James Gunn Unveils His New DCU Slate With Reboots of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and More

Gunn specifically stated Ben Affleck would not return to the role, but they remain in touch with America’s most famous Dunkin’ lover about directing a future project.

But, The Batman Will Continue

Speaking of the Caped Crusader, the new trilogy jump-started by Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson last year will live on, parallel to Gunn and Safran’s efforts. The anticipated sequel now has a date,  October 3, 2025, and an official title: The Batman Part II. The Colin Farrell Penguin series is still a go as well and will serve as a bridge between the first film and the sequel.

Additionally, Gunn stated that Reeves’ movie, the Joker sequel, and the still-gestating Ta-Nehisi Coates Black Superman movie will fall into a clearly labeled DC Elsewheres branding to delineate that they’re separate from the DCU.

Booster Gold is “Imposter Syndrome” Meets Back to the Future II

The next HBO Max series will focus on the cult favorite, Booster Gold. Michael Jon Carter, a janitor from the future, steals superhero tech and travels to our modern day in hopes of being a hero, Gold is described as “imposter syndrome as superhero,” and will likely skew more towards the comedic side of things. A Booster Gold project written by Thor’s Zack Stentz was completed in 2019 and passed along to Greg Berlanti to direct, but it’s likely that version won’t be re-used here.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Is Galactic True Grit

Based on the recent Tom King and Bilquis Evely mini-series of the same name, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, will be a film featuring a darker take on Supergirl. In King’s story, a hardened and jaded Supergirl ends up being enlisted by a young girl to avenge the death of her father, a la True Grit. Gunn says the tale will highlight the difference between Superman’s upbringing on Earth versus Supergirl, who was “raised on a rock, a chip off of Krypton, and who watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life and then come to Earth. She is much more hardcore and not the Supergirl we’re used to.” 

Swamp Thing Will Bring Things to a Scary Close

The horror-film Swamp Thing will bring Gunn’s first chapter of the DCU to a close. Little information was provided about the movie other than it’s a “very dark” story that’s “totally outside of the DCU but will still feed into the rest of the stories.” In the comics, scientist Alec Holland is murdered after a bomb goes off and becomes an avatar of “The Green,” with the full command of nature at his will. Considering Gunn is positing Swamp Thing as a horror tale, anticipate the project tweaking the origins and leaning into Cronenberg-style body horror while functioning as an environmental conservation tale.