Since taking over the DC cinematic universe in 2022, DC Studios co-chairmen and CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have overhauled Warner Bros.' comic book-to-screen strategy. The new DCU officially launched in 2024 with the animated series Creature Commandos, and Gunn and Safran have since built out an all-new universe for the likes of Superman, Green Lantern, and Batman to play in. There have been ups and downs so far, as well as big shifts in Gunn's original vision for the DCU, which imagined a 10-year plan to explore the DC Universe across films, television, and video games.

There are still some lingering projects left over from the pre-Gunn era of the DCU, including a new Matt Reeves-led Batman movie and the fate of Peacemaker, the series starring John Cena that spanned two eras of DC film and televsion — and left fans contending with a major cliffhanger.

So, what's next for the DCU? Here’s everything DC is currently planning to put in theaters and on TV screens, this year and well into the future.

2026 DC Studios releases

Lanterns

Release date: Aug. 23, on HBO Max

The 2011 live-action Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds as original Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, was such a legendary flop, it scuttled DC’s plans at the time for a new interconnected superhero universe. A new take on the Green Lanterns, simply called Lanterns, is an intergalactic-cop TV series for HBO Max that attempts to revive Hal Jordan for the screen, this time played by Kyle Chandler (Zero Dark Thirty). Joining Chandler is Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) as Green Lantern-in-training John Stewart.

Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, Lanterns explores both the street level and cosmic aspects of the DCU. Lanterns is inspired by shows like slow-burn mystery shows such as True Detective and Slow Horses. The eight-episode series is currently airing on HBO Max.

Pierre's Green Lantern will also appear in next year's Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.

Clayface

Release date: Oct. 23, in movie theaters

Clayface, a solo outing for the venerable Batman villain, wasn’t originally in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s plans for the DCU. But writer and filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, Doctor Sleep) nonetheless impressed the DCU heads with his “horror-thriller-tragedy” idea, and now we’re getting a Clayface movie!

The body horror movie will offer a new take on Clayface’s origin story, with Tom Rhys Harries (White Lines, Suspicion) starring as Matt Hagen, a rising movie star who is brutally disfigured and turns to an experimental treatment to restore his good looks — with horrifying results.

Clayface is directed by James Watkins and also stars Naomi Ackie and Max Minghella.

2027 DC Studios releases

Man of Tomorrow

Release date: July 9, in movie theaters

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow will be a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together against a much, much bigger threat, according to Gunn. That big threat appears to be the alien Brainiac, who will be played by Lars Eidinger in the film.

Man of Tomorrow will see David Corenswet return as Clark Kent/Superman and Nicholas Hoult return as Lex Luthor. Also returning are Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., María Gabriela de Faría as the Engineer, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, and Milly Alcock as Supergirl. New to the cinematic Superman family are Aaron Pierre as John Stewart/Green Lantern and Adria Arjona, reportedly as the alien Maxima. Andre Royo, Matthew Lillard, and Sinqua Walls have been cast in unspecified roles.

The People v. Gorilla Grodd

Release date: TBD

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

The People v. Gorilla Grodd is a mockumentary-style series that will follow the Daily Planet's Jimmy Olsen investigating a murder case that centers on a psychic gorilla accused of patricide. HBO announced Friday has given the series an eight-episode, straight-to-series order for the new half-hour comedy that will draw comparisons to shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and American Vandal.

Superman's Skyler Gisondo will reprise his role as Jimmy Olsen and will costar alongside Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd. A handful of Superman actors will also return to the DCU for the series: Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. The series also stars Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz. Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, who created American Vandal for Netflix, will serve as showrunners, writers, and executive producers.

2028 DC Studios releases

The Batman Part 2

Release date: Feb. 18, in movie theaters

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

The long, contentious history behind 2022’s The Batman didn’t leave much room for hope: As one of those movies that got bounced from team to team for years, changing shape at every bounce, it looked like a project destined to be driven more by market calculation than by a specific vision. But director and co-writer Matt Reeves found an effective take on The Dark Knight that resonated with audiences and landed solidly at the box office, and DC immediately greenlit a sequel, again with Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader.

The sequel has been a long time coming. Originally slated for a 2025 release, The Batman Part 2 has been delayed multiple times and is now an early 2028 release.

The Batman Part 2 will star Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, with Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb/The Penguin. They'll be joined by Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, and Charles Dance.

