Three months out from James Gunn and Peter Safran being announced as the new team heading up all the DC comic book movie and TV stuff, the pair have loosely revealed the first stage of their plan to be the other Marvel we don’t really need when that’s already engulfing culture.
The first chapter—or PHASE, to use the Marvel parlance—is called “Gods & Monsters.” This is Brendan Fraser and Ian McKellen erasure, but we’ll move on.
As already disclosed, yes, there’s going to be a new Superman movie that will not include Henry Cavill. It’s apparently called Superman: Legacy, written by and possibly directed by Gunn, and according to Safran, “focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.” Because there’s so much Kryptonian culture to consider! It’s being prematurely positioned for a July 11, 2025 release.
But the first project is Creature Commandos—your favorite! It’s an animated series project, but the idea is to have the (unannounced) voice actors possibly portray the characters in live-action as well. Gunn has written all the episodes, and it seems to basically be “The Suicide Squad but now all the antiheroes are literal monsters.” Not a bad way to go, honestly.
Speaking of The Suicide Squad (and Suicide Squad 2016, for that matter), Amanda Waller is also getting her own self-titled series, with Viola Davis returning for that titular role. It worked for Peacemaker, so why not?
We also once again have True Detective coming back in a lesser form. Lanterns is set to see Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart in an HBO buddy crime series thing that Gunn has compared to True Detective. It will be worth it if we get to see Hal chug a Lone Star as he’s smoking a materialized green cigarette.
Warren Ellis’s The Authority is also headed to screens. It’s mildly subversive superhero stuff. What else would you expect?
Paradise Lost is said to be a series akin to Game of Thrones—this one centering on Wonder Woman’s matriarchal home, Themyscira. That’s another HBO show you once liked, right?
As for Batman, Robert Pattinson will continue to do that as an “Elseworlds” thing (as will Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker) while The Brave and the Bold reboots the character in proper continuity. The film will see Batman alongside his son, Damian Wayne, taking on the mantle of Robin—the film being based on Grant Morrison’s comics run. Chris O’Donnell will not be returning to the role of Robin.
A Booster Gold series is coming too! Concerning a cocky loser who comes from the future with high-tech gear to become notable, Gunn calls it “basically the superhero story of imposter syndrome on an HBO Max series.” Our long-ago fan-casting of Armie Hammer is probably not happening now given, you know, Armie Hammer. We’re gonna have to get the Triangle of Sadness guy or something.
Tom King’s run of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is also getting the feature treatment. It’s said the film will focus on a more “jaded” Supergirl who didn’t get Clark Kent’s Earthen upbringing. She sure missed out on being raised in Kansas, huh?
And, finally, there’s going to be a “very dark horror story” take on Swamp Thing. What do you want? He’s a swamp thing. It’s going to be dark.
Here’s Gunn saying all of this, if you’d prefer video format:
