The DC Cinematic Universe has, yet again, fallen into an apparently inevitable mess. Once James Gunn took over the position of co-CEO of DC Studios, many fans were relieved to see the end of a turbulent era leadership-wise, and glad to have someone that could embrace the “larger than life superhero” themes maintaining the character’s humanity and comic accurate visuals. Gunn had proven his filmmaking skills with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and DC’s Suicide Squad (2021), and established himself as a creative visionary with last year’s Superman and the promise of a 10-year plan.
All was (relatively) well until the catastrophic release of Supergirl in late June. While some fans found the movie entertaining and connected with the protagonist, it was ill-received by critics (currently has a 53% tomatometer score) and did not leave as perfect of an impression as Superman did. Peter Safran, the other co-CEO of DC Studios, revealed in an interview with Pedro Borges (@goodnerd23 on Instagram), that the team is “not in any rush, want to do it right, want to do it well” when Borges inquired about future productions. That might have changed internally if considering the loss (of both money and credibility) created by the discourse around Supergirl.
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In a scenario of doubts and criticism, DC released the first episode of Lanterns, which was generally well received, pulling 9.3 million viewers in three days — one of the top 5 premieres of all time in HBO Max — according to Variety. The official trailer already confirmed Guy Gardner’s presence in the series, which establishes a connection to Superman (2025).
Yesterday, DC announced yet another limited television series, The People v. Gorilla Grodd, which is set to be their “first foray into the true crime genre” (Gunn’s Instagram) and feature the two co-CEOs as executive producers. It is set to star Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White — all but one returning actors from Superman (2025).
The studio also has Clayface, more Lanterns episodes, and Man Of Tomorrow as upcoming confirmed productions. A new Wonder Woman and Batman: The Brave and The Bold are also in early stages of production. However, supposedly canceled productions include the Amanda Waller series and Paradise Lost (the story of Themyscira before Diana).
All this leads to one question: should we trust Gunn and Safran? I need to confess that I am now hesitant to, but excited to be proven wrong. Their productions seem more interconnected and rushed than they should at this stage; they lack some pivotal characters to bring to life stories that fans are hoping to see; they have not kept up with the plan originally presented. Yet, they understand these characters and truly cherish them.