James Gunn's DCU is about to look very different, and the change is only nine days away. The shared universe that the DC Studios co-chief has spent the past year and a half assembling now features three released projects: the animated Creature Commandos, the box office hit Superman, and Peacemaker. Each one has added a piece to a world that still feels new. The next piece is the biggest test yet of how far this world can go.
Supergirl arrives in theaters on June 26, and it pushes the DCU into territory none of those earlier projects reached. The Milly Alcock-led film takes the franchise off Earth and out into deep space, giving the universe its first true spinoff. This is the case because Supergirl appeared in Superman last year. Fans would recall Kara Zor-El's cameo at the tail end of the film, where she returned for her dog Krypto and was drunk out of her mind.
The film also becomes the first DC Studios release to adapt a single comic book story from start to finish. Every DCU project so far has pulled loosely from diverse comics. Superman drew on the spirit of All-Star Superman and other runs without following any of them page for page. Supergirl is different; it adapts Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the eight-issue series by writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely. The film is pretty faithful to the source material, albeit with a few changes, such as Krem of the Yellow Hills' appearance.
For a young continuity, that is a lot of firsts coming together at once, and it sets the tone for everything Gunn and Peter Safran have lined up for the DCU. Up to now, this shared universe has kept its feet on the ground. Creature Commandos followed a squad of monsters on missions back home. Superman stayed mostly in Metropolis. Peacemaker Season 2 sent Christopher Smith hopping between alternate worlds, but it still kept things close to street level.
Kara's solo outing breaks this pattern completely as Director Craig Gillespie takes the action across the galaxy. The journey will follow Kara, her dog Krypto, and a grieving alien girl named Ruthye as they travel from planet to planet. This change in scenery shows that the DCU is comfortable telling cosmic stories this early. It opens the door for the Green Lantern Corps that Lanterns will introduce to delve deep into space politics down the line. In nine days, the universe will prove it can move from a city rooftop to another solar system without losing its footing.
Supergirl Will Help Expand the DCU’s Slate
After Kara's debut, the Green Lantern series Lanterns premieres on HBO Max on August 16, bringing Aaron Pierre's John Stewart and Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan into the fold through a murder mystery set across two timelines. Then the R-rated horror film Clayface reaches theaters on October 23, a twisted origin story for the Batman villain, which shows just how wide the DCU's range can be. In roughly four months, these three projects will arrive and completely change the rhythm of the whole franchise.
Look a little further, and the slate keeps getting bigger, an expansion Supergirl will have a hand in. Man of Tomorrow, Gunn's Superman sequel, arrives on July 9, 2027, with David Corenswet's Clark Kent facing the alien threat Brainiac. Supergirl is confirmed to appear in that film, and a Brainiac connection tied to her upcoming solo appearance was recently revealed. Creature Commandos Season 2 is also in production and targeting a 2027 release.
Beyond those, DC Studios has confirmed work on Mister Miracle, a Booster Gold series, and the Wonder Woman prequel. Each of those needs a foundation strong enough to support it, and Supergirl will provide just that nine days from now.
DC Studios Now Has Room for More Space Stories
Once Supergirl properly introduces the DCU's cosmic framework, it opens the door for more space-centered stories in the future. DC Studios has more cosmic stories to mine than almost any rival, and most of them have gone untouched on screen for years. Jack Kirby's New Gods are already on the way through the animated Mister Miracle, with Tom King writing every episode and Darkseid making his DCU debut amid a war between the planets Apokolips and New Genesis.
That story will fit into the DCU even better after DC's audience spends this summer getting comfortable with alien worlds. Brainiac, another character from space, will join the DCU next year, and it's great that fans will get a glimpse of what space looks like in this universe before he arrives. There is even a chance that the city of Kandor, which is heavily tied to Brainiac's comic book history, will be teased in Supergirl.
Another character who could benefit from James Gunn's DCU telling more space stories is Lobo. The Czarnian bounty hunter is a creature of deep space by design, a foul-mouthed mercenary who rides his motorcycle between star systems hunting bounties. Jason Momoa loves the character deeply, and there's no chance his arc ends with just Supergirl. His debut appearance easily sets the stage for a project focused on him.
The space setting being introduced also makes it possible for fans to see Superman take on proper cosmic adventures in the future. He's already confirmed to feature in Supergirl and could easily appear in a future Lobo project or another galactic story down the line.
James Gunn's DCU changing forever in the next week and a half is a good thing, as it brings more diversity to the universe. It'll show that projects in a cinematic universe can be vastly different without losing their interconnectedness.
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.
