I debated over whether or not I should be posting anything about this list of projects so quickly, since we hardly know anything about the talent involved, most of the release dates, and of course half of these titles likely won't make it past the development stage. James Gunn and Peter Safran are clearly ambitious, but we don't know how much they can deliver.
On the other hand, I count myself as more of a DC fan than a Marvel fan, and I've been waiting for an announcement like this for a while. And it's big enough that I can definitely fill a whole post with just gut reactions. Before I dive in, I want to point out how refreshing it is to have all this information delivered in such a straightforward manner, directly from James Gunn, and we didn't have to wade through all the excess of a convention or an investor call to get to the good stuff.
Here we go:
"Creature Commandos" - An animated series written by James Gunn collecting some of the more offbeat DC characters (as if we'll ever run out) for a new team. The Bride of Frankenstein and Weasel from "The Suicide Squad" are in the mix. The plan is to introduce them as cartoons first, and then as live action. This is already in production, so we'll probably see it relatively soon.
"Waller" - A "Peacemaker" spinoff vehicle for Viola Davis, who will still be playing Amanda Waller for as long as she wants. Obviously there have been no casting announcements yet for anyone else, but having a major black female character acting as a cornerstone of the new DCEU is a good move. I hope we get some kind of origin story as part of this.
"Lanterns" - DC struggled for ages to do something with "Green Lantern" in the wake of the disastrous 2011 film. So, after years of trying to get a TV version off the ground, we're going to see Hal Jordan and John Stewart as space cops in a gritty crime drama. If they do this right, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun. But if they do this wrong, it's going to be ridiculous, and not in a good way.
"Paradise Lost" - First, I hope they change the title. Second, this is the show that I'm the least convinced will actually become a show because the Amazons have never been terribly interesting or memorable characters. "Game of Throne" style palace intrigue cannot be applied to everything, and we've had a solid decade of failed "Game of Thrones" wannabes already. We need more details for this one.
"Booster Gold" - I always liked Booster Gold in his few appearances in the "Justice League" cartoons. He's a very everyman kind of character with a fantastic gimmick - he's a time traveler from the future who is using future tech to be a superhero. Because he's otherwise a normal guy, the rest of the Justice League and many villains don't take him seriously. But does he work without the Justice League?
"Swamp Thing" - We're trying this again? We're trying this again.
"Superman: The Legacy" - I'm not looking forward to another "Superman" movie - there have been too many bad ones in too short a span of time. Gunn is keen to write and direct this one, and he seems to be signaling that he's going to take the opposite approach to the character from Zack Snyder, emphasizing kindness and humanity over any kind of dark power fantasies. This is the most promising sign I've seen so far that Gunn hasn't forgotten that he has to aim some of these projects at a wider, PG-13 audience.
"The Brave and the Bold" - I guess if you're going to do Robin, it kind of has to be Damian, doesn't it? Jason and Tim were really just variations on Dick Grayson, but Damian is a completely different animal with an entirely different relationship to Batman. Of all the announced film projects, this is the one I'm looking forward to the most, because it's going to make a big change to the cinematic Batman and we already know the new character works in other mediums. Just don't screw up the casting, and we'll be fine.
"The Authority" - I don't know much about "The Authority" except that it is a more adult-oriented title co-created by Warren Ellis and that it features one of the first major gay relationships of any prominence in DC's superhero books. I suspect that this is the film most likely to stay in development for an extended period of time, but it's good to know that DC is giving these characters some attention.
"Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" - They're doing Tom King's Supergirl, who is very different from the versions of Supergirl we've seen so far - a tougher, more damaged heroine. I suspect they'll soften her up a bit just so audiences won't be too taken aback, but this is a good pick. It'll be "True Grit" in space, essentially, if they stick to the miniseries. Fingers crossed that the fanboys will behave.
"The Batman" sequel and "Joker: Folie a Deux" - I can deal with them being treated as Elseworlds stories just as long as they're still getting made.
Overall, this slate is exactly what I would expect from James Gunn. It's darker, edgier, and aimed at an older audience than the MCU. It's a little strange seeing DC doing the riskier, more challenging, more subversive stories with their characters. That's the role that Marvel used to have, pre MCU, when Batman and Superman were the old standbys. It really is a new age, and I guess it's the right time.
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