Despite having a sparse schedule of releases, a number of major announcements in 2024 made the upcomingDC Universeeven more exciting. It was just nearly two years ago thatthe DCU was announced, and there have been a number of interesting developments since then.Creature Commandosofficially launched the brand-new universe, debuting in December 2024, whileJames Gunn’sSuperman- releasing August 16, 2025 - will be the first movie of the DCU.
Prior to the launch of the DCU, Warner Bros. struggled to maintain audience goodwill with the DCEU. Now that DC Studios is its own entity with Peter Safran and James Gunn at the helm, the hope is that the DCU could finally become what the DCEU was once promised, with aslate of upcoming DC releasesset to pave a new path forward. Although there were a handful of hiccups along the way, 2024 proved to be a good year for the upcoming universe, as a number of developments hinted at what is to come.
15Superman’s Trailer Arrives And Smashes Past 250 Million Views
A Real First Look At The New Man Of Steel
After months of dancing around the subject, James Gunn finally releasedthe first trailer forSupermanin December, with a special press event in Los Angeles that ScreenRant representatives were lucky enough to be invited to. We saw a preview of the main event a couple of days before DC Studios launched the trailer to major acclaim.
Superman Trailer Breakdown: 15 Biggest Reveals From The DC Movie Trailer Explained
The teaser trailer for the DC Universe’s Superman movie is finally here, unveiling several big reveals about James Gunn’s Man of Steel.
TheSupermantrailer offered first official looks at Krypto, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) among others. There were some major story hints, including the reveal of a huge kaiju attack on Metropolis, and some sort of superhero prison, while it’s been suggested that the majority of the trailer footage comes from the early part of the movie only.
Days after its release,theSupermantrailer past 250 million views,with James Gunn heralding the release as a record-breaking event:“Krypto really did take us home: With over 250 million views and a million social posts, Superman is officially the most viewed and the most talked about trailer in the history of both DC and Warner Bros.”
14Joker 2 Bombs At The Box Office
A Disappointing Disaster After Todd Phillips' Original Took In A Billion Dollars
Jokerwas lightning in a bottle when it released in 2019, making over $1 billion at the box-office on a $55 million budget and seeing Joaquin Phoenix win an Oscar for his performance as the titular character. In fact, it was the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time untilDeadpool & Wolverinedethroned it. Of course, this meant conversations about a sequel emerged, and the results followingJoker: Folie à Deux’srelease were a disaster.
$55,000,000
$1,063,574,394
$190,000,000
$206,382,773
Joker: Folie à Deuxwas a massive step-down from the first in terms of financial success.It made just over $206 million against a $190 million budget. With the basic idea that a movie needs to make about 2.5x its budget to break even,Joker: Folie à Deuxis one of the biggest comic book movie flops of all time. It also received a D CinemaScore, the lowest for any comic book movie ever.
13Mike Flanagan’s Clayface Movie Is Coming In 2026
The Horror Veteran Is Bringing Body Horror The DCU
Just as Clayface made his debut inCreature Commandos(played by voice acting legend Alan Tudyk), James Gunn and Warner Bros announced that the iconic DC villain is coming to the DCU. Written byThe Haunting Of Hill Housecreator Mike Flanagan,Clayfacewill release on June 10, 2025.
Flanagan previously said in 2021 that he was “really keen to do a standalone Clayface movie as a horror/thriller/tragedy.” There’s no director currently set, but speaking withio9, James Gunn revealed thatClayfacehas been in development for some time:
I didn’t plan on making a Clayface movie. Mike came in. He pitched this wonderful idea. I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe you got me to want to make a Clayface movie.’ But he’s got to write the script and who knows how that’s going to work. He goes and he writes the script. First draft is great. Second draft is even better. And then I’m like, ‘Let’s do it.’ So we found a place for it because if there’s quality stuff, we can find a way to work it in.
Gunn also confirmed thatClayfacewill be part of the DCU, rather than part of Matt Reeves' DC offshoot.Asked about the project (as well as the status of a DCUFlashreboot), Gunn also revealed the reason why a supposedly lesser character has been given the slot as the third official DCU release:Gunn revealed
Because of the number one rule here at DC: No movie will be greenlit before the script is ready. And [Flanagan’s] script was ready. (And as for the Flash we’re holding a beat on development).
12DC Shows Will Premiere On HBO (& Will Probably All Release Weekly)
DCU Is Prestige Television
One of the most exciting developments in 2024 is that some DCU projects will become HBO series when they were originally conceived as Max Originals. This is the best possible outcome for DC, as HBO has been generally synonymous with prestige television since its inception. Although the shows are simultaneously released on Max,the move to HBO allows a bigger budget that can do justice to these massive superhero properties.
Every Way The Penguin Sets Up The Batman Part II
There are several exciting ways in which The Penguin sets up Matt Reeves' upcoming The Batman - Part II, and many of them are featured in the finale.
The Penguinalready had a successful run on HBO, becoming one of the best comic book series of all time, and showing that the future of DC on television could be very exciting. This success has led to talk about what otherThe Batmanspinoff series could follow the success ofThe Penguinfor HBO.Lanternsis also another DC project that has been picked up by HBO, which bodes well for the scope of storytelling that this side of the DC mythos needs.
