DC Chapter One: Gods and Monsters

Hello! If you’ve been following me for a while now you know I have been eagerly waiting this day. The day when Co-chairmen and CEO’s of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran, revealed their “chapter one” plans for the apparently softly-rebooted DC Universe. As you’ll see, this universe consists of live action movies, animated films and television shows, live action television shows on HBO Max, and video games. It’s going to be a wild ride as a DC Comics fan for the next eight to ten years, and I am so excited for all of it. But for now, since all we have is half of chapter one, I will focus on what was revealed today. Please allow me to completely geek-out this entire post. Thank you in advance and you have my sincere apologies if you do not like it!

As I said above, DC Studios revealed half of their chapter one slate today. This chapter is called Gods and Monsters. There were many exciting announcements, but I think you all know which one was my favorite. Obviously, its the new Superman movie coming out in July of 2025! It’s being written by James Gunn right now and it is titled Superman: Legacy. Words cannot explain how excited I am for this movie. As James Gunn explained months ago, this is not an origin story (which I am so happy about). Instead, this film will be about “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned (DC.com).” To paraphrase from something James Gunn said a while ago, this movie is also about Superman/Clark Kent figuring out who he is. Basically how to be the hero we all know and love. It doesn’t appear to be written as a darker movie as Man of Steel was back in 2013, so my hopes are very, VERY high for this. They just need to cast the roles perfectly and it just might be the best Superman movie we’ve had in decades. Of course, the writing plays a big part in that, but I am not worried since James Gunn is writing it! Okay, let’s move on. I can talk about this Superman movie all day.

The next live action movie I am super pumped for is titled The Brave and the Bold and it is based on the Grant Morrison comic run (DC.com). As James Gunn states in the article: “This is the introduction of the DCU’s Batman.” It is also “a story of Damian Wayne, who’s Batman’s actual son that he didn’t know existed for the first eight to ten years of his life. He was raised as a little murderer and assassin. He’s my favorite Robin.” This movie is going to be so exciting. I am very interested to see how this all fits together with Superman’s movie because James Gunn had stated that he wanted a younger cast to play our heroes, so if Superman is supposed to be young, wouldn’t it make sense for Batman to be young as well? Apparently he’s not that young since he’s going to have a ten year old child lol. Either way it’s going to be so cool to see the DCU explore the entire Bat-family throughout this gigantic story they are telling. I also believe Damian Wayne is going to be a crowd pleaser. After seeing this character in some animated films, if they cast the right person, he’s going to be hilarious.

Keeping it within the Super family, DC Studios is also developing a live action movie for Supergirl, based off of Tom King’s great comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. That is also the title of the film. I admit I haven’t read this one yet, but I am going to. Tom King is the one who wrote Superman: Up in the Sky, which is my favorite Superman comic, so I have no doubt this story about Kara/Supergirl will be fantastic. The movie itself is going to be great. Per James Gunn: “In our story, we have Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents. Kara was on Krypton. She was on a piece of Krypton that drifted away from the planet and she lived there for the first fourteen years of her life in a horrible situation where she watched everyone around her die. So, she’s a much harsher and more f*cked up Supergirl than you’ve been used to thus far.” That sentence makes me extremely excited for this one as well!

Okay, so I don’t want to continue boring all of you, so let me speed this up. There are more live action movies we were told about, and also live action HBO Max series. All sound incredible! I will list them out below and give the link to the article. That way those who are interested can read more about the rest of these!

HBO Max Live Action Series:

Waller (following Amanda Waller in between Peacemaker season 1 and 2).

Lanterns: I am so excited for the Green Lantern Corps! This will follow Hal Jordan AND John Stewart!

Paradise Lost: This honestly sounds like so much fun. It will be a Game of Thrones type show and will take place before Diana’s (Wonder Woman) birth.

Booster Gold: Although he is not well known, and I have yet to read his comics, Booster Gold WILL BE a fan favorite. I am calling it now. As James Gunn said “I think of it as basically the story of a superhero’s imposter syndrome. ” I’ll leave it at that.

More Live Action Movies:

Swamp Thing: “This is a film that will investigate the dark origins of Swamp Thing. (Peter Safran)” Honestly, I don’t know what Swamp Thing is, or what he or she is about. I’ll have to read up on it!

The Authority: Apparently a “passion project” for James Gunn. I also don’t know much about these characters either. Per James Gunn: “There are morally gray characters “. So, needless to say, I’m excited for it. Just like I am for the rest of these!

And finally, one animated HBO Max series titled Creature Commandos. Again, I am unfamiliar with them, but I will read into it! I have plenty of time anyways… haha

Link: https://www.dc.com/blog/2023/01/31/the-next-generation-of-dc-movies-and-tv-has-arrived

Here is also a link to James Gunn’s twitter account, where he posted a five minute video today explaining each of these films: https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1620468379672002565?s=20&t=a0FzG12sajwMh4broqZzkQ

As I’ve said multiple time throughout this piece, I am SO excited for the future of DC comics. Whether it’s live action, animation, or video games, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for these characters. They are all so unique and have such different personalities. They are also so much fun to read, so seeing quality movies in a continuous universe, and having all the characters interact will be so epic. I just can’t wait!

Thanks again for letting me geek-out tonight. If you couldn’t tell I am just really excited and passionate about most of these characters. If you are also a fan of them, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you. Even if you’re not interested and want to let me know, go for it lol.

Have a great night everyone!

Peter

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