What Is The Jurassic League? The Justice League’s Weirdest DCU Replacement Explained

The Jurassic League may be coming to the DCU, one of the weirdest replacements for the classic Justice League of DC heroes. Set in a prehistoric world filled with anthropomorphic dinosaurs, the Jurassic League is exactly how it sounds: a team of dino-heroes who join together to save the world in the pages of DC Comics. To that end, it’s been reported that a movie starring the team may be in development in the DCU’s future.

According to Jeff Sneider’s The InSneider, DC Studios is allegedly developing an animated Jurassic League feature. However, it’s unknown if it will be connected to the DCU at large or will be presented more as an isolated Elseworlds project. At any rate, here’s everything we know about Jurassic League, who’s on the team, who’s developing the movie, as well as when the rumored project might be released.

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The DCU’s Rumored Jurassic League Movie Explained

Produced By James Gunn

According to the report from Sneider, the currently untitled Jurassic League movie will be an animated feature produced by DC Studios’ head James Gunn and Peter Safran. The project will supposedly be written by Brian Lynch who wrote 2015’s Minions and 2016’s The Secret Life of Pets for Illumination (as well as their respective sequels). The movie’s also expected to be based on 2022’s Jurassic League miniseries, which first debuted the alternate world and its characters within DC Comics’ multiverse.

Written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson and Juan Gedeon, Jurassic League ran in 2022 for 6 issues. Set in its own reality and timeline, the events of Jurassic League canonically take place on Earth-27 with the established multiverse on the page. Additionally, the Jurassic League team did make a subsequent appearance in the major 2022 crossover Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths.

What Will Jurassic League Be About?

Dino-Heroes vs Dino-Darkseid?

In the original Jurassic League comic series, dinosaur versions of one of the most classic Justice League rosters come together for the first time. Seeking to protect both the world’s innocent dinosaurs and the planet’s more primitive humans as well, the Jurassic League faces plenty of DC villains who are given the dinosaur treatment as well. However, it soon becomes apparent that a darker force is preparing to hatch from its “Dark Embryo”, fueled by the energy from kidnapped humans.

Once hatched, it’s revealed that Darkyloseid has come to this prehistoric Earth, a giant ankylosaurus seeking to devour the entire planet. As such, the Jurassic League miniseries does resemble the Justice League’s origins from 2011’s New 52 reboot where Darkseid’s first invasion brought them all together for the first time, though Jurassic League naturally has its uniquely prehistoric twists and turns. As such, the story does lend itself well to an animated feature adaptation from DC Studios.

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Which Dinosaur-Themed Heroes Are On The Jurassic League?

A Full Roster Of Prehistoric Heroes

The Jurassic League’s roster of heroes on the page is quite impressive, particularly with the dinosaur-hero combinations chosen by Johnson and Gedeon. Here’s the entire list of heroes on the prehistoric team, what species of dinosaur they are, as well as their unique Jurassic League names:

The chosen dinosaurs for each hero are very logical with an entertaining level of detail. For example, the baryonyx is believed to have been predominantly aquatic, making it the perfect species for Aquaman. Likewise, The Flash as a velociraptor makes all kinds of sense due to their speed.

However, the best decision was to make Batman an allosaurus rather than a T. rex as one might initially expect (considering the robotic one the human Dark Knight keeps in his Batcave). This is because of the pointed ridges at the top of an allosaurus’ head, making it perfect for a cowl’s bat ears (a conscious decision on Johnson and Gedeon’s part). Although this isn’t the confirmed team for the Jurassic League movie, it does provide a good idea of what the team will most likely be and look like.

Will Jurassic League Be Part Of The DCU’s Multiverse or Elseworlds?

Most Likely Elseworlds (Though Multiverse Is Possible)

When first announcing the upcoming slate of films and shows in the new DCU beginning with Superman: Legacy, James Gunn confirmed that DC Studios would still be making “Elseworlds” projects, movies with more isolated narratives and worlds such as Todd Phillips’ Joker films or Matt Reeves’ The Batman trilogy starring Robert Pattinson. As such, these projects would be separate from the grander DCU timeline and multiverse, existing on their own as one-off movies or shows, and it’s not hard to see Jurassic League becoming part of the Elseworlds’ banner.

However, it’s also possible that Jurassic League could simply exist on Earth-27 with the door left open for future crossover opportunities via the DCU’s multiverse. Likewise, James Gunn did say that the hope was for animated and live-action characters to have the same actors. The opportunity for David Corenswet to play the DCU’s Superman while also voicing Supersaur could be very entertaining. However, it’s not yet known where the animated Jurassic League movie in development will ultimately fall.

When Will Jurassic League Be Released?

Could It Be The DCU’s Next Animated Feature?

At the moment, the reported Jurassic League movie has no set release window from DC Studios. Considering the full slate of movies and shows that have already been announced for the DCU and the Elseworlds banner, it might be awhile. Then again, the only upcoming DC animated feature at the moment is 2024’s upcoming Creature Commandos series. Perhaps Jurassic League will be up to bat as the next exciting animated feature from DC Studios, bringing dinosaurs and beloved heroes from the Justice League together on the big screen.