8 DC Comics Characters Who Need To Be A Priority For DC Studios And The New DCU

2024 will usher in a new era of storytelling for the DC Universe, and we've rounded up some heroes and villains who should be a priority for DC Studios in "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters," and beyond.

By JoshWilding - Apr 24, 2023 12:04 PM EST

Filed Under: DC Studios

Shortly after Man of Steel was released, Warner Bros. announced an entire slate of movies...most of which never happened. When the "SnyderVerse" was still a thing, we heard about plans for everything from Nightwing to Deathstroke and, unsurprisingly, those projects also fell by the wayside.

Now, the studio is taking another crack at the DC Universe, rebooting the DCEU as the DCU under the guidance of DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. The first titles in the "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters" slate have been revealed, but there are plenty of characters we think should be a priority for this reboot, whether it's as supporting players in those or as the leads in their own future projects.

There are some big names here, but also a few heroes and villains you might not be overly familiar with. Warner Bros. really has only scratched the surface of the DC Comics Universe and, thanks to DC Studios, there are ample opportunities moving forward to turn it into a franchise as huge as the MCU.

To see which characters we're hoping could be on the way to the DCU, hit the "Next" button below!

8. Bizarro

James Gunn will direct Superman: Legacy for DC Studios, with Henry Cavill swapped out for a new, younger actor to play the hero who doesn't carry any of the DCEU's baggage. A fresh start is the right move, but who should this new Man of Steel square off with in the movie?

Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Doomsday, and Metallo are among the most obvious answers, but why not head down a slightly more unexpected route? Bizarro was created by Lex Luthor and is an imperfect clone of Superman's (there are other origin stories, but that's perhaps easiest to follow).

His appearance, the way he speaks and acts, and the fact Luthor created a Superman clone in the first place is all pretty ridiculous, but it would be a fun, light-hearted direction for a filmmaker like Gunn to take this story in. Needless to say, we'd like to see the movie's lead pull double duty as Superman and Brainiac.

7. Mister Miracle

Darkseid finally made his big screen debut in Zack Snyder's Justice League, and the plan was to explore both that character and the rest of the New Gods in a movie from director Ava DuVernay. Unfortunately, it never happened, leaving those characters stuck in limbo.

Mister Miracle should absolutely be part of the new DCU, and with Tom King involved, we're sure it will happen sooner rather than later. The son of New Genesis ruler Highfather, Scott Free was traded as an infant for Darkseid's child, Orion, in a bid to end the war between the New Gods of Apokolips and New Genesis. He hated his adoptive father as a youth and later fled to Earth where he took on the mantle of Mister Miracle, becoming a master escape artist.

Fleeing from Apokolips was no easy feat, and his frequent clashes with Darkseid resulted in a lot of entertaining stories. This would be a fun approach to The New Gods, and gives moviegoers someone it's easy to root for and a character they'll no doubt be eager to see more of.

6. Green Arrow

Arrow reached its end on The CW after eight seasons, and as fun as it was to follow Oliver Queen's story there, a big screen version of the character could do so much more with Green Arrow. His dynamic with characters like Batman and Black Canary has a tonne of untapped potential and it's about damn time the Emerald Archer be given the chance to shine on a grander stage.

Some fans will want Stephen Amell to reprise the role, but a fresh start - with a new lick of paint courtesy of DC Studios - would be the wisest move.

Once upon a time, Warner Bros. was developing a "Supermax" movie that was set to follow Green Arrow after he was wrongly imprisoned for murder and then forced to escape from a supermax prison (hence the title). Along the way, he was going to clash with all manner of villains, including Lex Luthor and The Joker, so DC Studios revisiting this concept would also be no bad thing.

5. Poison Ivy

In 1997's Batman and Robin, one of the foes George Clooney's Dark Knight faced off with was Poison Ivy. Uma Thurman clearly had a lot of fun playing the sultry villain in the movie, but aside from a long-running subplot in Gotham, the character hasn't really done anything of note since.

