DCU: Zack Snyder shares a signal from Lord Darkseid; James Gunn to direct 'Superman: Legacy'

DC Cinematic Universe. Photo: Twitter/ @DCOfficial

Following a series of controversies and heated conversations on their various projects and actors, DC Studios have dropped several updates on their upcoming projects recently.

Issues such as the failure of 'Black Adam' and 'Wonder Woman 1984' at the box office, cancellation of future projects- 'Wonder Women 3', assault and legal allegations against Ezra Miller who plays the 'Flash' in the franchise and controversies over Zack Synder's cut of 'Justice League' have kept the studio's name on the news constantly, but led to a slight downfall in its popularity among comic geeks. Meanwhile, DC Studios have announced a few updates on its upcoming projects in the past few weeks, much to the delight of its fans.

James Gunn's Superman film

Marvel's 'The Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn is directing DC's new film 'Superman: Legacy. The director, who is also writing the film, shared the news on his Twitter page. The film is set for a July 11, 2025 release, he and his co-chair and fellow CEO of DC Studios Peter Safran announced on Wednesday.

The film, Gunn said, deals with the superhero's journey to make sense of both his aristocratic Kryptonian heritage and his small-town, midwestern upbringing as Clark Kent.

It has been a long road to this point, Gunn wrote on Twitter Wednesday. I was offered Superman years ago - I initially said no because I didn't have a way in that felt unique and fun and emotional that gave Superman the dignity he deserved. ... Then a bit less than a year ago I saw a way in.

Gunn also said the release date is the same as his late father's birthday. Gunn has for several years been the rare director to bounce between both DC and Marvel Studios films. He first came to DC after directing Marvel's well-regarded Guardians of the Galaxy films.

When the Walt Disney Co temporarily dropped Gunn over old tweets that joked about rape and paedophilia, he jumped to DC and made the supervillain film The Suicide Squad, a kind of blockbuster do-over that followed David Ayer's much-maligned Suicide Squad.

A signal from Lord Darkseid's end

'Justice League' director Zack Snyder has dropped a new announcement which according to netizens is a 'full circle' event hinting at a new project on Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips, a supervillain in this comic who was shown in a glimpse in Snyder's cut Justice League. The extended version of Justice League, which is streaming on Amazon Prime, has extra shots depicting the backstory of Cyborg and the Flash as well as a hint at the potential future of all the superheroes in the franchise.

Upcoming films

DC Studios' new releases include Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17), The Flash (June 16) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25). Superman: Legacy will be the first film in the new iteration of the connected DC Universe, followed by Matt Reeves' The Batman Part II, which is set for an Oct 2025 launch. Meanwhile, Todd Phillips' Joker sequel which is coming in 2024, will lie outside of the DCU.

Series of controversies and debates on social media

The legacy of Superman has been somewhat fraught recently. In October, Henry Cavill announced that he would be returning to the role starting with a cameo in Black Adam”. Two months later, though, Cavill was back on social media with the news that he was out, shocking DCU as well as the actor's fans.

This news isn't the easiest, but that's life, Cavill wrote. The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build.

Gunn and Safran were announced as the new DC leaders just a few days after Black Adam opened in October, replacing Walter Hamada, who had headed DC Films for four years. And Cavill as Superman was one of the casualties of the new guard.

Many actors who play superheroes in the DCU have been in the headlines for quite some time. Ezra Miller, who plays the Flash in the franchise, has been facing legal charges over assaulting a woman and violent behaviour on various occasions. Ray Fisher, who played the character 'Cyborg', had also called for action against the 'abusive and unprofessional conduct' on the sets of the film 'Justice League', which was released in 2017.

The makers of the upcoming film 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' had to rethink their choice to cast Amber Heard as Princess Mera again, following the revelations and social media outrage due to the controversial legal trial of the actress with her ex-husband and actor Johnny Depp.

(With inputs from AP)

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