James Gunn certainly has his fans, but it wasn’t until Superman that the writer-director proved himself capable of helming a cinematic universe. With the first installment of the DCU in the can and courting success worldwide, it’s officially the dawn of a new era — and executives at Warner Bros. are apparently pretty confident about the future of DC.
Superman paves the way for a handful of DC projects already in the works, from Supergirl to Lanterns, and even some that have been just glimmers on the horizon. Gunn’s been careful about overpromising: nothing will be greenlit before a solid script is in place, which means that we might see something like Clayface before the introduction of a heavy-hitter like Batman. That strategy will likely serve the new franchise well, but DC does need to establish its Trinity (the trio that includes Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) as soon as possible.
As Warner Bros. chief David Zaslav claimed earlier this year, they, along with Supergirl, are the “pillars” and “asset-builders” of the DCU. And that means that, as noble as Gunn’s intentions are, DC does need to pick up the pace where those characters are concerned. The director hasn’t revealed much about The Brave and the Bold, the film that will introduce a new Batman and Robin. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, might finally be a major priority for the franchise. While promoting Superman, Gunn revealed that her solo film is in active development — and thanks to Superman’s box office success, she could appear on the big screen sooner than later.
Variety recently reported that Warner Bros. and DC Studios are “fast-tracking” a Wonder Woman movie. Though the studios declined to comment, that does align with Gunn’s previous update, and it definitely makes sense given the circumstances. Gunn’s had a lot more to say about The Batman II — the sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2022 film, which has nothing to do with the DCU — than The Brave and the Bold, so the DCU’s Batman may need more time in development. We don’t know who is writing the Wonder Woman film, or who Gunn might have in mind to direct, but if a script can be finalized soon, it could very well be the next film on the slate after Supergirl and Clayface.
Of course, that is a pretty big “if.” Gunn is very adamant about approving scripts only when they’re in a good place to move forward. There’s no telling what stage of the process the Wonder Woman writer is in: even if the script is close to complete, it could require revisions after it’s submitted. Afterwards, there’s production, which could take at least two years.
Gunn has also been careful to give these films ample time to lock in strong visual effects: both Superman and Supergirl wrapped about a year before their respective release dates. It’ll likely be the same for Wonder Woman. Even if it does get the green light sometime this year, it probably won’t hit theaters until 2027, at the very earliest. Still, fast-tracking is better than nothing. At least we know Wonder Woman is on the way; hopefully Batman won’t be far behind.
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