As Superman hits theaters and kicks off Warner Bros.’ rebooted DC Universe, a new report has revealed key details about steward James Gunn’s upcoming plans, as well as previously unannounced insight into prior failed attempts.
The Wall Street Journal’s in-depth report into Warner Bros., Gunn, this new Superman movie, and what’s to come, includes various key details that shed light on the DCU.
- Warner executives want Superman to gross more than $500 million globally, which is in-line with Gunn’s recent comments about $700 million being wide of the mark.
- Superman had a modest $225 million budget, kept in check by casting mostly little-known actors (David Corenswet is in the title role).
- Gunn is reportedly considering expanding the rebooted universe with TV spinoffs for characters such as Mister Terrific and Jimmy Olsen.
- Prerelease surveys indicate Superman will have a big opening weekend of more than $125 million domestically.
- Soon after 2017’s Justice League movie killed the DCEU, Warner executives met with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige to try to convince him to switch sides, but the talks “fizzled.”
- In 2022, Warner Bros. boss David Zaslav allegedly “dismissed as too woke” a script being written by Ta-Nehisi Coates about a Black Superman in the civil rights era.
Coates’ script was announced in 2021, with producer J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Star Wars) leading the project. At the time, Coates said he was “meaningfully adding to the legacy of America’s most iconic mythic hero.” A director and lead actor were never announced. Zaslav took over as boss of the just-merged Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022.
- Gunn and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran could still try to make the movie in the future.
Gunn has said he could see Coates’ script being turned into an Elseworlds movie like the Joker and Matt Reeves' The Batman, which exist in a seperate universe to the DCU.
- Zaslav met with Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson to discuss how to fix DC, but “those talks ended after the star’s DC movie Black Adam flopped.”
(It's worth noting here that Henry Cavill's Superman made a cameo at the end of Black Adam, but Gunn and Safran soon confirmed they were switching to a new actor for their DCU.)
- When Gunn and Safran got the DC job, they canned a third Wonder Woman film starring Gal Gadot set in the present day.
- Gunn and Safran are targeting one animated and two live-action films a year, as well as TV shows that will primarily stream on HBO Max.
- The goal is to eventually team up DC’s best-known characters including Batman and Wonder Woman — something Gunn has already suggested is in the works — in a new Justice League film.
The revelations come hot on the heels of Superman reviews hitting the internet. IGN’s own Superman review returned an 8/10. We said: “Superman is a wonderfully entertaining, heartfelt cinematic reset for the Man of Steel, and a great start for the DCU on the big screen.” Check out IGN’s Superman ending explained to find out more.
As for what's next from the DCU, Peacemaker Season 2 launches in August, then next year we'll see a Supergirl movie and a Clayface film. A new Batman film is also in the works, as is a Sgt. Rock movie.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
