With the collaboration between James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC is releasing new films and series featuring Robert Pattison’s Batman, a Superman film, a Wonder Woman drama, an animated series, and many more.

Warner Bros.

FILM & TV

DC Unveils New Projects From the Minds of James Gunn and Peter Safran

by Stephanie Orellana posted on February 2, 2023
With the collaboration between James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC is releasing new films and series featuring Robert Pattison’s Batman, a Superman film, a Wonder Woman drama, an animated series, and many more.
DFree / Shutterstock

With the collaboration between James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC is releasing new films and series featuring Robert Pattison’s Batman, a Superman film, a Wonder Woman drama, and an animated series.

With the MCU expanding its universe through multiple films and series, DC is upping its game by including more creative projects to expand DC’s filmography and cast of characters.

James Gunn is known for implementing Marvel’s magnum opus, Guardians of the Galaxy to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite solely working for the MCU, Gunn teamed up with DC to revamp The Suicide Squad with new complex characters and cinematic action scenes. In addition, he made a spin-off series, Peacemaker, based on The Suicide Squad’s titular characters.

Now, Gunn plans on reconstructing the DC cinematic universe as the studio’s co-ceo.

Amidst James Gunn’s studio takeover, film producer Peter Safran and Gunn have vigorously worked on new projects to start a new DCU called Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Chapter 1 will include several new projects featuring some of our favorite superheroes and introduce new characters.

As seen with The Suicide Squad’s Polkadot man and Rat Catcher, Gunn enjoys introducing unknown metahumans to the big screen.

“One of our strategies is to take our diamond characters — which is Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman — and we use them to prop up other characters that people don’t know,” states Gunn. Safran believes that introducing new characters next to their popular icons can help cultivate “those lesser known properties into the diamond properties of tomorrow.”

Creature Commandos

First on the list of DC’s new projects is a seven-episode animated series, Creature Commandos. The series follows a team of military superhumans including Frankestien’s monster, a werewolf, a vampire, and a gorgon, who fought the Nazis in World War II. 

This cast of characters was first introduced to the world in 1980 and now the series aims to create a modernized version of the story, while also setting up future films with their characters. Executive producers are also looking to find actors to not only voice these animated characters but to portray them in live-action films.

Paradise Lost

After falling in love with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, fans can’t get enough of the iconic superheroine. Themyscira is a fictional island in the DC universe where Wonder Woman and the rest of her Amazon sisters were born and raised as warriors.

Paradise Lost aims to answer the intriguing questions about the origins of the mysterious island in a “‘Game of Thrones’-ish story,” as stated by Safran. The series will be set before the birth of Diana and its title is inspired by the comic series Paradise Island Lost, which was created by Phil Jimenez and George Pérez.

Waller

With the collaboration between James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC is releasing new films and series featuring Robert Pattison’s Batman, a Superman film, a Wonder Woman drama, an animated series, and many more.
Warner Bros.

HBO welcomes a new DC series based on the Peacemaker spin-off, Waller, featuring Oscar winner Viola Davis (The Woman King) as the ruthless head of the government task force. The series will mainly focus on Amanda Waller, who established the Suicide Squad to use criminal metahumans to undergo covert and dangerous missions. Waller will be written in collaboration between Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol). 

Lanterns

Ever since Ryan Reynold’s 2011 Green Lantern film, there haven’t been any live-action films showcasing our quick-witted space cop, Hal Jordan. This time, however, the Green Lantern corp. will grace our screens once again as a television series called Lanterns on HBO. 

While many of DC’s new projects are bold and unique, Gunn and Safran are the most excited for Laterns. Safran goes as far as to state that Lanterns is similar to the Emmy award-winning anthology series, True Detective, with a “terrestrial-based investigation story.” 

Lanterns will follow Hal Jordan and ex-marine John Stewart, known for being one of DC’s first Black superheroes. Together they will uncover a mystery that Safran states “plays a really big role leading us into the main story that we’re telling across our film and television.”

Superman: Legacy

Although many fans mourned Henry Cavil’s exit from the Superman franchise, Gunn appears to have plans for the Man of Steel’s new narrative. 

Safran claims their new film, Superman: Legacy will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.” He then describes Superman as the “ kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned,” stating that the Kryptonian is the embodiment of justice and truth. Fans have been aching for a more grounded down to Earth Superman and hopefully, Gunn will deliver with his new screenplay for the film. Superman: Legacy is to be released on July 11, 2025, in theatres.

The Batman Part II

With the collaboration between James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC is releasing new films and series featuring Robert Pattison’s Batman, a Superman film, a Wonder Woman drama, and an animated series.
Warner Bros.

After the success of Matt Reeve’s The Batman, a sequel is being launched with Robert Pattison dawning the cape of the dark night once more. While the story is still under wraps, executives revealed that the film will be released on October 3, 2025, titled The Batman Part II.

The Brave and the Bold

As if fans couldn’t get enough of the playboy billionaire, Gunn also revealed that another Batman film is also in the works. The Brave and the Bold will introduce a different side of Batman’s narrative as well as his son and new robin, Damien Wayne.

Like the entirety of the Bat-family, Damien also creates more emotional depth with Batman’s character, as he is Batman’s biological son. Gunn states, “It’s a very strange sort of father-son story about the two of them.”

Although this is a Batman film, The Brave and the Bold will not star Pattison, meaning that a new Batman will be announced for the film. The film will be based on Grant Morrison’s Batman comics, where Damien was first introduced as the unmerciful teen assassin. 

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

Supergirl is one of the most iconic Kryptonians in the DC universe, next to Superman of course. Her character was featured in several films and series including the well-known Superman: The Animated Series, and CW’s Supergirl. 

Gunn explains that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will feature a “very different type of Supergirl.” The film will explore the differences between Superman’s loving upbringing by his parents, compared to Supergirl’s witnessing the deaths of millions on her planet. 

“We see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus 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,” he comments.

As a result, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is described by Gunn as “much more hardcore” and states that it will be based on Tom King’s comics run, Woman of Tomorrow.

Swamp Thing

Swamp Thing is a monstrous being capable of controlling fungi and forests as well as sprouting plant life. In 2019, Gary Dauberman and Mark Verheiden created a horror television series surrounding the creature. The series was later canceled due to creative differences, leaving Swamp Thing’s story up in the air.

Now the creature is being featured in a stand-alone film that will “investigate the dark origins of Swamp Thing.” 

In addition, Safran and Gunn state that their goal with Swamp Thing is to diversify the DCU. Gunn reveals that people were hesitant to see how the Guardians of the Galaxy would interact with the Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Despite audiences’ initial reactions, the outcast space team of ambiguous heroes became the highlight of the films. Gun believes Swamp Thing can accomplish just that as the creature interacts with other characters.

The DC cinematic universe is expanding its horizons with its variety of obscure unique characters alongside its more prominent and iconic superheroes. It’s exciting to see Gunn and Safran continuing the legacies of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and many more. Fans interested in seeing news or updates about DC’s anticipated projects can click on their official site here.

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