Warner Bros. Discovery finally pulled the curtain back on the DC Studios' DCU slate earlier this week, and with a total of 10 upcoming projects in "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters," we've been left with plenty to discuss.
Five movies and five TV shows are going to make up the first half of that opening chapter, and we're now going to focus on the latter. In many ways, the DCEU has always found greater success on the small screen, with the likes of Watchmen, Superman & Lois, Swamp Thing, and Peacemaker earning much better reviews than what we've watched in theaters.
As we enter a new era of storytelling in the DCU, it's down to DC Studios to not only replicate that success on HBO Max, but to make these projects all part of the same shared universe. Those that have been revealed so far couldn't be any different, and we've now gone ahead and ranked them from least to most anticipated.
To find out how they all compare, simply click on the "Next" button below!
5. Paradise Lost
Logline: Set in Themyscira, home of the Amazons and birthplace of Wonder Woman, this drama focuses on the genesis and political intrigue of an island of all women.
This series has already been compared to Game of Thrones, but that's something we've heard about many shows over the years; heck, even Inhumans was likened to the HBO drama at one point!
Like Krypton, it's hard to fathom who, other than die-hard comic book fans hoping to spot Easter Eggs or a nod to Diana Prince, is really desperate for a show like Paradise Lost. We love seeing a female-led project like this front and centre in the DCU, but an exploration of Themyscira's history doesn't sound overly compelling on paper.
Nubia and Wonder Girl are two characters who could have quite easily headlined their own Wonder Woman-adjacent small screen projects, but DC Studios clearly had other ideas. We'll give it a shot, but it's going to take some convincing.
4. Waller
Logline: Starring Viola Davis, this series features Team Peacemaker and will be written by Christal Henry (Watchmen) and Jeremy Carver (Supernatural).
On the one hand, it's hard not to be cynical about the fact one of the DCU's first TV shows revolves around a major character from The Suicide Squad alongside Peacemaker's supporting cast. Gunn was in charge of both projects, and with so much uncertainty surrounding actors like Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot, this feels like an odd choice to present fans with.
Putting that to one side, however, we're definitely intrigued about spending time with Amanda Waller again. She was outed as a villain in Peacemaker, but is clearly going to be key to the DCU's future.
Season 2 of that show has been delayed, and in many ways, we wish they'd been combined. A sequel to The Suicide Squad seems unlikely, so why Waller is deserving of her own series - aside from the fact Davis is amazing - is hard to say. Then again, our next entry may go some way in explaining that...
3. Creature Commandos
Logline: A seven-episode animated show in which Amanda Waller creates a black ops team out of monstrous prisoners; Gunn wrote all the episodes of the first season.
We expected Gunn to take the DCU to some weird places, but that's far from a bad thing. In the case of Creature Commandos, the animated TV series - written by the filmmaker - promises to delve into this world's supernatural side, and could be an important glimpse into what lies ahead.
The Suicide Squad's Weasel will return, while we'll follow Waller attempting to create a very different sort of Task Force X made up of the DC Universe's monsters. Rick Flag Sr. also debuts, and with the actors here also set to play their characters in live-action, we cannot wait to see who ends up bringing him to life.
In terms of the animation style, it looks fun and different. The premise, meanwhile, is fresh, and we can't help but wonder if this will somehow tie into the Swamp Thing movie!
2. Booster Gold
Logline: Booster Gold uses basic technology from the future to pretend to be a superhero in present day.
There's been talk of a Booster Gold project for years now, but the closest we've really come to seeing him on screen is when Donald Faison showed up as the time-travelling hero in Legends of Tomorrow's final episode (the show was, unfortunately, cancelled weeks later).
Just the premise of someone who travels from the future to pretend to be a superhero in the present is unlike anything we've seen before, and we're hoping that this story will be every bit as zany and unique as Booster's comic book (mis)adventures.
Of course, with a time-traveller comes the potential to tell stories about the past, present, and future, not to mention different timelines in the Multiverse. With that in mind, this show could be the one that really takes a deep dive into what the new DCU is and where it could be going (Gunn and Safran have confirmed they're building to something big).
1. Lanterns
Logline: This enormous TV event series follows intergalactic cops John Stewart and Hal Jordan as they uncover a dark mystery.
Greg Berlanti's Green Lantern TV series sounded fine, but following the respective stories of Alan Scott and Guy Gardner is never going to be as enticing to fans as Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
For most of us, one or both of them are considered the Green Lantern, and this True Detective-inspired story that plays out across the cosmos has the potential to be everything we should have got back in 2011 and so much more. It sounds like this show will be a huge part of the wider story that's being told in the DCU too.
We don't know how much a TV budget is going to restrict Lanterns (we're guessing the "Green" was dropped to avoid reminding people about the Ryan Reynolds blockbuster), but hope this is just the start of even greater things to come for these two and the likes of Kyle Rayner, Sinestro, and Jessica Cruz.