Upcoming DC movies: Superman, Supergirl, Clayface, The Batman Part II & beyond
What’s going on with the upcoming DC movies? Will the DCU have phases? Is The Batman canon? You might be wondering about all this (and more) if you’ve heard about DC Studios’ ongoing reboot of movies and TV shows, which begins in cinemas this year with James Gunn’s Superman.
Warner Bros. and DC’s renewed approach to building a cinematic universe is looser than Marvel’s MCU efforts. Sure, we might get crossovers sooner rather than later, and yes, there’s a structure/larger plan set in place, but the ‘twist’ is that there’s no hard roadmap set in stone. According to DC Studios co-heads James Gunn (of Guardians of the Galaxy fame) and Peter Safran, we’re now venturing into Chapter 1 of the DCU: Gods and Monsters, which actually began in December 2024 with season 1 of Creature Commandos.
As for movies and shows that were standing on their own, such as The Batman, Joker, and The Penguin, it’s been confirmed that those universes will remain ‘elseworlds’ which toy with DC’s rich library in different ways and apart from the main DC continuity. It remains to be seen what’s happening with Blue Beetle, but recent comments about the character’s future suggest he might cleanly transition to the DCU.
Below you’ll find a list of every upcoming DC movie, the creatives who are attached, release dates, and everything else we know so far. Scroll down to the very end to get the quick rundown on which projects are in the DCU and which are planned as standalones or alternate universes.
Superman
- Release date: July 11, 2025
- Director: James Gunn
The DCU kicks off on the big screen with the safest bet you could possibly make (with the possible exception of more Batman): a hopeful Superman reboot which skips the origin story we all know and places the character into a universe that’s already full of superheroes (like the Lanterns) and scheming evildoers such as Lex Luthor.
You might think this project is a bit overcrowded for the first movie of a rebooted continuity, but we must admit James Gunn has proven us wrong time and again when it comes to comic book adaptations, so we’re optimistic.
While the core of the story looks and sounds simple enough (Clark Kent/Superman trying to navigate the complexities of being a god-like figure who wants to follow his heart), we know it’s got ties to Creature Commandos, Peacemaker season 2, and likely 2026’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, among others. Speaking of which…
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
- Release date: June 26, 2026
- Director: Craig Gillespie
Whereas Superman is playing up the ‘boy scout’ angle, Supergirl’s big-screen debut is working with Tom King’s critically acclaimed and celebrated 8-issue limited series that was published from 2021 to 2022. The main hook was its more layered and mature take on the lore surrounding the character and the more fantastical mythology built around this specific story. With I, Tonya and Cruella director Craig Gillespie at the helm – directing a script by Ana Nogueira – chances are Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will capture much of that spark.
We’ve yet to see how closely it follows the comic book’s storyline, which focused on Kara Zor-El celebrating her 21st birthday with a trip across the cosmos, only to find a noble young warrior named Ruthye Marye Knoll whose father was murdered by Krem of the Yellow Hills. This leads both women right into a violent quest for revenge that allows Kara to reflect on her own origins. As a nice surprise, we now know that former Aquaman Jason Momoa will be playing interstellar bounty hunter Lobo in the movie.
Clayface
- Release date: September 11, 2026
- Director: James Watkins
James Gunn wasn’t lying when he stated that Warner Bros was open to weird, more tonally distinct DC projects. Clayface is way less popular than the Joker, yet he’s getting the solo movie treatment at DC Studios after Mike Flanagan hit Gunn with a convincing enough pitch and script. Sadly, he won’t be directing due to other commitments, and a new draft is being written by Hossein Amini (Drive) as we speak. James Watkins (Speak No Evil) is currently set to direct.
Previous rumors and official chatter pointed to Clayface being more in the lower-budget horror flick space, which is fitting considering most incarnations of the character have a clay-like, shapeshifting ability that’s unnerving to say the least. That said, we wouldn’t be entirely surprised if this movie goes for a more grounded approach. James Gunn has stated the movie will be set in the DCU, though, which means we have already met this Clayface through his brief role in Creature Commandos.
The Batman Part II
- Release date: October 1, 2027
- Director: Matt Reeves
The Batman was a huge win for DC in 2022, proving that audiences weren’t afraid of getting more iterations of the Caped Crusader as long as the pitches were good enough. However, Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne will stay in his lane and not join the more comic book-y DCU. Regardless, what’s happening with this one? Why is it taking so long to get made?
Well, it appears most of it comes down to Pattinson’s busy schedule and writer-director Matt Reeves’ personal life. James Gunn has repeated several times that they’re still waiting for a script Reeves is happy with, and considering the critical reception and box office receipts the first movie garnered, it’s probably in everyone’s best interest not to rush this one. Last year, we saw HBO’s The Penguin add more to Reeves’ take on Gotham City, but we’ve yet to learn about the main villain who will make Batman’s job harder in Part II.
Dynamic Duo
- Release date: June 30, 2028
- Director: Arthur Minz
Kicking things off with an animated show based on lesser-known DC characters was a clear sign of Gunn’s love for the medium and its potential as a different canvas for big comic book stories brought out of the pages. It wasn’t long before he confirmed they were also looking at releasing more animated DC movies in cinemas following the success of the Spider-Verse movies from Sony Animation. Swaybox’s Arthur Mintz will be directing; his company mixes puppetry, stop-motion, and CGI, so this project could bring something really fresh to the table.
