Back in 2023, way before the trailer for Superman debuted, there was an intimate press conference. This wasn’t a Hall H spectacle. It was a small but informative chat with filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran, as they became promoted to the heads of DC Studios. It’s two years later, close to the release of DC Studios first official DCU film Superman, and the duo decided to call a second follow up Q&A with members of the press to discuss the current state of the DCU.

During the 2023 conference, Gunn and Safran unveiled their plans for what would eventually become Superman, Creature Commandos, Supergirl, and Lanterns, among many others. And while the first thing one would assume that this follow up would be to discuss further upcoming projects (of which some smaller scale projects were touched on), the primary focus was actually just to check in with the press and fans, like us, to discuss DC Studios’ current state. While this may not seem like much to some in terms of shock, awe, or scoops, it does reveal a ton about how Gunn and Safran are planning to change the game as studio heads.

For example, announcements from Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm tend to get a lot of fanfare at large scale events, like San Diego Comic-Con or Star Wars Celebration. However, more often than not (especially in the case of Lucasfilm), there’s a huge public risk of embarrassment when those projects don’t come together. For further reference, ask yourself what happened to Rogue Squadron, Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy, Taika Waititi’s Star Wars film, or Marvel Studios’ Armor Wars and Blade. And yet, outside of those conventions, one must consider that studio heads like Kathleen Kennedy and Kevin Feige understandably play things very close to the vest.

That’s where Gunn and Safran completely differ. While secrets about DC Studios still exist, it’s an incredible and surprisingly refreshing change of pace for studio heads to invite press members to an open forum where they can ask anything and get honest answers about progress on projects. The candid nature in which they took questions speaks highly to the fact that they’re bucking traditional studio secrecy in favor of transparency. In short, beating the tabloid and internet rumors and speculation before ridiculous rumors run wild. It was smart and effective.

Though no major projects were explicitly announced at the conference, we did find out that at least two projects have suffered setbacks, and a fair amount of animated content is coming soon as well. Additionally, five projects are either in production or in post-production, and many have had submitted scripts which have met Gunn and Safran’s approval.

That said, don’t take my word for it. Read on below to see Part I of a very large and very constructive conversation with Gunn and Safran on the current and future state of DC Studios:

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“It’s hard to believe it’s been two years,” Safran began, noting the previous press conference. “Since we first unveiled our vision for DC Studios. And, you know, back at the time we took you through some of the key titles on our slate. And now, as we gear up for our vanguard feature, Superman, we just wanted to regroup, tell you a little bit about the rest of our titles now. And also to update you on the studio as a whole. As James demonstrates so beautifully on social we want to have an open and ongoing dialog with everyone,”

“You know, it’s been a really rare privilege for us to tell stories about these characters that we both grew up loving,” Gunn added. “It’s also been really cool experience to help keep these classic characters’ legacies going: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman… and also, at the same time too, bring these smaller characters… to the forefront, so that people will know them. It’s pretty fun reading DC Comics every month [for example] and seeing Peacemaker show up all the time.”

Safran then stated, “Today’s really about looking even further forward, past this summer. So as James and I continue to shape and expand and define this brand and this business, we want to share our ideas and our plan for you, but also our excitement for the extraordinary projects that we have lined up for this year and next… At the top of that list is Supergirl. You know, we’ve always viewed this transformative story as one of the cornerstones of our vision for the future the DCU. And as soon as we saw Ana Nogueira’s just really stunning adaptation of Tom King’s comic book series, we knew that that was going to be the next in our story.”

On Supergirl, Gunn added, “I think, you know, we’re midway through production now, and… it’s been an extraordinary experience so far. The script was one of the first things that we greenlit when we when we got here. Ana turned in a marvelous first script that just kept getting better. She’s been a blessing. Craig Gillespie was like a dream for me… and he has been everything that I would hope for in a director on a big project like this. It’s everything I thought it would be like working with him as a studio head, which is weird to say even, but I love working with him. Millie Alcock is… amazing. So this has been wonderful. Watching the film has been great.”

Gunn then touched on Peacemaker Season 2 and Creature Commandos Season 2, saying, “Peacemaker is all done. I am deep in editing with that at the same time I’m doing Superman. It’s been really fun. John Cena… I think he surprised people a lot in the first season with what he was able to do performance-wise. And the guy grew exponentially in Season 2. And he’s really incredible, as is the whole cast. And then we, of course, just got an order for Season 2 of Creature Commandos. So that is in progress, and we’re starting the conversations on exactly how we’re going to go about that. It’s a bunch of characters that I really love, and I’ve been excited by the great reviews, but especially how people have connected to those characters and sort of, yeah, the fan reactions, the G.I. Robot love is wild.”

The next project Gunn touched on was Lanterns. He stated, “We just started shooting [Lanterns] with HBO/Warner Bros., and that is another really marvelous team: Tom King, Damon, Lindelof, and Chris Mundy. And they have been doing marvelous work. I’ve been watching the dailies with that. It’ is, really, it’s so cool because it is connected to Superman, because we’ve got Guy Gardner in that. And then we got these, you know, Green Lanterns over here. But it’s just such a different tone from what Superman is. And it’s exactly what I want to bring to the DCU. Being able to have these very different films and television series that are still part of an overall connected world, but have completely different feels from them.”

Safran addressed the recently announced Clayface film, from writer Mike Flanagan and director James Watkins. “This summer, cameras are going to roll on Clayface; an incredible body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain. And this is another title that we added to the slate on the strength of an exceptional screenplay by Mike Flanagan. I think some of you are probably aware that we’re in negotiations with James Watkins now to to direct. And you know, we’ll start casting this as soon as we have the director deal done, and we’ll shoot this summer. It’s slated for a Fall 2026 release. You know, Clayface may not be as widely known as The Penguin or The Joker, but we really feel that his story is equally resonant, compelling, and, in many ways, more terrifying.”

