James Gunn has just announced several projects spanning film and television, in a new chapter for the DCU, titled “Gods and Monsters”.
The first project Gunn announced was “Creature Commandos”. This is an animated series, that will be seven episodes long. In the comics, these characters were originally a team of monsters that were used to fight against Nazis, but the series will be a more contemporary take on the team. Gunn has confirmed that while the voice actors have yet to be cast, he and Peter Safran are looking for actors that can play the characters in both animation and live action.
A new live action series is in the works, focused on Amanda Waller, titled “Waller” respectively. This is a spin-off of “Peacemaker”, where Viola Davis is returning to the role. Waller will be teaming up with several members of Team Peacemaker, and some other new characters. The show is being written by Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol).
Now getting into the heavy hitters, the first film Gunn announced was “Superman: Legacy”. Gunn is in the process of writing the script, and could even potentially direct. The film is confirmed to not be an origin story, promising a younger, and hopeful take on the iconic character. While discussing details about the film, Peter Safran described the film as “it focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness is old-fashioned.”. This film will be the true beginning of Gunn and Safran’s long term plans.
Heading back into the streaming world, a Green Lantern focused show is finally hitting the small screen. The series is titled “Lanterns” and will have Hal Jordan and John Stewart at the center of the story. The series is said to be in the same vein as ‘True Detective’, with the Green Lantern Corps serving as intergalactic space cops sent to protect Earth. However they begin to uncover a dark, and terrifying evil which will tie into the grand storyline of the DCU.
A project called “The Authority” is in the works, which James Gunn considers a passion project of his. The film is based on a team of superheroes with unorthodox and sometimes severe methods of keeping the planet safe. The characters that will be featured in the film were originally from an imprint called Wildstorm, which was run by the current head of DC publishing, Jim Lee. When describing the film, Gunn said, “Not every film and TV show is going to be about good guy versus bad guy, giant things from the sky come and good guy wins. There are white hats, black hats and gray hats. They are kinda like Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. They know that you want them on the wall. Or at least they believe that.”
Paradise Lost is an upcoming live action series focused on the history of Themyscira. Gunn described it as a Game of Thrones-esque show, focusing on the politics behind an all female Island, and the scheming that entails. The series is confirmed to take place before the events of ‘Wonder Woman’.
Getting into another huge feature film for the DCU, is ‘The Brave and the Bold’. This will be the first appearance of the DCU’s new Bruce Wayne, while simultaneously introducing his son, Damian Wayne. The film is inspired by Grant Morrison’s infamous Batman run. When speaking about the project, Gunn had this to say, “This is the introduction of the DCU Batman, of Bruce Wayne, and also introduces our favorite Robin, Damian Wayne, who is a little son of a bitch.” Gunn went on to further describe the film as a “very strange father-and-son story”.
When James Gunn was first announced to be one of the two heads of DC, he posted a poll where he asked fans what character they would most love to see introduced into the DCU. Booster Gold won the poll, and now a live action series has been announced about the character. Booster Gold was first introduced in the comics in 1986, and has formed a cult fan base ever since. Gunn had this to say, “It’s about a loser from the future who uses basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero.”
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a new film in the works, promising a very different take on Supergirl than we’re used to. When describing the film, Gunn said that it would be inspired by Tom King’s miniseries from last year. Gunn gave fans idea of what to expect, saying that, “We will see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl, 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 hard-core and not the Supergirl we’re used to.”
To cap off the day’s announcements, and one that personally made me VERY happy, is that a new Swamp Thing horror film is in the works. James said that, “This is a much more horrific film, but we’ll still have Swamp Thing interact with the other characters”. The untitled Swamp Thing film will bring this first ‘Gods and Monsters’ chapter to a close.
While many new films and series were announced today, James also touched on the next four films that are on the docket to release in 2023. James described ‘The Flash’ as “one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen”, and further saying that the film will reset the DCEU. Zachary Levi will seemingly still continue to play the role of Shazam post Fury of the Gods, Blue Beetle will carry over into the DCU, and Jason Momoa will still continue to play Aquaman in the DCU, and round out an Aquaman trilogy.
For the films that are set outside of the main continuity, they will be under a new “Elseworlds” label. It was announced today that the sequel to the critically acclaimed ‘The Batman’ will be titled ‘The Batman: Part II’, while reaffirming that ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ will be apart of that label. Safran stated that there will be a “high bar” for projects to be made under the label, outside of the main continuity, but those projects will still be considered in the coming years.
There’s a lot to look forward to, and while this new slate promises social media discourse, the majority of fans seemed to be pleased. We at Screened are very excited to see the first chapter of the DCU unfold.
Bring on Gods and Monsters.