“The stakes are huge,” said Safran, who has produced two “Aquaman” movies and two “Shazam” films. “This is a brand that was somewhat in chaos, and this is an opportunity to create an extraordinary stand-alone studio.”
DC Studios will offer a spin on the familiar Superman story with “Superman: Legacy,” a story penned by Gunn that examines how the character reconciles his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. It is set to release on July 11, 2025.
Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates is also working on a script for “Superman” with a black actor portraying the Man of Steel as part of the DC Elseworlds project.
Also in 2025, DC Studios will release “Batman – Part II”, a sequel starring Robert Pattison, a darker, more adult story that is not part of Gunn’s new imagined “DC Universe”.
Another Batman movie, “The Brave and the Bold,” would introduce the hero’s murdered son as his crime-fighting partner, Robin.
“Lantern,” an eight-hour detective series, is set to stream on HBO Max. Other TV projects include “Waller”, in which Viola Davis reprized her “Suicide Squad” role as Amanda Waller, and “Paradise Lost”, the origin story of Themyscira, the island where Wonder Woman was born.
A television series, “Creature Commandos”, in which Waller forms a black ops team from demonic prisoners, is in production.
While Marvel has become the highest-grossing film franchise in history, DC Studios has had mixed results. A dark “Joker” movie became an Oscar nominee and billion-dollar hit, but “Black Adam” and “Justice League” struggled to generate superhero-sized returns.
Four DC film projects completed before Gunn and Safran took over the studio will be released in theaters this year, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash,” “Blue Beetle” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”
Zaslav cut some costs by scrapping a third “Wonder Woman” movie and a “Batgirl” movie that was intended for streaming. The movie division has also cut jobs in marketing and distribution.