10 Biggest DCU Questions We Still Have 1 Year After James Gunn Announced The Reboot

There are still many unanswered questions regarding the upcoming DC Universe reboot, even a year after James Gunn first announced DC Studios’ transformative plans. After a lengthy period of tumult at Warner Bros. and DC Films, the decision was made to hire filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as co-CEOs of the new DC Studios. This became official in November 2022, and the pair immediately set plans in motion to reboot the DC Extended Universe, bringing the divisive, decade-long franchise to an end and announcing major plans to reinvent DC’s live-action characters and storylines with the new DC Universe.

James Gunn revealed DC Studios’ plans for its rebooted franchise on January 31, 2023, announcing the development of ten new projects across film, TV and animation, which will establish a new continuity. Since then, several casting decisions have been made, including David Corenswet being cast as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Milly Alcock as Supergirl, but there are still many details about the DC Universe that haven’t been uncovered. The DC Universe’s Chapter 1, titled “Gods and Monsters”, is set to kick off in 2024 with two upcoming TV shows, but some burning questions have still gone unanswered.

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10 Will The DCU Reboot Be Acknowledged On Screen?

The DCEU Reboot Was Expected To Occur In 2023’s The Flash

Back in his original announcement, James Gunn suggested that The Flash would reset the DC Universe, playing off the fact that 2011’s Flashpoint, which inspired The Flash, established a new timeline in DC Comics. While The Flash’s apparent reset of the DCEU was confusing, it’s possible that future projects in the DCU could explain more about how this actually occurred. Several actors will be reprising their roles in the DCU, and storylines such as those started in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker may still be canon, so it would be great for the franchise’s reboot to actually be acknowledged in-universe.

9 Is Wonder Woman 3 Actually Happening?

Gal Gadot Previously Teased Wonder Woman 3 For The DCU

2017’s Wonder Woman was one of the DCEU’s most successful projects, and while its 2020 sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, didn’t fare so well, hopes were still high for a third installment. Wonder Woman 3, despite not being announced for the DCU, was teased by Gal Gadot in August 2023, though Variety’s report that no Justice League actors would rerprise their roles in the DCU perhaps marked the end for Wonder Woman 3. There hasn’t been any official announcement on this, however, but DC Studios is developing a Themyscira-set series, Paradise Lost, which may completely reinvent Wonder Woman in the DCU.

8 Who Will Play Batman?

The DCU’s New Batman Casting Hasn’t Yet Been Revealed

James Gunn announced The Brave and the Bold in his DCU announcement, a live-action project that will introduce a new incarnation of Bruce Wayne’s Batman, taking over from Ben Affleck. While The Flash’s Andy Muschietti has been hired to direct, no casting decisions have been announced for Batman, despite him being one of the cornerstones of any live-action DC franchise. Of course, there are many characters that haven’t yet been cast, but Batman is a significant hero in DC lore, so it’s still curious why no actor has been revealed to be taking on the role of the Caped Crusader.

7 What Other Projects Will Be Produced As DC Elseworlds Installments?

Matt Reeves’ The Batman & Todd Phillips’ Joker Are DC Elseworlds Projects

Several DC projects across live-action and animation have been dubbed “DC Elseworlds” projects, inspired by DC Comics’ Elseworlds imprint that told stories set outside the main universe’s continuity. Matt Reeves’ The Batman and Todd Phillips’ Joker franchises will continue to develop as Elseworlds projects, along with Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black-led Superman project, The CW’s Superman & Lois series and Netflix’s The Sandman franchise. However, it’s unclear whether new major franchises will be developed as DC Elseworlds projects, especially since Matt Reeves’ Arkham Asylum series has now been folded into the DCU’s main timeline, so questions still remain about these separate stories.

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6 Who Else Will Be Reprising Their Roles From The DCEU?

