Over three years after James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled their ambitious plans for a new DC Universe, the franchise's television output, or lack thereof, takes us back to dark times for the brand. The DCEU became infamous for announcing projects years before they were ready, only for many of them to disappear, be radically reworked, or, more often than not, be abandoned. DC Studios is already falling into a similar pattern.
Gunn and Safran announced an impressive slate of big and small-screen projects in January 2023, presenting "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters" as the foundation for a carefully planned, interconnected universe. On television, that included Waller, Paradise Lost, Lanterns, Booster Gold, and Creature Commandos.
Fast-forward three years and the picture is considerably less impressive. Creature Commandos arrived in 2024, Peacemaker Season 2 was a surprise addition to the slate that shoehorned DCEU characters into the DCU, and Lanterns arrives on HBO this Sunday. The rest? Well, it's not looking good.
The Ankler published an interesting report today, suggesting that HBO is becoming increasingly selective about the DC projects it wants to carry. That raises an interesting question about the relationship between DC Studios and HBO: does the premium network actually want a steady stream of DC Universe programming? If executives watched Supergirl and Peacemaker Season 2, probably not. Comic book fans aren't the premium cable network's target audience.
Lanterns is perhaps the clearest example of the disconnect. Despite being one of the most important pieces of the DCU's small screen strategy, its marketing campaign has felt remarkably muted. Gunn himself previously acknowledged that HBO handles marketing differently from theatrical releases, but dull trailers and posters that appear scared to acknowledge that it's a comic book series seem telling.
Entertainment Weekly has now confirmed that while Waller is "no longer in active development," it "remains in development at DC Studios" despite "no longer [being] a priority." Paradise Lost, meanwhile, has similarly taken a backseat at HBO, although "it could still see the light of day in the future." That is quite a fall for two shows that were positioned as cornerstones of the DCU's first chapter.
It also raises an uncomfortable question about Gunn's original 2023 slate. Did he ever intend to make all of these projects, only to discover that actually getting them into production was far more difficult than expected? Or was he forced to put together a slate of ideas before DC Studios was ready, with some of them simply ideas not suited to the screen? Ask 1,000 comic book fans, and it's doubtful that one of them would tell you they want an Amanda Waller TV show.
Either way, the result is the same: many of the shows Gunn announced with considerable fanfare are either stalled, delayed or nowhere near production.
And yet, a project that the majority of fans have seemingly rejected is moving forward: DC Crime, a series revolving around Jimmy Olsen and Gorilla Grodd. There's nothing wrong with that concept, but it reinforces the perception that Gunn is more comfortable operating in the strange, irreverent corners of the DC Universe than delivering the major projects fans expected and hoped for when DC Studios was launched.
That is the real concern three years in. The problem isn't that Waller or Paradise Lost have been delayed or scrapped. It's that the grand plan presented in 2023 increasingly bears little resemblance to what is actually being made.
That was one of the DCEU's biggest problems: constant changes created the impression that nobody really knew where the universe was going. Three years into the DCU, Gunn and Safran seem to be repeating history.