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With HBO officially picking up Lanterns for a full season, the new onscreen DC Universe that will officially get established with 2025’s big-screen Superman reboot is set to expand significantly, even as the second season of Peacemaker — currently in production — keeps things weird and more grounded right there on Earth. With James Gunn and Peter Safran in charge as the new bosses of DC Studios, and their already-announced plan for the next few years’ worth of releases, the future of DC on the big and small screens looks brighter and brighter… and that’s before we get to the material that’s still to come in the next few months, even.
(Can you say the Kite Man spin-off from Harley Quinn? Or the new Bruce Timm Batman cartoon? Or Joker: Folie á Deux? And that’s far from all!)
Of course, you might need a guide to help you keep track of everything — which, thankfully, is exactly what you’re about to get. What follows is a full overview of the coming DC projects on film and television. This includes previously launched series that are currently expected to continue and upcoming movies, whether they are set in the new DCU or their own separate canon — what DC is officially calling “Elseworlds” projects. Release dates and windows are provided, where available, but with so much transition still in effect, many of the production details are still being kept under wraps.
If you’re looking for a list of all the superhero movies in our future, here’s our upcoming superhero movies guide.
Upcoming DC movies and TV show schedule
If you’re looking for a quick rundown of everything with a date (or at least a year), we have that for you here:
| Release Date | Project | Type | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 18, 2024 | Kite Man: Hell Yeah, Season 1 | Animated series | Max |
| August 1, 2024 | Batman: Caped Crusader, Season 1 | Animated series | Amazon Prime Video |
| September TBD, 2024 | The Penguin, Season 1 | Live-action series | Max |
| TBD 2024 | Creature Commandos, Season 1 | Animated series | Max |
| October 4, 2024 | Joker: Folie à Deux | Live-action movie | Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets) |
| October 17, 2024 | Superman and Lois, Season 4 | Live-action series | The CW |
| July 11, 2025 | Superman | Live-action movie | Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets) |
| TBD 2025 | Peacemaker, Season 2 | Live-action series | Max |
| June 26, 2026 | Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow | Live-action movie | Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets) |
| October 2, 2026 | The Batman: Part II | Live-action movie | Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets) |
If that seems like a particularly short list… well, it is. But there are a lot of additional features with no release dates attached that don’t appear above, as you’ll find out soon enough. Don’t worry; there’s a lot of DC projects coming your way, even if we don’t know when.
If you’re looking for more information about what’s to come, keep reading — but be prepared, because we’re going to break things down in a very specific order: the new DCU (announced officially as “DC Chapter One: Gods and Monsters”), and Elseworlds projects that exist outside of the new shared continuity that’s being built.
DC Chapter One: Gods and Monsters
Creature Commandos
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The first project expected to be released as part of Gunn and Safran’s DCU slate is the DCU animated series Creature Commandos. At the DC Studios presentation in January 2023, Gunn shared that he wrote the series, with the seven-episode first season already in the midst of production. The show follows a group of monstrous heroes, including Frankenstein and Weasel from The Suicide Squad, with the show set to premiere on Max at some point in the second half of 2024. Gunn said that the casting is intended for actors to be able to portray their characters in both animation and live-action as an added commitment to their versatility in the DCU; we already know that Frank Grillo will voice Rick Flag Snr. in this series before appearing in live action as part of the second season of Peacemaker.
Release date: TBD, expected to be second half of 2024
Platform: Max
Superman
Just as 2013’s Man of Steel ushered in the DCEU, DC’s flagship superhero is set to kick off the DCU canon with the upcoming Superman, set to premiere July 11, 2025. Written and directed by James Gunn himself, the movie will recast the role of Superman as it will focus on a younger version of the character in the early years of his superhero career. Plot details remain scarce but Gunn has described the movie as having Superman attempt to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage and upbringing in Smallville as he balances his lives as Clark Kent and Superman. At the January 2023 press event, Gunn cited Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman as an inspiration, though clarified it will not be an adaptation of the comic book story. David Corenswet will play Superman, Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult will play Lex Luthor, and we’ll all play the role of theatergoers when the movie is released in 2025.