Late in the year, James Gunn also dropped a huge hint that all DC shows will release weekly, avoiding the all-at-once binge-model drops that the MCU has favored on Disney+. Gunn replied to a DC fan on Twitter to confirm why he prefers that model:
Because it affords a quality show an opportunity to be discussed and grow from week to week. CC has gotten more popular from episode to episode because of the positive discussion around it and has cultivated an enthusiastic audience. If we had dropped all the episodes at once who knows what would have happened. I will likely always be in the one-a-week camp for our shows. For people who want to binge all at once they can wait until the end of the season.
11Hal Jordan and John Stewart Are Cast
Green Lanterns Are Getting A Lot Of Love In The DCU
AfterLanternswas announced to be coming to HBO, there has been an increase in news revolving around the upcoming series, namely regarding a handful of actors that have been cast in major DC roles. Perhaps some of the biggest news for the DCU is that the two biggest Green Lanterns have been cast.Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) will play Hal Jordan, while Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) takes up the mantle of John Stewart.
Nathan Fillion will also be playing Guy Gardner, another human Green Lantern, inSupermanand will return inLanterns.
Kyle Chandler was a left-field pick for Hal Jordan, but should be amazing as a veteran Green Lantern having to mentor a younger John Stewart. Aaron Pierre took the internet by storm following his performance inRebel Ridge, showcasing the physicality and acting prowess needed for John Stewart. With Hal Jordan being an older character,John Stewart looks to be the main Green Lantern for the DCU, and Aaron Pierre is perfect to carry that responsibility.
10Daniel Craig May Be Joining The DCU In A Surprise Role
Not Every A-Lister Has To Put A Cape On
In November, shock news broke that James Bond actorDaniel Craig was officially in talks to star inSgt. Rockadaptationin the DCU. Even more surprisindly, the project would apparently reunite him withQueerdirector Luca Guadagnino. James Gunn is yet to respond to the reports.
Initially reported byDeadline, theSgt. Rockmovie is set to be written by Justin Kuritzkes, and will apparently be the next movie Guadagnino tackles.Rock was previously almost the focus of an Arnold Schwarzenegger DC war movie back in the 1990s, and recently appeared in an epsiode ofCreature Commandosas part of GI Robot’s backstory.
9Krypto Joins The DCU
The Best Boy Joins The Universe
The DCU got a little more exciting afterJames Gunn announced, in a heartfelt ode to his own dog, that Krypto would be in the upcoming Superman film. James Gunn has heavily featured animals throughout his other comic book projects, with theGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy leading the way on that front. It felt like a natural move that Gunn would attempt to incorporate Krypto into the DCU, and he dog unsurprisingly played a significant part inSuperman’s first trailer.
Krypto actually plays a significant role inSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, so he has a chance to appear in that upcoming adaptation as well. With Krypto largely absent for most adaptations of Superman, it is refreshing to see James Gunn embrace the wholesome aspects of the Big Blue Boy Scout, and Krypto is the perfect character to help do that.
8Dynamic Duo Is In The Works
A Dick Grayson And Jason Todd Team-Up
One of the biggest DC surprises for 2024 wasthe announcement ofDynamic Duo, a brand-new animated movie featuring two different Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. James Gunn has routinely shown that animated projects are a priority for DC Studios, and a film featuring Dick and Jason working together without the supervision of Batman could be a very good choice for the studio.
Casting Jason Todd In The DCU: 10 Actors Perfect To Play Batman’s Second Robin
Jason Todd will be a critical character in the DCU’s upcoming Dynamic Duo movie, and there are plenty of great actors to represent him in the series.
Perhaps the most exciting part ofDynamic Duois that it will be animated by Swaybox with co-founder Arthur Mintz directing, while Theresa Andersson is producing. The company is doing some truly innovative things within animation, including a mixture of stop-motion animation, puppetry, and CGI. That said, it is still unclear ifDynamic Duowill be in the mainline DCU or serve as its own seperate Elseworlds release.
7Creature Commandos Kicks Off The DCU & Is Quickly Renewed For Season 2
The First DCU Project Is Already Continuing
Although James Gunn has positioned his Superman film as the first big cinematic event for the DCU,Creature Commandoskicked off the universe with an animated series that brings in some of the signature violence and vulgarity associated with many of James Gunn’s superhero projects.Written by Gunn,Creature Commandosis essentially a replacement for Task Force X after the government shut down that operation, with Amanda Waller still pulling the strings as they go on dangerous missions.
James Gunn has said that actors appearing in animated projects can also cross over into live action, whichCreature Commandos' Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. will be doing with parts in bothSupermanandPeacemakerseason 2. The expectations forCreature Commandosweren’t necessarily as high as for a project likeSuperman, but the show set the tone for some of the more R-rated parts of the coming DCU.
In December, as the first season still aired,Creature Commandosseason 2 was officially announcedby Max and James Gunn, with the director and writer announcing that the first run of episodes were “record-breaking”. There’s no word yet on which record its broken.
6Tim Burton’s Batman Universe Expands With Batman: Resurrection
Clayface, Hugo Strange & The Joker Unite For A New Sequel
While not a screen project,Batman: Resurrectionreleased in 2024, continuing Tim Burton’s Batman universe with a new story set betweenBatman(1989) andBatman Returns. Written by John Jackson Miller, the sequel introduces a new take on Clayface to the Burtonverse, as well asbringing Hugo Strange out of the shadows. It’s an excellent addition to Batman movie lore, and will be followed by another sequel novel,Batman: Revolutionin 2025.
