The DCU is expanding quite rapidly. Led by DC Studios' James Gunn and Peter Safran, the nascent superhero franchise will release a multitude of film and television projects in the near future. DC Studios is giving the spotlight to a variety of comic book characters. One of them is Scott Free, a.k.a. Mister Miracle, an escape artist who happens to be the son of New Genesis leader, Highfather.
Making his debut in 1971's Mister Miracle #1 by Jack Kirby, the hero was announced to be getting his own animated TV series, appropriately titled Mister Miracle with comic book writer Tom King set as showrunner. A piece of art from it was released alongside the reveal, featuring Scott alongside his wife, Big Barda. At the time, however, it was not stated whether or not Mister Miracle—which is based on King and Mitch Gerads' renowned comic series—would be set in the DCU, or if it would be an Elseworlds story, similar to upcoming animated series like My Adventures with Green Lantern and Starfire!
Now, we have an answer, courtesy of James Gunn. The Man of Tomorrow director took to Instagram to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Scott Free's debut. In the caption, Gunn paid tribute to the character, and revealed his upcoming animated series was indeed set in the DCU, labeling it a "DCU animated show":
"The world's greatest escape artist made his debut on this day 55 years ago in 1971! Happy anniversary to Mister Miracle, who debuted in MISTER MIRACLE #1, written by Jack Kirby, with pencils by Jack Kirby and inks by Vince Colletta. Soon [to] be seen in our DCU animated show, based on the 12-issue comic book series from [Tom King] and [Mitch Gerads]."
With that, the New Gods, Apokolips and Darkseid officially exist in the DCU. Now, just because Darkseid is franchise canon doesn't mean he will be the big bad in DC Studios' overarching plan, which is something many theorized would happen.
Speaking to Ryan Arey from the YouTube channel ScreenCrush in October 2025, Gunn confirmed he was not planning on using the character as the franchise's lead evil-doer: "To give you probably more of an answer than you expected, using Darkseid as the big bad right now is not necessarily the thing for a lot of reasons. Because Zack [Snyder] did it so cool in his way. And because [of] Thanos and Marvel."
When Mister Miracle was first announced, The Hollywood Reporter provided the following description for the series:
"The new series follows Scott Free, the world's greatest escape artist, known to the world as Mister Miracle, whose perfect life with his warrior wife Big Barda falls apart when their two home worlds — Apocalypse and New Genesis — go to war and Scott's cruel adoptive father Darkseid appears to have captured the ultimate weapon, the Anti-Life Equation, that will give him total dominance over the universe.
As the mountains of bodies on both sides grow ever higher, only Mister Miracle can stop the slaughter and restore peace. But the terrible power of the Anti-Life Equation may already be at work in his own mind, warping his reality, exposing his long-buried pain, and shattering the fragile happiness he's found with the woman he loves."
Things seem to be moving forward quite well for the show. Talking to Comic Geek Speak earlier in January, showrunner Tom King revealed that casting for Mister Miracle is underway.
Mister Miracle has not received a release date.
What do you think about Mister Miracle officially being DCU canon? What character from Tom King and Mitch Gerads' book are you most excited to see come to life in the franchise? Drop your thoughts in the comments!