DC Studios' new DCU is rapidly expanding, and in 2026, the superhero universe will incorporate several new and exciting genres. The rebooted DCU overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran kicked off at the end of 2024 with the animated series Creature Commandos and has since included Superman and Peacemaker Season 2. While all these projects exist in varying degrees of the superhero genre, several projects on the DCU's upcoming slate will iterate on this space by breaking out into different genres.
Of the genres the rebooted DCU has experimented with so far, Creature Commandos is the most distinct, serving as an adult animated superhero TV series. Superman then broadened the appeal of the DCU, offering a classic blockbuster superhero action tale, but with a lighter tone than the old DCEU. Meanwhile, Peacemaker leaned hard into its R rating, providing an action-packed superhero black comedy show.
The DCU Will Release 3 New Genre Films & Shows In 2026
Buddy Cop
Unlike 2011's Green Lantern film, the new DCU's HBO Max series Lanterns will enter new territory as a buddy cop story. In an interview, showrunner Chris Mundy shared with Men's Health that Lanterns is "as much of a buddy cop show as a superhero show."
This buddy cop dynamic has not yet been seen in the DCU and seems to perfectly suit a show about the intergalactic space rangers known as the Green Lantern Corps.
The story's leads are Aaron Pierre's John Stewart and Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan (with an appearance from Superman's Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, also expected). The unlikely dynamic between these two heroes will be at the forefront of the new Lanterns series as they investigate a murder in Nebraska, adding crime and mystery elements to the show.
Space Adventure
Following Superman's release, the next major film on the docket for the DCU is Supergirl, a story focusing on Clark Kent's wayward cousin, Kara Danvers (played by Milly Alcock).
While Superman and Supergirl will have some connective tissue (and characters), the genre of the movie has been described by James Gunn as being a "space adventure," very similar to the Guardians of the Galaxy films. While Gunn is no stranger to this genre, having directed the Guardians trilogy for Marvel Studios, it is a new genre for his DCU thus far.
Supergirl's categorization as a space adventure is exciting for the DCU, as it will take things off Earth for the first time and open the door for interesting new characters to appear, like Jason Momoa's space bounty hunter Lobo.
Supergirl will release on June 26, 2026.
Body Horror
The final new genre for the DCU in 2026 is body horror, which audiences will experience in Clayface. The film stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, an actor who is transformed into the titular shapeshifter and regular Batman villain.
Clayface will be the DCU's first body horror and its first R-rated film release, suggesting the story will not be afraid to embrace its genre's grislier allowances, likely relating to Clayface's transformations.
While the DCU generally skews its films broadly towards families and audiences of all ages, this will not be the case with Clayface, as the film explores a new genre niche for the cinematic universe.
Clayface will be released on September 11, 2026.
