DC’s New Slate: Here Are the 10 Movies and Shows That Kick Off ‘Chapter 1’ of the DCU

A Superman reboot, a surprising new Batman movie and “Swamp Thing” are all part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s initial plan

A new era of DC has arrived. DC Studios co-chairpeople and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled their initial slate of new projects to TheWrap and a small group of reporters on Monday, explaining how this brand new slate of movies and TV shows makes up a “unified” approach to DC storytelling while unveiling some exciting details about the direction DC will take going forward.

Described as “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters,” this initial slate of 10 projects (which Gunn clarified doesn’t comprise the entirety of Chapter 1, just the first part) will introduce audiences to a completely unified approach to DC movies and shows, in contrast to the aborted Zack Snyder-steered series of DC films and various self-contained universes like Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

Almost everything coming up – starting with a new “Superman” movie – will take place in the same universe and will mark a cohesive piece of storytelling.

“It is the first time ever that everything DC-related – film, television, live-action, animation, gaming — is all centralized under one creative vision, that of James and myself,” Safran explained at the presentation.

“We are going to promise that everything from our first project forward is going to be unified,” Gunn added, noting that when he came to DC to write and direct “The Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker,” “no one was minding the mint, they were just giving away IP like they were party favors to any creators that smiled at them.”

Now it’s up to Gunn and Safran to forge ahead, and their initial slate of projects includes major reboots, surprising left turns and a few familiar faces.

So what are these 10 projects? Below we run down what’s first up in the DCU, and what Gunn and Safran revealed about them during the presentation.

“Creature Commandos” – TV Series

DC Comics

The first project released will be an animated TV series called “Creature Commandos,” based on the comic property of the same name that brought vampires, werewolves and zombies into the DC universe. It’s already in production, and Gunn revealed that in this unified DCU, “animation will lead into live-action and will lead back into animation again,” noting that any project that’s animated could also get a live-action version and vice versa. Confirmed characters include Weasel from “The Suicide Squad” (played by Sean Gunn) as well as Rick Flagg Sr., with Gunn revealing that they’re casting the voice actors to also play the same character in live-action down the road.

Gunn wrote all seven episodes of “Creature Commandos” himself.

“Waller” – TV Series

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Warner Bros.

Viola Davis will reprise her role as Amanda Waller in a TV series focused on her character. “Some of the characters that we’re doing we’re changing out – this is a multiverse – some of the characters we’re using the same actors,” Gunn explained. “Viola is still playing Waller and she has Team Peacemaker with her.” This series will fall “in between” the first and second seasons of “Peacemaker,” as Gunn explained he’s been busy writing “Creature Commandos” and “Superman” so “Peacemaker” Season 2 is delayed.

Chrystal Henry (“Watchmen”) and Jeremy Carver (“Doom Patrol”) are writing “Waller.”

“Superman Legacy” – Movie

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James Gunn is writing the next Superman movie. (Warner Bros., Getty)

While “Creature Commandos” and “Waller” were described as the “aperitif” of the DCU, Gunn and Safran explained that “Superman Legacy” will kick off their vision in earnest. “This is really the start of the DCU. It’s currently being written by James and I sincerely hope that he can be persuaded, perhaps, to direct it as well,” Safran said.

“It is not an origin story, it focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing,” Safran added. “He is the embodiment of Truth, Justice and the American Way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.”

A tentative release date of July 11, 2025 is set.

“Lanterns” – TV Series

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DC Comics

“Green Lantern” will finally come to the screen (again) in a new TV series. “It’s a huge HBO-quality TV event. It’s already in development, and our vision for this is very much in the vein of ‘True Detective,’” Safran teased. “It’s terrestrial-based, it’s got two of our favorite Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, star[ring] in a ‘True Detective’-type mystery and it plays a really big role leading into the main story that we’re telling across our film and television.”

This series replaces the previous “Green Lantern” TV show that was in the works, which Safran said was more of a “space opera” and is no longer in development. That idea was spearheaded by Greg Berlanti and was to star Finn Wittrock and Jeremy Irvine.

“The Authority” – Movie

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DC Comics

Based on the Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch comic book series “The Authority,” this film will incorporate characters from DC’s Wildstorm imprint into the DCU.

“One of the things with the DCU is it isn’t just a story of heroes and villains and not every movie and TV show is going to be about good guy versus bad guy, giant thing from the sky comes and good guy wins,” Gunn explained. “There are black hats, white hats and gray hats. There are people that are anti-heroes, and there are people that are very questionable, like The Authority, who basically believe that you can’t fix the world in an easy manner, and they sort of take things into their own hands.”

“Paradise Lost” – TV Series

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Warner Bros.

While “Wonder Woman 3” may be up in the air, Gunn and Safran plan on building out the world of the Amazons with the TV series “Paradise Lost,” which will take place on Themiscyra – the birthplace of Wonder Woman – before the birth of Diana, following the political intrigue of an all-female society.

“It’s gonna be a ‘Game of Thrones’-ish story about Themiscyra, Paradise Island, the home of the Amazons – and it’s also the birthplace of Wonder Woman,” Safran said. “This drama is really about the political intrigue behind a society of all women.”

Gunn added: “What’s the origin of an island of all women? What are the beautiful truths and the ugly truths behind all of that, and what’s the scheming like between the different power players in that society?”

The series will take place before Diana’s birth, so Wonder Woman is not designed to be part of the show.

“The Brave and the Bold” – Movie

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DC Comics

Based on Grant Morrison’s Batman run, “The Brave and the Bold” will introduce the DCU’s Batman and the Bat-family, which will exist separate from Robert Pattinson’s Batman in the Matt Reeves films (which will fall under the “Elseworlds” category outside this continuity).

“This is the introduction of the DCU Batman, Bruce Wayne, and also introducing our favorite Robin, Damian Wayne, who is a little son of a bitch assassin murderer,” Gunn said of the film. Batman didn’t know Damian existed for the first 8-10 years of his life, and Gunn describes this as “a very strange father/son story” about the duo.

“Booster Gold” – TV Series

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DC Comics

After years of stops and starts, a “Booster Gold” adaptation will come to fruition as part of Gunn and Safran’s plans. “It’s about a loser from the future who uses basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero,” Safran teased.

“It’s basically Imposter Syndrome as a superhero,” Gunn added.

“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” – Movie

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DC Comics

Based on Tom King’s comic book series, this “Supergirl” movie will introduce “a very different type” of character than audiences are possibly expecting.

Gunn explained: “In our [DCU] we see the difference between Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant vs. Supergirl who was raised on a rock chip off of Krypton and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life.”

If the film follows King’s comics, the story will be a space-set journey following Supergirl, a dog and a young girl seeking revenge.

This will not be a continuation of the “Supergirl” TV series.

“Swamp Thing” – Movie

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DC Comics

Gunn and Safran, perhaps unsurprisingly, are also developing a “Swamp Thing” movie, and used this opportunity to stress that although the DCU will be connected, they intend for each film to have tonal diversity.

“These stories, although they’re interconnected, they’re not all tonally the same,” Safran said. “So each set of filmmakers brings their own aesthetic to these films, and the fun is seeing how these tonally different works will mash up in the future.”

The film investigates “the dark origins” of Swamp Thing. The comic was previously adapted into a live-action TV series in 2019 that was canceled after one season.

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