DC Studios Confirms When Rebooted Superhero Slate Will Be Announced

By Sam Hargrave Updated:
Justice League, DC Reboot

DC Studios will reveal the first projects in James Gunn and Peter Safran's new rebooted DCU next month.

Gunn and Safran have only been leading DC Studios for under two months, and yet, movement is already being seen with their new universe. Henry Cavill's Superman and Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam are both out of the picture, with all signs pointing toward a reboot being in the pipeline for the DCU.

Naturally, fans are excited to see DC course-correct after a controversial last decade of live-action storytelling. Gunn and Safran have been hard at work piecing together a decade-long plan for the DCU, and many are wondering when this will be unveiled to the world before it finally gets underway in 2024.

The DC Studios duo reportedly presented their big plan to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav just last week, and it doesn't seem like it will be long before fans get their first glimpse into the future of the superhero world.

James Gunn Confirms Plans for DCU Reboot Announcement

James Gunn, DC, Justice League
DC

After being asked by a fan on Twitter how many projects in his new DCU reboot slate will be revealed in January 2023, DC Studios CEO James Gunn confirmed there will be "a few" included in the announcement. 

The superhero filmmaker has previously stated that he and his DC Studios-leading partner Peter Safran have a slate "ready to go," promising that the first announcements will come at the start of 2023: 

"Peter & I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year."

The only project confirmed for the rebooted slate up until now has been a Superman movie that will be written by Gunn and focus on a younger Clark Kent working as a cub reporter in Metropolis as he crosses paths with key characters such as Lois Lane. 

Henry Cavill will not be returning for the flick as a younger actor will take on the leading role, with reports indicating the rest of DC's Justice League may also be recast under Gunn and Safran's leadership

DCU Reboot Projects James Gunn Could Reveal Next Month

James Gunn's confirmation that the first projects in his DCU slate will be revealed next month seems to indicate his presentation to Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav was successful and he has been giving the green light to push forward his plan for the next era of superhero storytelling. 

Although the filmmaker's wording that he will reveal "a few" projects next month implies this will not be an expansive slate announcement, but rather just those that will be pushing ahead in the imminent future. These could be planned to release as soon as 2024, by which point all the movies from the old regime will be out.

As Gunn and Safran have only been leading DC Studios for just under two months, any casting for these projects seems unlikely. But fans may get a better understanding of whether this constitutes a hard or soft reboot of the franchise, as some actors are currently expected to keep their roles while others are recast.

This new era of the DCU has already been confirmed to expand over movies, series, animation, and video games, although the first projects revealed will likely come from the theatrical side. Gunn could detail those other areas later in 2023 at San Diego Comic-Con in his first Kevin Feige-esque presentation.

Gunn has not yet confirmed what form this announcement will take - as to whether the news will come from a live presentation, tweets from CEO himself, or an article from a trade publication that often breaks major news. Although that ought to be revealed ahead of time as WBD looks to build hype for its new DC slate.

The reveal will probably include more details on Gunn's Superman reboot including a title and release date, although any casting news is rather unlikely. Meanwhile, Gunn has already been teasing characters like Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, Jonah Hex, and Deadman, any of which could have projects in the pipeline.

- About The Author: Sam Hargrave
Sam Hargrave is the Associate Editor at The Direct. He joined the team as a gaming writer in 2020 before later expanding into writing for all areas of The Direct and taking on further responsibilities such as editorial tasks and image creation.