Release date: July 25, 2025
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
Peacemaker, Season 2
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Springing from the events of 2021’s The Suicide Squad, filmmaker James Gunn created the spinoff HBO Max original series Peacemaker, which premiered to positive fan and critic response in January 2022. The show follows gun-toting antihero Peacemaker as he grapples with his complicated morality and penchant for violence while uncovering an alien infiltration on behalf of the intelligence agency A.R.G.U.S.. Though HBO Max officially renewed the series for a second season in February 2022, Gunn’s attention was almost immediately focused on his new duties co-heading DC Studios and working on Superman. The second season of the show will be fully written by Gunn — and all scripts are completed — with Gunn directing some of the episodes alongside Greg Mottola; the show is currently in production.
Release date: TBD, expected to be second half of 2025
Platform: Max
Lanterns
Created by a three-headed writing team of Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers, Watchment), Chris Mundy (True Detective: Night Country, Ozark), and comic book writer Tom King (Mister Miracle, Batman, The Human Target), Lanterns will be an HBO Originals project co-produced by DC Studios that follows two human members of the Green Lantern Corps — Hal Jordan and John Stewart — as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. Of course, given the Green Lanterns’ outer space jurisdiction, it’s unlikely that the investigation will stay in the U.S… The series will run eight episodes (at least for its first season), with Mundy as showrunner. No casting has been announced as yet. No release date has been announced, but it’s telling that the series is described by HBO’s Casey Bloys in a statement as the “first new live action series” of the DCU.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Max
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
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As a new Man of Tomorrow comes to the DCU with Superman, Gunn and Safran are also introducing Kal-El’s cousin Kara in the planned film Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Inspired by Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s 2021 comic book miniseries of the same name, Gunn observes that Woman of Tomorrow follows a “more hardcore” Supergirl than audiences might be expecting. Whereas her cousin was raised by a loving family on Smallville, Gunn explains that Kara witnessed those around her die until she arrived on Earth as a teenager, providing her with a sharp contrast in perspective and action from Superman. It has been announced that Milly Alcock will play the Maid of Might in the feature, with Craig Gillespie directing the movie from a screenplay by Ana Nogueira. (Personally, we suspect Alcock might show up possibly in other projects released earlier than this movie; I’m looking at you, Superman.)
Release date: June 26, 2026
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
Waller
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Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller is the most prominent character retained from the DCEU into the new DCU continuity, after making her debut in 2016’s Suicide Squad. Davis is set to reprise her role in her own television series, simply titled Waller, and set after the events of the first season of Peacemaker. Waller was last seen exposed to the press by her own daughter, Leota Adebayo, for her illicit role with Task Force X and attempts to incriminate Peacemaker. The series will be developed by Watchmen television series writer Christal Henry and Doom Patrol Max series creator Jeremy Carver, as announced by Gunn at the DC Studios January press event, with reports suggesting that a 2024 release was possible. However, it’s been subsequently revealed that the WGA and SAG strikes complicated plans, with James Gunn explaining that Waller “will come after [Peacemaker Season 2] in the larger order of things.”
