Nobody outside of the newly formed Skydance could have foreseen that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be out as the heads of DC Studios this early. The dynamic duo only took control four years ago, wiping the slate (almost) clean as they rebooted the franchise and set about forging a new shared universe.
Yet, here we are. Gunn and Safran are no longer DC chiefs (despite David Ellison naming them as the franchise’s continued caretakers last month), and Jeremy Latcham, best known for his work on the first stages of the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside Kevin Feige, is now at the helm. What does that mean for Superman’s future on the big screen? It’s not entirely clear, but there are a few directions Latcham could take the DC Universe.
Below you'll find our theories on the five potential paths for DC heading forward now that all those best-laid plans for DCU Chapter One are out the window. Before we wildly speculate, you might also want to refamiliarize yourself with all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows that were previously announced.
The Gunn-verse Continues
The Gunn/Safran regime released three movies, and two of them – Superman and Clayface – were widely embraced (the less said about Supergirl, the better; even Gunn failed to mention the movie in his departing message). On the TV side, Peacemaker, Lanterns, and Creature Commandos all scored well with critics, and reports indicate 19 million people watched HBO’s Lanterns. In other words, there’s a lot of goodwill towards Gunn and Safran’s universe, and their fingerprints remain all over DC’s upcoming output, namely the Gunn-directed Man of Tomorrow, set to release next year.
However, something’s obviously not working; otherwise Gunn and Safran would still be in the job. Latcham could very well continue with the characters of Gunn’s universe, but instead of spotlighting side characters like Clayface, he could refocus the franchise on its big hitters – Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, etc – and have them cross over with David Corenswet’s Superman in Justice League. This was surely Gunn’s plan to some degree (reports indicate a third Superman movie would have started to bring the pieces together), but Latcham might push to get there a little sooner. It’s also worth noting that Latcham has a history with Gunn, having executive produced Guardians of the Galaxy, so he’s a known fan of the director-turned-DC-chief-turned-director’s work.
The Battinson-verse Takes Over
Of course, there’s a bat-shaped shadow looming over any conversation about the future of the DC Universe. Robert Pattinson is cinema’s current incarnation of the Caped Crusader and is set to return in The Batman 2. Despite Gunn previously saying that he would introduce a new Batman in the previously announced The Brave and the Bold, many people believe that having a new Bats alongside Battinson would be both confusing for general audiences and potentially overexpose Bruce Wayne.
So, what’s Latcham to do? He could fully commit to director Matt Reeves’ version of Gotham and center the entire cinematic universe on it. After all, The Batman was hugely successful at the box office – more so than Superman – and Reeves has proven himself a deft hand at expanding the universe with The Penguin. Latcham could revive the previously dead spin-off series about the Gotham City Police Department, and potentially revisit previously pitched series based around Catwoman and Poison Ivy. He could then start broadening out the universe to add non-Batman characters, gradually building an entirely new DC Universe.
The Battinson and Gunn-verse Merge
Rather than simply build out from The Batman, a relatively clean way to handle things might be to merge Gunn with Reeves’ universes. These are popular incarnations of Superman and Batman, and both have sequels coming to cinemas soon (plus Wonder Woman might be in Man of Tomorrow, if Adria Arjona is playing the character). Why not smash them all together in a new Justice League?
The biggest issue would be deciding whether a team-up movie would have Superman’s warm tone or The Batman’s cold one. Actually, that’s not quite the biggest issue: the practicalities of getting Robert Pattinson, plus his castmates Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, and Colin Farrell, to sign up for another decade of movies is another.
Reboot It. Reboot It All
For Latcham, all three scenarios carry baggage. Continuing either the Gunn-verse or Battinson-verse (or both!) would mean sticking to foundations built by someone else, and these may not align with Latcham’s own vision. In fact, despite Gunn’s farewell message stating that his characters will live on, other reports have signalled that Latcham will “dismantle” the DC Universe as we know it.
If that holds, the producer could very well be looking to recast Batman and Superman, which would mean introducing a third distinct version of both superheroes in just over a decade (not to mention multiple other versions that cropped up in The Flash). If Latcham were to kickstart an all-new, fresh-faced DC Universe, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him hard-launch with a Justice League movie: just ignore everything else – we’ve seen everyone’s origin stories too recently for a do-over – and get straight to the main event.
Frankly, very few people want to see the DC Universe rebooted so soon after the last restart. Instead, a sharpening of the current franchise’s direction, with Latcham prioritising a new Justice League movie with Corenswet’s Superman, seems the most likely route ahead. And a friendly note to Latcham to say, maybe you could go back and firmly establish what is and isn’t canon, pruning any leftovers from the previous Snyderverse and… Wait. Snyderverse? Could it be?
The Snyderverse Returns
It’s not going to happen. But also, the return of the Snyderverse would surely be the wildest thing to ever happen to DC, right? Ben Affleck back in the suit. Henry Cavill’s Superman facing Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. The hierarchy of power changing!
News of Gunn and Safran leaving DC Studios has some fans tweeting out for Latcham to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse. However, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was a success on streaming, but not a colossal one – certainly not enough to justify continuing its story. There’s little chance of anything Snyder-related returning, but as Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, once sang during our pandemic pandemonium: “Imagine”. The Bat-Ball’s in your court, Latcham.
Man of Tomorrow releases in theaters on July 9, 2027. While we wait, check out one writer's thoughts on why James Gunn’s brave and bold vision for the DCU deserved better than an early grave.