Batwoman take was mostly forgettable and Ivy deserves better than a TV series. As excited as we'd be to see Matt Reeves' spin on her in The Batman franchise, the most compelling destination for the villain is whatever DC Studios has planned for Harley Quinn after The Suicide Squad.

David Ayer's Gotham City Sirens movie is long forgotten and is unlikely to happen in the DCU. However, the project could easily be rejigged in some way, and even a team-up movie starring Harley and Ivy would be welcomed by fans (especially if it delves into the romantic side of their relationship).

4. Nightwing

Brenton Thwaites has done the best he could with the material he was given to work with in Titans, but we'd still argue that this is a character who deserves better (particularly on the big screen).

Dick Grayson came close to getting his due in a live-action movie directed by The LEGO Batman Movie's Chris McKay, but that project fell apart around the same time as Ben Affleck's The Batman. As a result, Nightwing has been put back on the shelf, though his future in the DCU may well lie with The Brave and the Bold, a new Batman movie revolving around Bruce Wayne and his new Robin, Damian Wayne.

As part of the Bat-Family, Dick could play a pivotal role in this reboot, particularly as someone who has been put through the wringer by Batman as his sidekick before breaking free to become his own man and superhero.

3. Zatanna

In the comic books, Zatanna is a powerful magician who casts spells by speaking backwards. She's a frequent love interest for John Constantine, and a hero with enough firepower to have been a member of both Justice League Dark and the Justice League of America.

Emerald Fennell, the Oscar-nominated director of Promising Young Woman was writing the Zatanna movie, but we were right not to get our hopes up as J.J. Abrams' poorly defined Justice League Dark never took shape on HBO Max.

Zatanna is a character the studio could easily build an entire franchise around, though we'd suggest having her debut in Swamp-Thing. From there, she can start making her presence felt throughout the DCU, with this team of supernatural heroes finally assembling for the movie or TV show we've all spent years dreaming of.

2. Reverse-Flash

For whatever reason, The Flash movie hasn't made use of Reverse-Flash. Instead, General Zod will return, with Dark Flash playing what we expect is little more than a small supporting role as a vaguely defined antagonist within the Speed Force. When all is said and done, perhaps saving this villain for the DCU was for the best!

Hailing from far into the future, Eobard Thawne was a massive Flash fanboy who descended into villainy after becoming obsessed with his idol. Meeting him didn't live up to his expectations, though, and he set out on a mission to wipe the Fastest Man Alive from the timeline.

That involved going back and killing Barry's mother, an event that actually led to the creation of the Flash. There are ways this concept can be revisited down the line, of course, especially when a new Scarlet Speedster is inevitably introduced. DC Studios will likely want to wait for the dust to settle after this movie, and we'd want to see a greater focus on time travel rather than the Multiverse.

1. Red Hood

Had Ben Affleck not decided to hang up his cape and cowl, it might have been a lot easier to bring Jason Todd into the DC Extended Universe, especially after that suit tease in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder has said the Robin costume belonged to Dick Grayson, but that still doesn't really make much sense if we're being totally honest).

Jason was murdered by The Joker, but after being resurrected by Talia al Ghul, he returned years later to seek his revenge both on the Clown Prince of Crime and the father he felt had failed him: Batman.

Taking on the mantle of the Red Hood, he served as a Punisher-like vigilante in Gotham City, and frequently clashed with his former mentor. Later, Jason would become an anti-hero, and as well as the perfect opponent for the Dark Knight, he's also more than capable of holding his own in a standalone franchise. Once again, this is a character who deserves better than Titans, and as the DCU's Batman has a history, Jason's "death" may have already happened.

