James Gunn reveals the first chapter of the new DC Universe

Three months after Warner Bros. Discovery hired James Gunn and Peter Safran to head up DC Studios, the pair are finally ready to reveal the first details of their vision for the DC Universe. On Tuesday, Gunn shared a video about the first phase of the DCU, which will be called Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. It consists of a bunch of live-action and animated projects, including new movies featuring Superman, Batman, Supergirl, and Swamp Thing.

Movies and shows coming to the DC Universe

First and foremost, the DC movies of the previous regime are still on the slate. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17), The Flash (June 16), Blue Beetle (August 18), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25) will all still hit theaters as planned.

There will also be “DC Elseworlds” projects, which are stories that take place in separate corners of the multiverse. These include movies like Matt Reeves’ The Batman – Part II and Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux, as well as the animated series Teen Titans Go!

As for the DCU proper, Gunn announced several titles that are currently in the works:

• Creature Commandos (Animated HBO Max series)
• Waller (Live action HBO Max series)
• Superman: Legacy (Live action movie)
• Lanterns (Live action HBO Max series)
• The Authority (Live action movie)
• Paradise Lost (Live action HBO Max series)
• The Brave and the Bold (Live action movie)
• Booster Gold (Live action HBO Max series)
• Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (Live action movie)
• Swamp Thing (Live action movie)

In a Q&A on DC’s website, Safran said that the plan is to release two movies and two HBO Max series per year. The co-CEOs didn’t share release dates for a majority of the projects, but Gunn did reveal that Superman: Legacy is scheduled to come to theaters on July 11, 2025.

“Even though this is all a connected universe, it’s really important to me that the individual writers and directors on the projects give their own self-expression to it, just like they do in the comics,” Gunn added in the Q&A. “Everything doesn’t always look the same. Everything doesn’t always have the same expression. Different artists bring remarkably different looks, feels and tones. This is not the Gunnverse.”