Several DCEU Actors Have Been Confirmed To Reprise Their Roles In The DCU

While many characters from the DCEU have already (and will continue to be) recast for the new DC Universe, several actors will be reprising their roles. This has been a major point of confusion, though it simply means that actors will return to portray different iterations of the same characters. Several actors have been confirmed to be returning, including Viola Davis, John Cena, Xolo Maridueña and Sean Gunn, but it’s possible that more could also be brought back. For instance, there have been calls for Margot Robbie to return as Harley Quinn, but DC Studios hasn’t revealed any further additions.

5 Will The DCU Be Ignoring Origin Stories?

Many Announced DCU Characters Are Already Operating As Superheroes

Many of the DCU’s announced upcoming projects will be introducing their characters as pre-established superheroes, perhaps avoiding divulging their origin stories. Origin stories have often been explored to debut heroes in superhero franchises, but James Gunn’s DCU may break this trend. Superman: Legacy will feature David Corenswet’s Clark Kent already working as a Daily Planet reporter, while The Brave and the Bold will introduce Batman and his son, Damian Wayne. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Lanterns, and potentially more will introduce their characters already operating as heroes, so the question stands whether the DCU will investigate their origin stories at all.

4 Will A New Justice League Form In The DCU’s Chapter 1?

The DCU’s Justice League Plans Haven’t Been Announced

James Gunn has stressed that the DCU’s first ten projects only make up a small portion of Chapter 1, suggesting there are more upcoming stories that haven’t yet been revealed. Curiously, a crossover event akin to the DCEU’s Justice League or the MCU’s Avengers wasn’t included, creating speculation that the Justice League – or other DC Comics teams – may not form anytime soon. One of the biggest criticisms of the DCEU was that it rushed to bring its heroes together, so Gunn may now be taking a slower approach, but the future of the Justice League is still unclear.

3 Who Will Be The DCU’s First Major Villain?

The DCEU’s Heroes Battled Major Antagonists Steppenwolf & Darkseid

As well as no crossover event or team-up movie yet being announced, the DCU is about to begin without an overarching antagonist. This certainly isn’t a bad thing, as the MCU began without the intention of building up towards the Mad Titan Thanos, yet the introduction of a significant adversary along the lines of Steppenwolf or Darkseid would perhaps inform the formation of future superhero teams and crossover storylines. It’s possible that Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor could become an ever-present threat to a number of heroes, but the DCU’s villains haven’t yet been receiving as much attention as its heroes.

2 When Will The DCU’s First Projects Actually Release?

The DCU Is Expected To Begin With 2024’s Creature Commandos & Waller

James Gunn revealed that, while Superman: Legacy would be the DCU’s first feature film in 2025, the franchise would actually begin in 2024 with two TV shows. Creature Commandos and Waller will kick off the DCU, but as of January 31, 2024, no premiere date has been set for either. This means that viewers are still none the wiser as to when the DCU will begin, which means the budding franchise may be missing out on valuable hype. Superman: Legacy is expected to release on July 11, 2025, but Creature Commandos and Waller only have prospective “late 2024” release windows.

1 Was Announcing The DCU Reboot So Early The Right Call?

James Gunn’s 2023 Announcement May Have Harmed The Performance Of Several DCEU Projects

By the time Creature Commandos and Waller kick off the DCU, almost two years will have passed since Gunn’s original announcement. While announcing reboot plans this early could have been great had no further DCEU projects been releasing, Gunn revealed the reboot less than a month before Shazam! Fury of the Gods hit theaters, followed by The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. All of DC Studios’ 2023 projects performed poorly at the box office, and while there were surely other, significant issues, the announcement of the new DC Universe may have had a hand in this.

It’s hard to imagine audience members caring about four projects that would have no impact on the future of the franchise, which could have led to DC Studios’ 2023 projects seeing poor turnouts in theaters. Of course, there has been criticism aimed at visual effects, writing, lackluster performances and behind-the-scenes controversies, as well as the overarching theme of “superhero fatigue”, but James Gunn’s announcement in January 2023 surely didn’t help. This will be proven when the box office performances of upcoming DC Universe projects are revealed, as there is hope more viewers will turn up for the exciting new franchise.