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"Chapter 1 - Gods and Monsters" in the new DC Universe

TL;DR: Warner Bros. Discovery announced in 2022 that filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran had been hired as Co-Chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios (*the new studio tapped with overseeing all DC film, TV, animation and game projects going forward).



DECEMBER 31st, 2023: James Gunn shared the slate of projects coming out of "DCU" ("DC Universe", as opposed to the previously named "DCEU / DC Extended Universe"), dubbed "Chapter 1 - Gods and Monsters" ("Chapter" in lieu of "Phase" :p), which comprised 10 projects since announced (there are more), that I will take a closer look at in this blog-feature, starting with the below featured video, plus additional information gleaned from dc.com and the follow-up feature ... SCROLL THRU to view excepts, along with embeds of Tweets with images, cheers.



- The DCU will link-up films, television, gaming and animation.

- All TV shows will be on HBO Max.

- Matt Reeves' BATMAN and Todd Phillips' JOKER will be housed under "DC ELSEwORLDS", as is "Teen Titans Go!" animated TV series.

Adhering to the comicbook realms, this makes so much sense, and at the same time utilises what folks are familiar with (*at least in the comicbooks) to lay the foundation, IMHO.

The possibilities of seeing a live-action "Gotham by Gaslight" or any stories not tied to "regular continuity" to the DCU, is deliciously tempting...!

The four movies moving forward at this time are:
- Shazam: Fury of the Gods
- The Flash (*which resets the DCU, reminding me of "Crisis of Infinite Earths" etc)
- Blue Beetle (New feature)
- Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom

"Chapter 1 - Gods and Monsters" is driven by "writers" and stories. Names mention ed thus far include: James Gunn, Tom King, Christal Henry (Watchmen), Christina Hodson (The Flash), Drew Goddard, and Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight).

These are the 10 projects announced:
- Creature Commandos (Animation)
- Waller (TV Live Action)
- Superman: Legacy (Film / July 11th, 2025)
- Lanterns (TV Live Action)
- The Authority (Film)
- Paradise Lost (TV Live Action)
- The Brave and The Bold (Film)
- Booster Gold (TV Live Action / HBO Max)
- Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (Film)
- Swamp Thing (Film)

Let's take a slightly closer look, shall we?
Along with my ("unsolicited" :p) personal commentary and observations, cheers.





ANNOUNCED: Creature Commandos (Animation)
- Showcased is apparently the actual artwork from the animation company that’s doing it.
- Will consist of 7 episodes.
- "Weasel" - from Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" is apart of the line-up.
- In Creature Commandos, one of the main characters shows up in "Waller".

My personal memories of "Creature Commandos" were the comicbooks from the 80s(?), where straight-forward vampire, werewolf, Frankenstein monster and robot conducted operations in World War 2! Now THAT is something that'll excite me!
Alas, I've not followed the "modernised" comicbook incarnations or stories, so could hardly get excited for this, sorry :p



ANNOUNCED: Waller (TV Live Action)
- Viola Davis is back as her character, "Amanda Waller".
- Regulars in the show include some of the Peacemaker team.
- This series will sit between Peacemaker season one and season two.

"Amanda Waller" is that one "non-super-powered" character that has since crossed over comicbooks, film and television (not forgetting "animation"), and she's the by default link for every other property, much like "Nick Fury" could be in the MCU, innit?

Creators attached to the show include Christal Henry (writer on Watchmen), and Jeremy Carver (who created Doom Patrol).



ANNOUNCED: Superman: Legacy (Film / Premiere date scheduled for July 11th, 2025)
- Considered the launch of the "DCU" (previously "DCEU").
- James is currently writing it. Thru recent online chatter, it is based off Clark as a "Cub Reporter" for The Daily Planet, and will star a younger Superman/Clark Kent yet to be casted.
- It’s not an origin story. "It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing."



ANNOUNCED: Lanterns (TV Live Action)
- Stars characters "Hal Jordan" and "John Stewart".
- Touted as "...more of a True Detective-type mystery with our two Lanterns."
- "A terrestrial-based mystery," shared James Gunn, "that leads into the overall story that we’re telling throughout the different movies and television shows. We find this ancient horror on Earth, and these guys are basically supercops on “Precinct Earth."
- Peter Safran added: "The story is going to weave back and forth between the films and the television shows. Peacemaker is a good example of how that works, and that’s what we’re going to do with this big overarching story that we’re telling."