While it’s not confirmed if the story will belong to the DCU or stand on its own, we know it’ll follow Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, the two most popular Robins, with Batman out of the picture (at least for the most part). Grayson eventually becomes the hero known as Nightwing, while Jason Todd turns into the Red Hood. For all we know, the story – written by Coco’s Matthew Aldrich – could be set before those changes. On top of everything, The Batman and The Penguin’s Matt Reeves is producing.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
- Release date: Unknown
- Director: Andy Muschietti
The Batman skipping the DCU continuity doesn’t mean DC Studios isn’t already hard at work on finding the right Caped Crusader for the rebooted universe. With The Flash’s Andy Muschietti attached to direct (at least for now), work on The Brave and the Bold has been underway for at least a little over two years now. We haven’t heard anything about the writing talent attached, though.
The movie is expected to be based on the comic books by Grant Morrison that explored the Bat-Family and their many dramas, namely the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian Wayne. This confirms the Batman we’ll be meeting in the DCU is a seasoned veteran who’s been protecting Gotham City for years. Creature Commandos also gave us a glimpse of the hero, so Gunn has been quietly laying the groundwork for his big entrance.
Swamp Thing
- Release date: Unknown
- Director: James Mangold
Another in-the-works project skewing towards horror is the big-screen adaptation of Swamp Thing. James Mangold (Logan, A Complete Unknown) remains on board to write and direct the “very simple, clean, Gothic horror movie”, though progress on the script has been slow, as he’s also working on an epic ‘Jedi origins’ Star Wars movie at Lucasfilm.
Though it’s been planned as a standalone movie with little to no connection to the larger DCU, it was revealed as part of Chapter 1 of the universe. In the comics, Swamp Thing is an antihero character that seeks to protect nature and humanity. The ‘Avatar of the Green’ has had different incarnations over the years, but he remains one of the most iconic and recognizable DC characters in spite of his limited mainstream popularity. With the right script, this is an off-beat project that could easily flourish.
The Authority
- Release date: Unknown
- Director: Unknown
The Authority was another big swing of a project that was revealed back in 2023 with the rough outline of DCU Chapter 1, Gods and Monsters. James Gunn teased it’d have strong connections to Superman, and that movie’s main trailer introduced Angela Spica (The Engineer). As a superhero team, The Authority is known for often going a bit extreme, so think of a darker alternative to other major groups of the DC universe, like the Justice League. In fact, these characters originally weren’t part of DC.
Gunn has described the movie as “a passion project” that’s being developed alongside other DC Studios writers, but we haven’t received any major updates. The latest update came in early 2025, when Gunn admitted it’s been “moved to the back burner” as other projects are bigger priorities for both Warner and the studio.
Teen Titans
- Release date: Unknown
- Director: Unknown
Teen Titans is another movie based on fan-favorite characters that’s in the early stages of development. Ana Nogueira (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow) pitched the project to Gunn and Safran, who called the first script “amazing” before confirming it simply isn’t ready to go yet. The updates we’ve received are encouraging, but DC Studios has yet to commit.
For now, the potential roster of characters is completely up in the air, though many fans would like to see a close adaptation of the superhero team as seen in the early 2000s CN animated series, which included Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy. With a Batman movie that’s introducing Damian Wayne on the way, it’s not hard to see how it could be set up with ease in the near future.
Bane/Deathstroke (untitled)
- Release date: Unknown
- Director: Unknown
Movies and TV shows about DC antiheroes and villains have had a solid hit rate so far, so it comes as no surprise that the new regime is doubling down on such projects. On top of Clayface and Swamp Thing, last year we learned of another script that’s been floating around: one focusing on Bane and Deathstroke sans Batman.
You all know the former, and the latter was introduced on-screen in Justice League’s (2017) post-credits stinger, played by Joe Manganiello, only to never show up again as the DCEU continued to struggle. Of course, we’d likely be looking at new faces behind both masks, but with a script by Moon Knight scribe Matthew Orton only in the early stages of development, we wouldn’t get our hopes up just yet.
Constantine 2
- Release date: Unknown
- Director: Francis Lawrence
Last but not least, we have to acknowledge the existence (in some form) of a tentative sequel to 2005’s Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves. It’s been pitched to DC Studios and a script is now in the works, with original director Francis Lawrence interested in coming back to helm it once he’s done with a number of projects, including a new Hunger Games and the long-in-development BioShock adaptation at Netflix.
Akiva Goldsman (I Am Legend) is writing after Reeves and Lawrence cracked a story and some “really, really great ideas” that would bring the duo back to the same universe the original movie presented. Therefore, this would likely be considered an elseworlds project under DC Studios. As much as we’d love to have Reeves’ take on the occult detective back on the big screen, it’s gonna take a rare planetary alignment to get this one to the starting line.
Which upcoming DC movies are part of the DCU?
If you want the quick answer to which movies currently in the works at DC Studios are confirmed to be part of the main DCU continuity, beginning with Creature Commandos and Superman, here you go:
- Superman (2025)
- Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026)
- Clayface (2026)
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold (TBA)
- Swamp Thing (TBA)
- The Authority (TBA)
- Teen Titans (TBA)
- Bane/Deathstroke (TBA)
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