Gunn added, “One of the things Peter and I talked about when we first got the script is if we were producing movies five years ago, when we were doing Belko Experiment and all of that stuff, and somebody had brought us this horror script called Clayface, about this guy. We would have died to have produced this movie, because it was just a really excellent body horror script. And the fact that it’s in the DCU? Just a plus.”

Safran went on to discuss the Batman-centric projects. “We’re also in pre-production on Dynamic Duo, which is a coming of age crowdpleaser we’re producing with our partners at Swaybox and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. It’s written by the wonderfully talented Matt Aldrich, who a lot of you know from Coco fame. And this is an animated tale of two Robins. It really provides a perfect on-ramp for the family audiences into the world of Gotham. Speaking of Gotham, you know James and I love Matt Reeves’ vision for The Batman Part Two, and we’re looking forward to this film as much as you are. He hasn’t yet turned in a script, but what we’ve read so far is very encouraging. And on that same front, we’re in very active development on The Brave and the Bold. And that story is also coming together very nicely. And we’ll have more on that very soon.”

Safran went on to discuss some of the animated titles coming soon to the DCU. “[We also have] updates on some of the episodic titles that we’re creating for younger fans with our partners at Warner Bros. Animation, such as My Adventures with Green Lantern, Starfire, and DC Super Powers. Those are three shows that we’ve greenlit and are in production now.” He and Gunn also revealed that there will be a series of Krypto shorts spinning off from this summer’s Superman.

On the state of the studio as a whole, Gunn remarked, “I grew up with these characters, as you know. I love these characters, and I think I feel indebted to the people that created them. The people that came before us. And these are all characters that transcend language and belong, across everywhere in the world, to everyone… we have all these the films that we’re making. We’ve been really good at putting together so many films and TV shows. And over the past couple years, things have gone our way. I feel lucky in a lot of ways and blessed that we’ve had so many great writers turn over such great stuff. But that lineup is going to always be continually changing. So if something isn’t coming together, you know, if we get a screenplay that we’d like to make, but that isn’t good enough, we’re not going to make that. When we get another thing, like Clayface that takes us by surprise, we’re going to go with that.”

Safran added, “Our promise to David Zaslav, when he entrusted us with the future of this crown jewel IP, was to really honor the legacy of what came before us and build upon it. And that’s also a promise to the fans who love these characters, and equally to those that have yet to experience the magic and the power of this of this incredible canon. So we’re doing everything in our power to deliver on that promise now. And for us, that doesn’t mean confining our projects to just one single genre. We don’t serve just one kind of audience, so why make just one kind of film in our unified approach? It frees us to tell a diversity of stories across the full spectrum of genres and scales, from tentpole events like Superman, to family animated fare like Dynamic Duo, to indie style chillers like Clayface. And our production goal is two live action films and one animated film per year. And we’re also targeting two live action and two animated series for Max per year. Working in a multitude of genres affords us the opportunity to allocate resources where they have the biggest impact and budget, according to the demands of the story and also the revenue expectations of each title.”

Gunn continued, “As we’ve talked about before, each one of these stories — each one of these projects that we’re doing — needs to be able to stand alone. Somebody needs to be able to go see Superman without having to have seen Creature Commandos. Be able to watch Lanterns without necessarily having to have watched Superman. We have great connectivity between these things. There is a lot of connectivity between Superman and Peacemaker, including a few actors. So it’s like you take the character of Rick Flag, who starts out in Creature Commandos as one character, goes to Superman, continues to evolve and change, and then he’s starts out as a protagonist of one show and ends up as basically the antagonist of Season 2 of Peacemaker. So we get to see these characters and how they evolve and change in our stories, the same way people do in real life… So we want to continue to have these stories connected, but not completely dependent on each other, although we are telling a larger story that’ll last, you know, a little bit of time. And all those actors will be playing the characters from television, animation, and so forth.”

Safran concluded saying, “When we first took the reins, a little over two years ago, the DC brand was being defined by different creative teams within the company, and each was pursuing their own distinct vision of the characters and their stories, leaving very little room for coordination, collaboration, or crossover. And the result was not one DCU, but many. And ultimately, this fracture proved very challenging to consumers, and it chipped away at the very identity of our brand. So this, in part, is what brought us to DC Studios. Bringing a sense of unity, consistency, and cohesion to this universe, not only makes sense to us as storytellers, but it really has to be the future of the entire DC brand. People want to see these iconic characters interacting. They want to experience this timeless IP as one, and to us, bringing DC together under a single creative vision has always been the key. And it turns out we really were not alone in that thinking, because the leadership team is running each of these businesses at WBD… They’re masters of what they do, and they know their audience. They know their customers, they know their licensees. So their strategic and creative input is critical as we continue to explore and expand this universe and also map the compelling, intuitive ways for our characters to engage on every platform within each respective brand. So that’s basically where we are. Two years into the journey we’ve unified the brand. We’ve greenlit five theatrical films, we’ve made three live action series, and are producing five animated shows. We also acquired and distributed a BAFTA PGA-Award winning documentary [Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story]. And we really hope that we’re delivering on your expectations of us.”

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This was only a taste of what was touched upon for this larger conversation. We know you have more questions, as did we. Which is why Gunn and Safran next shifted to an open forum format, allowing us within the press to ask any questions we’d like, for them to provide candid responses to. We’ll have that full Q&A session for you tomorrow in Part II of our DC Studios 2025 Press Conference coverage.