It’s full steam ahead for the new DC Universe, give or take a few bumps in the road. But with Superman, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s major creative reboot should finally find its footing. The upcoming film gives fans a clearer idea of what the duo has planned for the DCU, and it’s a far cry from the grimdark, operatic stylings of Zack Snyder’s DCEU. Superman (played by David Corenswet) may be joining a world already full of superpowered individuals, but his optimistic outlook is set to deliver a shake-up all the same. At least, that’s what Gunn is hoping for.
“In some ways, he can be seen as a little old-fashioned,” Gunn told Entertainment Weekly of the Man of Steel. “But I think that old-fashioned is something that’s really beautiful and, in its own way, the most rebellious thing about that character.”
That sensibility will, ideally, bring the DCU back to basics, providing a strong foundation for other heavy-hitting heroes waiting in the wings. Fans have been eager for updates on the other members of DC’s “Trinity,” Batman and Wonder Woman — and finally, Gunn is providing a long-awaited update on one of them.
In 2023, Gunn and Safran announced that Batman would get his own introduction in The Brave and the Bold alongside Damian Wayne. Though updates have been scarce, DC’s co-chairs recently confirmed that the film is still in active development. The world of Wonder Woman, meanwhile, is also coming together. Paradise Lost, a “Game of Thrones-ish” series set on Wonder Woman’s home on the island of Themyscira, is “slow moving, but it’s moving,” according to Gunn. And that’s not the only project that fans of Diana Prince have to look forward to: a solo Wonder Woman film is also, officially, in the works.
Though he didn’t get into specifics, Gunn told EW that a Wonder Woman movie is “being written right now.” It’s a vague update, but a lot more than anyone had expected. Paradise Lost was the only Wonder Woman-adjacent project announced at the beginning of Gunn’s tenure at DC, and given that the series is reportedly a prequel set “in a pre-Wonder Woman age,” many worried that the heroine wouldn’t appear in the DCU for years. It may still be some time before she makes her debut — according to Gunn, the role hasn’t been cast just yet — but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Gunn’s update, however small, does align with murmurings from other DC Studios bosses. Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav revealed earlier this year that Superman was the key to success for the new DCU, alongside Supergirl, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Gunn doesn’t disagree: “I wouldn’t say only those four characters, but I would say that those four characters are incredibly important to us,” he told EW. With Superman and his cousin, Kara Zor-El, gearing up for their DCU debut, hopefully Batman and Wonder Woman won’t be far behind.