Dynamic Duo

Release date: June 30

Image: Tom Taylor, Daniel HDR/DC Comics

Dynamic Duo is an animated movie about the origins of original Robin Dick Grayson and the second kid to fill his little green shoes, Jason Todd, a joint project between Gunn and Safran’s DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation written by Matthew Aldrich (Coco, Lightyear).

Undated DC Studios projects

The Brave and the Bold

Image: Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert/DC Comics

Taking its title from a Silver Age DC Comic that traditionally featured team-up stories, The Brave and the Bold will introduce Batman’s biological son Damian to the DCU — he’s the fifth of Batman’s many Robins — with a story inspired by Grant Morrison’s interpretation of the character in the Batman and Son run of the Batman comic. This will be Damian’s first appearance in a live-action film, though the character has appeared in animated form in TV and movies. The continuity of this film will be separate from Matt Reeves’ planned The Batman movies; it’s meant to establish the new DCU continuity for Batman and Robin.

Booster Gold

Image: DC Comics

DC hasn’t said much about this TV series — except for Gunn announcing it as part of his and Safran’s new slate. It’s meant to bring the comics’ fan-favorite comic-relief character to the screen for his own comedic adventures. Show writer David Jenkins (Our Flag Means Death) was attached to the series, but he said that his take on the time-traveling superhero won't be moving forward. That doesn't mean that Booster Gold is dead, however.

Swamp Thing

Image: Paquette Yanick/DC Comics

Swamp Thing, a plant-elemental hero who (depending on which comics you’re reading) might or might not be a mutated version of scientist Alec Holland, dates back to 1971, and was successfully rebooted by Watchmen author Alan Moore in 1984. But it’ll be a while before we get to see what that looks like on the DC side.

Though Gunn has called Swamp Thing a “passion project” for James Mangold, the writer-director has a Star Wars movie to finish first — in theory.

Mister Miracle

Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ excellent 2017 limited series Mister Miracle is being adapted for animation. The animated series will tell the story of Scott Free, “the greatest escape artist who ever lived” as he tries to pull off the ultimate trick: escaping death itself.

Mister Miracle, which is undated, will begin with something “[going] horribly wrong with the perfect life that Scott and his warrior wife Big Barda have built for themselves on Earth.”

Blue Beetle animated series

Image: DC Comics

Deadline reported in 2024 that Warner Bros. is developing an animated Blue Beetle series, focusing on the Jaime Reyes version of the character, as featured in 2023’s Blue Beetle. Miguel Puga, co-creator of the Nickelodeon series The Casagrandes, will serve as showrunner.

Untitled Wonder Woman movie

Image: Alex Ross/DC Comics

Rounding out DC Comics’ Big Three in the DCU is a planned new movie based on Wonder Woman. James Gunn confirmed to EW in June 2025 that the movie’s script is “being written right now.” And that’s about all that we know about it. But like Superman and various Batman projects, don’t expect any carryover from the Gal Gadot-led Wonder Woman movies.

Untitled Teen Titans movie

A live-action Teen Titans movie exists in very early form at DC Studios, with Supergirl screenwriter Ana Nogueira having turned in a draft of the in-development project, according to James Gunn. “It was something that Ana was really impassioned about, and she turned over an amazing script for us,” Gunn said in February. “She’s fiddling with that now, but it’s definitely not a finished script.”

The Teen Titans made their first appearance in 1964, with Kid Flash/Wally West, Robin/Dick Grayson, and Aqualad/Garth teaming up in The Brave and the Bold, later adding Wonder Girl/Donna Troy and many others (e.g., Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, Raven) to their ranks. Of course, the Teen Titans already have an incredibly popular adaptation in the form of Teen Titans Go!, an animated Cartoon Network comedy series.

Untitled Deathstroke/Bane movie

Image: Francesco Mattina/DC Comics

Batman and Robin/Nightwing nemeses Bane and Deathstroke may be teaming up for a live-action movie of their own. Peter Safran confirmed to reporters in February that screenwriter Matthew Orton (Moon Knight, Cleaner) is working on a script for DC Studios, which Gunn described as “something kind of like” a Deathstroke and Bane story.

What does this all mean? Maybe nothing, considering the long list of projects on DC Studios’ plate, but clearly the executives and creatives are trying anything and everyone for the new DCU.