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64 Comments

1 2

Midnaslament - 4/24/2023, 12:51 PM

why doesnt reverse flash run backwards? that doesnt make sense, its bad thematically, therefore i wont see the grave and the bold. off to some eggs

GhostDog - 4/24/2023, 12:57 PM

Josh's thought process when auto generating another "dc comics characters who need to be a priority" article

CaptainDC - 4/24/2023, 1:09 PM

The Bat Family and Bat Rogue Gallery alone could hold some serious weight... there's so much potential

FireandBlood - 4/24/2023, 1:27 PM

Green Arrow, Nightwing, Nightwing, and Nightwing.

The fact they’re wasting Batman & Robin on Bruce and Damian and not DickBats and Damian is criminal, but it is what it is. Go figure they’re to chicken shit to replace Bruce, even for a movie. Could’ve even revolved around them saving him, but oh well.

NinnesMBC - 4/24/2023, 1:40 PM

@PlusUltra - The main recurring theme in DC is of legacies, the passing of the torch to their pupils when they are ready, etc. Seems like even with Gunn they still can't get something as simple as that.

ModHaterSLADE - 4/24/2023, 1:35 PM

A Supermax movie would be awesome.

cocaegelo - 4/24/2023, 1:50 PM

A funny Green Arrow would be nice.

WEAPONXOXOXO - 4/24/2023, 1:56 PM

Easy there Josh.
DC has to learn how to walk before they could run.
Let's hope the Superman movie is a big hit before we make a wish list.

SummersEssex - 4/24/2023, 2:02 PM

This list is bad and you should feel bad.

grif - 4/24/2023, 2:06 PM

some good ones here. bizarro though?

RolandD - 4/24/2023, 2:27 PM

Don’t you mean the lead should play both Superman and Bizarro, not Superman and Brainiac?

Scripturepoetic - 4/24/2023, 3:36 PM

@RolandD -

That's definitely what was intended

Typos aside,
I think there is a memorable and tragic Bizarro story to be told

One where Bizarro starts off as an identical clone deteriorating into something like Frankenstein's 'Monster'

RolandD - 4/24/2023, 3:39 PM

@Scripturepoetic -

RolandD - 4/24/2023, 3:40 PM

@Scripturepoetic - In fact, tweet that to Gunn.

Scripturepoetic - 4/24/2023, 4:08 PM

@RolandD -

King 🦈 Shark is essentially what the template is for a James Gunn Bizarro

There is a strong likelihood that "Superman Legacy" will feature Bizarro, especially under the "Gods & Monsters" theme

Scripturepoetic - 4/24/2023, 6:45 PM

@RolandD -

There is a more sympathetic approach, that could be taken

If Tim Burton came back on board to direct even a short film or an episode (if not a full length feature, which maybe unlikely due to the notoriety of the Nicolas Cage production) with Brendan Fraser under MoCap, that could be something special

Scripturepoetic - 4/24/2023, 6:48 PM

@RolandD -

I'm just throwing out a 'sense' of where Gunn's stewardship COULD go, definitely not exactly recommending a play-by-play production outline

Lokiwasright - 4/24/2023, 2:56 PM

I've always wanted a Question movie

RolandD - 4/24/2023, 3:43 PM

@Lokiwasright -

I would love that, especially if it took inspiration from the Denny O’Neil and Denys Conan’s run in the 80’s.

RolandD - 4/24/2023, 3:01 PM

Green Arrow with a proper blonde goatee and hair, please. His look is iconic.

Origame - 4/24/2023, 3:59 PM

Here at watchmojo, we're counting down our top 10 most pointless Josh Wilding articles.

PatientXero - 4/24/2023, 5:35 PM

No Booster Gold?

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8 DC Comics Characters Who Need To Be A Priority For DC Studios And The New DCU

2024 will usher in a new era of storytelling for the DC Universe, and we've rounded up some heroes and villains who should be a priority for DC Studios in "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters," and beyond.

8. Bizarro

7. Mister Miracle

6. Green Arrow

5. Poison Ivy

4. Nightwing

3. Zatanna

2. Reverse-Flash

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