Since taking over the DC cinematic universe in 2022, DC Studios co-chairmen and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have overhauled Warner Bros.' comic book-to-screen strategy. The new DCU officially launched in 2024 with the animated series Creature Commandos, and Gunn and Safran have since built out an all-new universe for the likes of Superman, Green Lantern, and Batman to play in. There have been ups and downs so far, as well as big shifts in Gunn's original vision for the DCU, which imagined a 10-year plan to explore the DC Universe across films, television, and video games.
There are still some lingering projects left over from the pre-Gunn era of the DCU, including a new Matt Reeves-led Batman movie and the fate of Peacemaker, the series starring John Cena that spanned two eras of DC film and television — and left fans contending with a major cliffhanger. So, what's next for the DCU? Here’s everything DC is currently planning to put in theaters and on TV screens, this year and well into the future.
Release date: Oct. 23, in movie theaters Clayface, a solo outing for the venerable Batman villain, wasn’t originally in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s plans for the DCU. But writer and filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep) nonetheless impressed the DCU heads with his “horror-thriller-tragedy” idea, and now we’re getting a Clayface movie! The body horror movie will offer a new take on Clayface’s origin story, with Tom Rhys Harries (White Lines, Suspicion) starring as Matt Hagen, a rising movie star who is brutally disfigured and turns to an experimental treatment to restore his good looks — with horrifying results.
Clayface is directed by James Watkins and also stars Naomi Ackie and Max Minghella. Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow will be a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together against a much, much bigger threat, according to Gunn. That big threat appears to be the alien Brainiac, who will be played by Lars Eidinger in the film.
Man of Tomorrow will see David Corenswet return as Clark Kent/Superman and Nicholas Hoult return as Lex Luthor. Also returning are Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., María Gabriela de Faría as the Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, and Milly Alcock as Supergirl. New to the cinematic Superman family are Aaron Pierre as John Stewart/Green Lantern and Adria Arjona, reportedly as the alien Maxima.
Andre Royo, Matthew Lillard, and Sinqua Walls have been cast in unspecified roles. Gorilla Grodd is a mockumentary-style series that will follow the Daily Planet's Jimmy Olsen investigating a murder case that centers on a psychic gorilla accused of patricide. HBO announced Friday has given the series an eight-episode, straight-to-series order for the new half-hour comedy that will draw comparisons to shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and American Vandal.
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