her dog and Clark was petsitting while she got shitfaced off-world. Gunn has already said the film will closely follow the Woman of Tomorrow arc, with outer space hijinks with her protege Ruthye (Eve Ridley) and the dark’n’gritty Lobo (Jason Momoa). Supergirl lands in theaters June 26, 2026.
Lanterns
Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) sets up the Green Lantern Corps for HBO’s Lanterns. The show will be a double hander between Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart, “very much in the vein of True Detective,” per Safran and Gunn. Kyle Chandler will play Jordan, opposite Aaron Pierre as Stewart, per Deadline. Created by Damon Lindelof and Tom King, the show will follow noob Lantern Stewart and veteran Jordan as they solve a murder in flyover America. And those boys can fly.
Clayface
David Zaslav indicated that the Clayface movie is immanent in his statement celebrating Superman’s box office success obtained by THR. “Over the next year alone, DC Studios will introduce the films Supergirl and Clayface in theaters and the series Lanterns on HBO Max, all part of a bold ten-year plan,” he wrote. “The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.” Last we heard, Clayface was looking for a director, with a script by Mike Flanagan. Who wants to shoot some super monologues?
The Brave and the Bold
Gunn has been sharing some details about The Brave and the Bold, the DCU’s introduction to the entire Batfam. It’s going to be a father-son flick about Bruce and his son, Damian Wayne. All we really know about this movie’s casting, however, is that Robert Pattinson won’t be BatDad.
The TBD at WBD
Some shows and movies seem to have moved to the back burner, if they’re happening at all. We haven’t heard much about the planned Waller animated show since November 2024 when Gunn bleeted that the show was still in development. There’s also been very little info about The Authority (a “by any means necessary” alternative to the Justice League), Paradise Lost (a Game of Thrones-alike set on Wonder Woman’s homeland), the Booster Gold HBO Max series, or whatever Gunn and Safran are/were planning to do with Swamp Thing. But hey, there are still five to seven years to go!
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