Release date: TBD
Platform: Max
The Authority
Among the most surprising announcements from Gunn and Safran’s presentation was the news that a film based on the Authority is coming for the DCU. Based on the postmodern superhero team created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch for DC’s Wildstorm publishing imprint in 1999, the Authority is a team of heroes more morally ambiguous than many of their DC counterparts. In order to defend the world, the Authority is open to committing more questionable acts, with Safran comparing the team’s morality to “Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.” No details about the team’s cinematic lineup, plot details, or release window have currently been announced by DC Studios.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
The Brave and the Bold
Just as The Brave and the Bold was DC’s Batman team-up comic book title through the ‘70s and ‘80s, the planned film The Brave and the Bold is planned to be a team-up story focused on the Dynamic Duo themselves. The film will serve as the introduction for the DCU’s Batman, who will be played by a different actor than Robert Pattinson and be set in a different continuity than Matt Reeves’ Caped Crusader. As with Superman, The Brave and the Bold will be influenced by Grant Morrison’s Batman run, as Bruce Wayne teams up with his adolescent son Damian, who was raised by a shadowy order of assassins. No casting, production details, or release date has currently been announced for The Brave and the Bold.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
Swamp Thing
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There are plenty of monsters coming to the DCU, with the biggest of them all in the first wave being a Swamp Thing film planned to close out the DCU’s opening chapter of film and television programming. Gunn described the movie as taking place in its own corner of the DCU that will feed into the steady expansion of the shared cinematic universe as it revisits the origins of Swamp Thing; James Mangold is attached to write and direct the feature. No further details about the premise, production, or anticipated release date have currently been announced but it is not expected to be related to the short-lived Swamp Thing television series that ran for a single season on DC Universe in 2019.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
Paradise Lost
Though the big screen future for Wonder Woman is still uncertain, with Warner Bros. not moving forward with filmmaker Patty Jenkins’ plans for a sequel to Wonder Woman 1984, the Amazons’ place in the fledgling DCU is taking shape. Among the television series announced by Gunn and Safran is Paradise Lost, a show set on Diana Prince’s remote island home of Themyscira some time before Diana’s eventual birth. Safran described the series as centering on “the political intrigue behind a society of all women” while Gunn compared it to Game of Thrones. No casting, release date, or production start date for Paradise Lost has currently been announced.
Release date: TBD
Platform: TBD
Booster Gold
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Though Booster Gold made a memorable appearance in the series finale of Legends of Tomorrow, played by Donald Faison, DC Studios is giving a different version of the character his own television series. Set within the DCU continuity, Booster Gold is expected to stream on Max though no casting, release window, or production start date has been announced for the show. Gunn described Booster as “imposter syndrome as a superhero” and “a loser from the future,” with the character using futuristic tech to travel back in time to get people to like him but has not elaborated beyond that on the series’ premise.
Release date: TBD
Platform: TBD
TBD
It’s unclear if the following projects, which are intended to be part of the new DCU but remains unannounced officially by DC Studios or Warner Bros, will be part of DC Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, a future Chapter, or something else entirely. For now, think of them as a glimpse of things to come.
Blue Beetle
Little is known about the animated spin-off of 2023’s Blue Beetle live action movie beyond its creative team, which will feature that movie’s writer and director — Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer and Angel Manuel Soto, respectively — as executive producers, with the movie’s EP John Ricard also assuming that role on the series. Miguel Puga will be showrunner on the new series, with Cristian Martinez also attached as writer. It’s unclear, even if Xolo Maridueña will voice the hero in the animated series, although James Gunn has already stated that he will play the character in the new DCU. For now, keep watching for updates.
Release date: TBD
Platform: TBD
Teen Titans
Oh yeah, it’s coming. A live-action Teen Titans film will officially be a part of the new DCU, as announced recently by The Hollywood Reporter. It’s close to the only detail that got announced — no word yet on who will be part of the team, what the release date will be, or who’s in the cast – however, there was one bit of information that made it into the piece: the Teen Titans movie will be penned by screenwriter Ana Nogueira, who’s also the scribe behind Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
Elseworlds (Not part of the shared DCU)
Kite Man: Hell Yeah!
Harley Quinn’s success has spread to its own Max spinoff series, previously called Noonan’s, after the criminal-frequented bar located in Gotham City. Formally ordered to series in April 2022, Harley Quinn series co-creator Patrick Schumaker teased that the spinoff follows Kite Man after he purchases the bar but runs into difficulties running it with his girlfriend Golden Glider. Schumaker reveals that Harley and Ivy are planned to make guest-starring appearances in the first episode before different supervillains visit each episode, with Schumaker comparing the show to a supervillain-oriented Cheers.