Utilising the media of television to expand beyond to the cinemas, instead of MCU films shepherding their TV series (at least in Phases 1-4). Making folks at home to go out to theaters, instead of the cinematic experience leading back to the google box. I have since realized and accepted that I am apart of THAT generation of consumers now too.



ANNOUNCED: The Authority (Film)
"The Authority’s a very different kind of superhero story. They are basically good-intentioned, but they think that the world is completely broken and the only way to fix it is to take things into their own hands, whether that means killing people, destroying heads of state, changing governments—basically, whatever they want to do to make the world better. We’ll see how that journey goes for them. There are morally gray characters (in our DCU), of which these are.

PS: We love that they think the ends justify the means and they’re the ones that decide what the right ends are.". (dc.com)

OMFG. I could not believe this was announced...! I had been a HUGEFKNFAN of the 1999 run by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, followed by the Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely run! Then I realized the reference might have been to when DC purchased Wildstorm, and the stories thereafter, which I am wholly unfamiliar with. But I might also be wildly confused here, so I'll instead keep my excitement at bay for the time being, cheers.



ANNOUNCED: Paradise Lost (TV Live Action) - "This is a Game of Thrones-type story about Themyscira/Paradise Island, home of the Amazons and the birthplace of Wonder Woman. This involves all of the darkness, drama and political intrigue behind this society of only women."
- The events really take place before Diana (Prince)'s birth.
Gunn: "It’s an origin story of how this society of women came about. What does it mean? What are their politics like? What are their rules? Who’s in charge? What are the games that they play with each other to get to the top?"

"Swords and sandals" epic that no doubt veer into more "mature" rating, while still "linked" to Wonder Woman. Clever.



ANNOUNCED: The Brave and The Bold (Film)
- Gunn mentioned that this'll be the introduction of the DCU’s Batman ("It is not Robert Pattinson. It is not Ben Affleck").
- "This is 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. It’s based on the Grant Morrison comic run">
- This film will feature other members of the extended Bat-Family.

As with all other "Batman" offerings in the spectrum of media, I will of course be interested to see something different offered, instead of something same-old-same-old, IMHO.



ANNOUNCED:Booster Gold (Live action HBO Max series)
- "A loser from the future who uses his basic future technology to come back to today to pretend to be a superhero." - Gunn adds "...basically the story of a superhero’s imposter syndrome. How do you deal with that? (It’s about) how he tries to use this future technology to be loved by the people of today and what is really at the base of that. It’s a character story that’s going to be a very different type of show, and we’re talking to an actor about it now."

I mean, I did collect the early issues of the comic book, but I can hardly say "I am a fan", but can somewhat understand the "appeal" of the concept now, and would expect a certain level of pathos ... and my mind veers towards "Wild Tiger and Bunny" anime, crossing over with John Cena's "Peacemaker" where his racist father has sci-fi tech...



ANNOUNCED: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (Live action movie)
- Based on Tom King (and Bilquis Evely)’s comic.
- "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."

I appreciate that this Supergirl seems to veer from "Superman-lite", and might well be a mirrored foil to "Superman: Legacy", and wonder based on the timeline, will she be a "young adult" to Clark? Or someone "younger". I've never been on-board with the "cousin"-thing tho...



ANNOUNCED:Swamp Thing (Live Action film)
- This is a film that will investigate the dark origins of Swamp Thing.

Didn't we just have a tv series? Why are we consistently delving into "Swamp Thing" again and again? Understandably this being an entry point to the "darker" aspect of the DC-lore, about still, are there no other characters...? The "misunderstood monster"-pathos is getting pretty soggy, IMHO.

James Gunn closes with; "We are actually developing a few other things as well, but for one reason or another, we can’t say them. This is the first batch of stuff, but there may be a couple of surprises to come." ... And would that include "Wonder Woman", who is not mentioned apart of this line-up (except for a passing mention in "Paradise Lost")?

The recently released "Black Adam" was not mentioned, nor does it seem to be transitioning into the new DCU (internet chatter again, no links for you, sorry).
The much vaulted "Snyderverse" is left with Jason Mamoa's "Arthur Curry/Aquaman", and Ezra Miller's "Barry Allen/Flash", while Ben Affleck's "Batman" and Henry Cavill's "Superman" is no longer apart of the equation. No doubt after "The Flash" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom", there'll be no one else to restore. I wonder if there ever will be a "Justice League" in the new DCU, and if replacing Ray Fisher's "Cyborg" would be opening up a whole new spectrum of "discussions" in the future.

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