Since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC in 2022, the studio has moved at a steady pace, releasing one project at a time to rebuild the brand. Creature Commandos launched the new DCU on streaming, followed by Peacemaker Season 2. Superman later arrived in theaters in July 2025. At that point, DC Studios had never released two projects in the same month.
However, there is a first time for everything, and June 2026 will be the exception. DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation have announced that Batman: Knightfall Part 1 will be premiering this June at the Annecy Film Festival (which will take place from June 21 to June 27). With the theatrical release of Supergirl on June 26 and the premiere of Knightfall that same week, June 2026 marks the first time two DC films have arrived in the same month since the establishment of DC Studios proper (when James Gunn took charge).
It is worth noting that this track record only applies to James Gunn's tenure. Before he and Safran rebranded the studio in November 2022, the broader DC brand had released multiple projects in the same month on two occasions. In October 2022, Dwayne Johnson's theatrical Black Adam(October 21) and the animated Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons (October 18) landed in the same month, making it back-to-back releases inside the same calendar month. Then, in March 2023, Shazam! Fury of the Gods hit theaters on March 17, and the animated Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham followed on March 28.
Supergirl will follow Kara on an intergalactic road trip as she protects a young girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) while dealing with the loss of her home planet. Batman: Knightfall, on the other hand, follows Bane as he frees Batman's entire rogues gallery from Arkham Asylum, pushing the Dark Knight to his physical and mental breaking point. The fun doesn't stop there, though; the entire year is shaping up to be a huge one, with several major DC films and shows set to arrive after these two.
Every DC Project Releasing In 2026 After Supergirl & Knightfall
Lanterns
The DC Universe's first HBO Max original series of the year lands in August, and it's arriving with serious creative firepower behind it. Lanterns is the brainchild of Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy, Lost producer Damon Lindelof, and comics writer Tom King, the same writer behind the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic.
The show also has an exciting cast list with Kyle Chandler playing Hal Jordan, a legendary Lantern approaching retirement. Aaron Pierre plays John Stewart, the new recruit Hal's tasked with training. The two get pulled into a murder investigation in rural Nebraska, a small-town mystery with a cosmic thread running underneath it. Nathan Fillion reprises his role as Guy Gardner from Superman. Kelly Macdonald plays the local sheriff who, by all accounts, hates Hal's guts.
This version of the Green Lanterns is different from others we've seen on screen. The show is expected to be grounded, and the trailers have already shown that. The appeal of Lanterns is that it starts on the ground but has the potential to build up to a cosmic level that will catch fans off guard. So far, the powers shown in the trailers aren't the flashiest, so it will be interesting to see how the show handles them when it premieres.
Clayface
The DCU's first villain-led film is also its first horror film, and it's arguably the most tonally adventurous project on the 2026 slate. Clayface is directed by James Watkins, whose work in The Woman in Black and Speak No Evil speaks for itself.
Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a handsome, up-and-coming actor whose face is disfigured by a gangster. As a last resort, he turns to a fringe scientist named Dr. Caitlin Bates (Naomi Ackie), who runs an experimental procedure. The results are not what he hoped. Ackie's scientist is described as an Elizabeth Holmes-type: charismatic, dangerous, and operating far outside any ethical guardrail.
Principal photography wrapped in Liverpool in October 2025. The film was originally scheduled for September 11 before being pushed to October 23 by Warner Bros. a date that lands it squarely in Halloween season. This movie is particularly exciting because of its intriguing plot and its R-rated body horror style. It isn't every day you get to see an R-rated superhero film in theaters.
Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2
Season 1 of Batman: Caped Crusader topped Prime Video's Top 10 the week it premiered in August 2024, and Season 2 has been in development ever since. The show, developed by Bruce Timm with executive producers J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, sets Batman (voiced by Hamish Linklater) in a 1940s noir Gotham and plays like a spiritual successor to the original Batman: The Animated Series.
Amazon picked up the series with a two-season order in March 2023 after HBO Max dropped it before it ever aired. Linklater confirmed the second season is in active production, saying late last year that he expects it to premiere sometime in 2026. An exact date hasn't been set, continuing a rough trend for DC shows. Season 2 is expected to introduce a very different take on the Joker, with co-showrunner James Tucker describing the new version as unlike anything fans are familiar with from the character's long screen history. With that in mind, fans of the show will be itching to see what the season has in store for them, especially with the Joker already set up.
My Adventures with Superman Season 3
Jack Quaid's animated take on Clark Kent, My Adventures with Superman, is coming back for a third season, and it's bringing a fuller roster with it. Season 3 was announced in June 2024 and entered post-production by August 2025. The season was originally expected to land in the latter part of the same year, but its absence from HBO Max's December lineup pushed it to this year.
The biggest change in Season 3 is that Kiana Madeira's Kara Zor-El joins the core team alongside Clark, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen, making it a four-person team-up instead of a trio for the first time. Max Mittelman's Lex Luthor returns now fully bald, and Hank Henshaw's transformation into Cyborg Superman is set to happen this season. Superboy also makes his first appearance in the series.
The show has run annually since its debut in July 2023 on Adult Swim, with episodes streaming on HBO Max shortly after broadcast. A spin-off, My Adventures with Green Lantern, is also in development. This season's team-up is probably the most exciting part of My Adventures with Superman. With an awesome list of films and TV shows arriving, DC fans' plates will be full this year.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