Release date: July 18, 2024
Platform: Max
Batman: Caped Crusader
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Over 30 years after creating the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series, prolific animator and producer Bruce Timm is teaming up with J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves for the new animated series Batman: Caped Crusader. Initially ordered by HBO Max, the series was canceled by Warner Bros. as part of a cost-cutting move in August 2022, before eventually finding a new home on Prime Video. The show has received a two-season order, though a premiere window for the series has yet to be announced. Ostensibly serving as the spiritual successor to Batman: The Animated Series, Timm is joined by award-winning comic book creator Ed Brubaker, who runs the writers’ room and serves as an executive producer.
Release date: August 1, 2024
Platform: Prime Video
The Penguin
To help fans tide over the wait for The Batman: Part II, the spinoff Max original series The Penguin returns viewers to this cinematic iteration of Gotham City and its denizens. Colin Farrell reprises his role as Oswald Cobblepot, with the show reportedly taking place “one week” after the events of The Batman. With Carmine Falcone dead, there is an enormous power vacuum in Gotham’s sordid world of organized crime, with Cobblepot squaring off against Sofia Falcone for control of their city. Filming started in New York City this March, and was subsequently put on indefinite hold due to the WGA strike in June. No exact release date has been announced for the show, with the planned spinoff slated to run for eight episodes.
Release date: TBD September 2024
Platform: Max
Joker: Folie à Deux
After the widespread critical and commercial success of 2019’s Joker, a sequel continuing a grounded and gritty look at the Clown Prince of Crime was something of an inevitability. Filmmaker Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix reunite for the follow-up, titled Joker: Folie à Deux – translated as “Madness for Two” – set to open in theaters October 4, 2024. While the 2019 film was rooted in influences from crime films and thrillers like Taxi Driver and Mean Streets, the sequel is expected to be a musical, with Lady Gaga joining the production rumored to be playing its version of Harley Quinn. Separate from DCU continuity, Joker: Folie à Deux began principal photography in December 2022 and wrapped the following April.
Release date: October 4, 2024
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
Superman & Lois
After the Flash came to an end (and the CW’s shared Arrowverse with it), Superman & Lois boldly moves into its third season. While Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch originated their title roles as part of the shared DCTV Universe, the show stands in its own continuity as Clark Kent and Lois Lane defend their world while raising their twin sons in Smallville. The third season upped the ante, introducing supervillains Bruno Mannheim and Onomatopoeia to challenge the Kent family. Unfortunately, the fourth season of the show will be its last, the CW has announced; final episodes of the series will debut in October 2024.
Release date: October 17, 2024
Platform: The CW
The Batman: Part II
After its successful debut in 2022, a sequel to The Batman was formally announced at CinemaCon the subsequent April, tentatively titled The Batman: Part II and set for an October 3, 2025 release. Robert Pattinson will reprise his role as the Caped Crusader, while filmmaker Matt Reeves will similarly return to direct and co-write the sequel, joined by co-writer Mattson Tomlin. No plot details or new cast members have currently been announced, though the film will be separate from DC Studios’ core DCU continuity, branded as a DC Elseworlds project. Principal photography on The Batman: Part II, initially expected to begin November 2023, was later moved to March 2024, pushing the movie from its original October 3, 2025 theatrical release to a new date of October 2, 2026.
Release date: October 2, 2026
Platform: Theatrical (Buy tickets on Fandango or Atom Tickets).
