After the downfall of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), the new DC Universe (DCU) cinematic universe has risen from the ashes and kicks off with Superman on July 11, 2025.

Fans of DC have both eagerly anticipated this meant and dreaded it ever since filmmaker James Gunn announced DC Studios’ planned DCU line up in early 2023 with a slate of films and TV shows. The first TV show which actually started the DCU last year was the animated Creature Commandos which streamed on Max. The show received positive reactions although it seemed similar to James Gunn’s DCEU film The Suicide Squad, but with monsters as the main characters forced to work for the government instead of supervillains. One thing that Gunn made clear was that Creature Commandos was canon to the DCU and even one of the featured characters from that show, Rick Flagg, Sr., will appear in Superman.

Right now, fandom and the public at large are focused on Superman, which inaugurates the DCU in live action. The marketing push for the film is very intense and pervasive with the usual deluge of merchandise and trailers (but gotta admit any merch about Krypto the Super Dog is so damn cute; Gunn has a way with animals) and publicity. There is a good reason for the push by DC Studios’ parent company Warner Bros.

RIP DCEU

As everyone knows, the DCEU was supposed to be film studio’s answer to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which has been wildly successful ever since it debuted in 2008. The DCEU had everything going for it: popular superheroes that enjoyed success in the box office and TV with projects like Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, the Arrowverse on TV and Smallville. Even Nolan helped launch the DCEU by helping to create Man of Steel. But for many reasons the DCEU was plagued by many problems, mostly due to studio interference, impatience and greed. Warner Bros. was in a rush to compete with the MCU and didn’t allow the DCEU to grow organically and build up a fanbase like with the MCU. Instead of carefully introducing characters, they were clumsily mashed together just to premiere Justice League, the DCEU answer to The Avengers, just a few short years after Man of Steel. Many of the films were not well received and it seemed as if the DCEU was playing catch up with the MCU. But what really killed the DCEU was interference by studio executives who were chasing the almighty dollar and did not seem to care about the quality of the films.

Despite attempts to salvage the DCEU by the early 2020s it was clear that the cinematic universe was without direction and falling apart. To the studio’s credit, they recognized James Gunn’s talent and vision with The Suicide Squad and offered him the opportunity to revamp its cinematic universe. He essentially started over with the DC properties and has launched the DCU with its initial projects being labeled as Chapter One: Gods & Monsters. Of course, this entailed huge changes including the recasting of the DC characters. Actors, like Henry Cavill, were removed from playing iconic characters and in the case of Jason Momoa, he was recast to play a different role in the DCU. This development was controversial and incense some fans of the DCEU who automatically hated anything to do with the DCU and have taken to the Internet to troll Gunn and the DCU. Unfortunately, that is par for the course with social media these days.

DCU Announcement & Development

What did not help this controversy over the revamp was the timing of the announcement of the DCU by Gunn in a video. Among the films and TV shows announced were films for Swamp Thing, The Authority and Wonder Woman, and TV shows based on Amanda Waller, Green Lantern, and Booster Gold. This happened in early 2023 and there were still a few remaining DCEU films that had yet to be released. They all failed at the box office and many point to Gunn’s announcement because it killed any momentum for the remaining DCEU films since they were effectively irrelevant.

That was not the only hiccup the DCU has faced. Many films and TV shows were announced but many of these projects have been stuck in development hell. The issue with projects still being unproduced is very noticeable with Batman. The script for the announced Batman: The Brave and the Bold is still been hammered out and no casting choices have been revealed. This has disturbed some fans since Batman is DC’s most popular superhero. It has been speculated that the recent Elseworlds film The Batman would be incorporated into the DCU but this would probably be a mistake since Gunn’s DCU, as seen in the Superman trailers, looks very colorful and bright, like a Silver Age comic book brought to life. This universe would clash wildly with The Batman’s grittier and more realistic take of Batman, although given how popular this version of Batman has been it would be very convenient to just move that world into the DCU. Also, Gunn has recently admitted that he cancelled one of his announced films because the script was not ready. There is both good and bad with the announcement. While this development serves as a caution for making announcements prematurely, it does indicate that Gunn is not willing to rush something into production before the script is ready. That is something that more deadline-driven film studio executives should do.

Looking Ahead

At this point, it is hard to predict whether or not the DCU will succeed where the DCEU failed. But Gunn, so far, has shown himself to have a firm, creative hand with the cinematic universe. Most likely Superman will be a success, but the real test comes with subsequent films. Next up is Supergirl which comes out next year, then the second season of Peacemaker (one of the few survivors of the DCEU) and more animated shows. Plus, there is a Clayface film coming out, but it is not known if it will be part of the DCU, and the sequel to The Batman is also due in a couple of years. But as promising as all this sounds, a lot is riding on the success of Superman. If the film struggles then the DCU and Gunn’s tenure will surely be re-evaluated by Warner Bros. Hopefully, Superman will take flight with critics and fans.