The DC universe is officially heading in a brand-new direction. On Jan. 31, James Gunn and Peter Safran, who took over leading the superhero-comics-inspired film and television franchise in November, announced DC Studios’ plans for the future. They shared details for 10 upcoming projects — five movies and five TV shows — which will create Chapter One of the new DCU, which they’re calling the “Gods and Monsters” chapter. You might be a little confused If you’re not deep into DC lore. Basically, all these projects will be in one shared universe. Old movies like “Batman v. Superman,” the Gal Gadot “Wonder Women” series, “Aquaman,” and “Black Adam” won’t have any impact going forward. However, that doesn’t mean all those actors are gone. According to Variety, Gunn and Safran said that Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Zachary Levi could all potentially reprise their respective roles. But so far, the only casting news they’ve shared is that Viola Davis will return as Amanda Waller for her series “Waller.”
If that’s making you worry about the “Joker” sequel with Lady Gaga and the sequel to 2022’s “The Batman,” don’t stress. Gunn and Safran said those projects exist in their own universe and will continue to go forward. There are also the four DC movies scheduled to release this year: “Shazam 2,” “The Flash, “Aquaman 2,” and “Blue Beetle.” During their announcement, Safran teased a third Aquaman film and Gunn called “The Flash” “f*cking amazing,” per Screen Rant.
Another major part of the announcement is that from now on, whoever signs on to play a character in an animated show will also sign on to play them in live-action, and vice versa. It’s not clear if that will affect HBO Max’s current run of the “Harley Quinn” animated series, where Kaley Cuoco voices the lead anti-hero, who’s been portrayed by Margot Robbie on screen.
As for the ten new projects, Gunn and Safran shared very few details about them. However, Gunn said he brought together a writers’ room to map out an overarching story for the universe, promising that the “Gods and Monsters” chapter will come to a promising conclusion. There’s a lot we still don’t know, but ahead, we’re breaking down everything we do know about the movies and TV shows in the new DCU.