James Gunn is forging the new DCU with full swing and all eyes are on his directorial, Superman which will be the dawn of the studios’ new DCU canon. Just three months after Gunn and Peter Safran took over the DC, 10 new slates were announced for the rebooted DC slated for both television and the big screen.
While Superman will be the stepping stone to Chapter 1 of DC— Gods and Monsters, all the announced projects will not be established in the movie itself, it would be too chaotic and insane. However, with the updates from Gunn himself and the leaked news and rumors so far, indicate the establishment of four upcoming DC projects.
4. Lanterns
In the first announced list of ten confirmed projects, Lanterns beamed the green light. With Nathan Fillion joining James Gunn’s Superman as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, the indication of the establishment of the character will introduce his essence to fans to prepare for a ride in the upcoming Max series.
Gunn’s DC partner, Peter Safran was quite excited about the project when they announced it, saying Lanterns will be “a huge HBO-quality event,” adding that the show will be “very much in the vein of ‘True Detective,’” (via, Variety)
For Safran, Lanterns “is a very important show,” which will follow Hal Jordan and John Stewart— members of the Green Lantern Corps, they will investigate a mystery on Earth. Safran added that the mystery “plays a really big role leading us into the main story that we’re telling across our film and television.” As Fillion is set to appear in Superman as Guy Gardner, it will establish the footing of the upcoming Max series. As of yet, Lanterns has not booked any actors other than Gardner.
3. The Authority
Gunn and Safran are keen on bringing unexplored characters on screen, while it might seem like a gamble, the bold and brave decision might save DC, retaining its former glory that was temporarily lost in a bit of turbulence that was reflected at the box office. Recently, photos of Maria Gabrielle de Faria as The Engineer were leaked, although not similar to the comic book version, her photographs teased that it will be the establishment of the forthcoming movie where Faria’s Angela Spica a.k.a. The Engineer plays a huge part. “It isn’t just a story of heroes and villains, and not every movie and TV show is going to be about good guy versus bad guy,” Gunn said.
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“There are people that are very questionable, like the Authority, who basically believe that you can’t fix the world in an easy manner, and they take things into their own hands.”
Gunn also revealed that the movie was in pre-production. With the confirmation via the set photos, Faria’s The Engineer could be the primary villain as her character and The Authority members are anti-heroes totally contradicting Superman’s moral ground.
2. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
House of the Dragon and Upright star Milly Alcock joined Gunn’s DCU as Supergirl, a cousin of Superman. The movie will seemingly explore Kara Zor-El and her origin. As she is all set to appear in David Corenswet’s Superman, it will definitely be the introduction of Gunn’s version of the character who will evolve more in her solo venture.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is based on Tom King’s book of the same name which, per Gunn, “is a very different type of Supergirl.”
“We see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he’s 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 previously said.
Screenwriter Ana Nogueira was recently roped in to scribe the movie but further details are still under wraps.
1. Superman Sequel
Superman has been one of the most hyped movies since its announcement. The movie, focusing on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing,” per Safran, helmed Gunn as the director. “He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned,” Safran hinted at the character. “Superman is for everyone,” Gunn added, “That’s a four quadrant film that should speak to everyone in the world.”
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Of course, Superman (previously named Superman: Legacy) is the most important project in the new DC canon. The movie is already in production and Gunn has kept fans in the loop with updates maintaining the buzz around the movie. Recently, the director revealed that the movie is being filmed in the Adventdalen valley in Svalbard, Norway. “We have filmed the first scenes [in Svalbard], which show Superman fleeing to the Fortress of Solitude,” Gunn told Svalbardposten (via Deadline).
“We wanted a place that was beautiful and felt like being in the middle of the Arctic, so we looked at several places in the world. But there were many things that sold Svalbard for us over the other places. First, there is the natural beauty. But there’s also the fact that you’ll find a varied landscape here that you won’t find anywhere else. Nature gives a special feeling.”
It is evident that Gunn is on the verge of making Superman huge, while he refused the rumor of the movie’s $364 million budget, it must be expensive.
But beyond that, the movie will be the embodiment of the new dawn of the new DC Universe and Gunn will keep his promise to make the movie a light bearer into the future indicating a potential sequel, if not more. While Nicholas Hoult joined the movie as supervillain Lex Luther, his role in the first installment of the movie might not be in the frontline as Gunn might keep him fresh for the sequel.
Looking at the cast of the movie, the formation of a new version of the Justice League is almost certain but a movie will not happen anytime soon as DC will experiment with these characters and see how they perform among fans. Still, what DC without the Justice League? It should not take ages for the studio to realize that.
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Other than these projects, DC also announced The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, Creature Commandos, Waller, Paradise Lost, and Booster Gold.