Harley Quinn
Between her growing comic book presence to Margot Robbie’s stellar cinematic performances, this is undeniably Harley Quinn’s moment. Kaley Cuoco puts her own popular spin on the character in the HBO Max original animated series Harley Quinn, leaning into decidedly adult humor and boldly forging its own take on the DCU and Harley’s place within it. The show’s fourth season wrapped September 2023, followed quickly by an official announcement of Season 5 from Warner Bros. So far, a release date has not been announced.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Max
The Sandman
Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg’s The Sandman is one of the most universally celebrated comic book series of all time and its inaugural season on Netflix was among the streaming service’s most popular series in 2022. Co-written and executive produced by Gaiman, The Sandman is largely faithful to its source material as Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, moves to rebuild his position after a lengthy imprisonment on Earth. Joined by other eternal personifications of the human condition, known as the Endless, Morpheus faces fantastic threats to his realm, including Lucifer themselves. Netflix officially renewed the series for a second season November 22 2022, and the show returned to production in late November 2023, with new cast announced for the Endless in May 2024. The release date of the new season remains a mystery, however…
Release date: TBD
Platform: Netflix
Untitled Gotham City Police Department series
Jim Gordon and the Gotham City Police Department played a prominent role in The Batman, with the 2022 film planning a television spinoff focused on Gotham’s police force to stream on HBO Max. Originally announced in 2020 with a series order, the police procedural has experienced some creative setbacks, with multiple showrunners departing the project mid-development. Despite these personnel changes, the series has still been cited as being in development as recently as October 2022, with Reeves serving as an executive producer. There has been no additional news about the show’s development, including a planned start to production or release window, since Gunn and Safran’s January 2023 announcement.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Max
Untitled Arkham Asylum series
Originally announced as a second television spinoff from The Batman intended for HBO Max, the Arkham Asylum television show recently made the switch to being officially part of the DCU. However, The Batman’s director, Matt Reeves, is still attached as executive producer. The series signed Antonio Campos as its showrunner in October 2022, though there has been little news about its development since. Reeves previously described the show as having a more horror oriented tone befitting Arkham’s notorious reputation though little detail about the series’ intended plot have been disclosed. There are no currently announced details about the production of the Arkham Asylum series or its release window.
Release date: TBD
Platform: Max
What is the next DC movie coming out?
The next DC movie hitting theaters is Joker: Folie à Deux, which will be released October 4, 2024. The follow-up to 2019’s R-rated Joker isn’t officially part of the upcoming new DCU, however; for the first cinematic installment of that story, you’ll have to wait until July 11, 2025’s Superman.
Officially, Superman will be the third DCU project; the small-screen Creature Commandos, which is anticipated to appear at some point towards the end of this year, currently has no official release date, with Waller expected to follow before Superman hits theaters.
Will Zack Snyder return to DC?
With another installment of his own Rebel Moon series in the works for Netflix and additional self-directed projects said to be in the works, Zack Snyder — who directed Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and one version of Justice League — is likely too busy to return to DC anytime soon; he has, however, previously spoken about a desire to make a faithful adaptation of Frank Miller’s seminal Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, suggesting that it’s the only thing that could bring him back to the studio and the characters.
DC, the ball’s in your court.
Will Lobo appear in the DCU?
If you’ve been hanging around the rumor mill for long enough, you might believe this question has already been answered, especially after the report came out that Jason Mamoa was in talks for the role. However, as of December 2023, Mamoa has not signed on as the Main Man (via The Wrap). We’ll let you know if that changes.
Will there ever be a Batman Beyond movie?
Hey, we’re wondering the same thing. Despite a few attempts to get one going, there are not, as of right now, any plans for a Batman Beyond film, animated or otherwise. That’s a real shame, especially once you consider (as Popverse’s Trent Cannon has), how Batman Beyond could be DC’s answer to Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Verse.
Want to know what’s coming up next in pop culture? Check out our guides to upcoming movies, upcoming TV shows, upcoming comics, and upcoming comic conventions. If you’re looking for specific franchises or genres, we have all the upcoming MCU, upcoming Star Wars, upcoming Star Trek, and upcoming DC movies & TV for you. If you’re a fan of superheroes and not specific to just Marvel or DC, we have overall guides to all the upcoming superhero movies and upcoming superhero TV shows (and new seasons) as well.
