Warner Bros. Discovery has been touting its recent successes in a new shareholder letter. However, it was during a call with investors that CEO David Zaslav seemingly revealed what Superman director James Gunn is working on next.
"James Gunn is already preparing to write the next installment in the Super-Family," he confirmed, adding that the DC Studios co-CEO will also direct the movie. Some are speculating that Zaslav is referring to a literal "Super-Family" movie, and it's worth noting that Gunn has repeatedly said Superman will be in his next feature, albeit not a direct Superman sequel.
A Superman/Supergirl team-up would certainly be of interest to many fans, as would Legion of Super-Heroes. Gunn has said he's not big into time travel, so we wouldn't bank on that being in the works. World's Finest also appears to be off the table.
Celebrating the success of Superman in the aforementioned letter, the company said, "DC Studio's universe of characters represents not only one of Warner Bros. Discovery’s most valuable pieces of intellectual property, but one of the most valuable assets in entertainment."
"In film, James Gunn is busy preparing the next installments of the DC super family, including 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow' (2026), 'Clayface' (2026) and the next 'Wonder Woman,'" it continued. "In addition, 'The Batman II' (2027) is preparing to begin shooting next spring, among several other projects in development."
It was recently reported that The Batman Part II is gearing up to start shooting early next year, but it's now official. That hopefully means we'll start getting casting news soon, especially as rumours persist that Hush will be the sequel's big bad.
"The 10-year vision for the DC universe also includes an exciting array of television projects, including 'The Penguin,' the upcoming new season of 'Peacemaker,' and the debut of 'Lanterns' in 2026. In a precise and measured way, the DC franchise will increasingly overlay across the studio’s broader efforts: from film and TV to consumer products, games, experiences and social," the letter concludes.
It's also been confirmed today that, moving forward, Warner Bros. Discovery intends to release 12-14 new films a year, split between 1-2 WB tentpoles, 1-2 DC Studios films, 3-4 New Line releases (including horror), 1-2 animated films, and 1-2 modestly budgeted original films.
Why hasn't Gunn announced his next DCU movie? He's said that won't happen for any project until DC Studios has a script in hand, so he presumably wishes to finish it before confirming his plans.
Until this mystery movie takes shape, we expect Superman to next return to the big screen in June 2026's Supergirl movie.