Posted in: Comics, HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: dcu, james gunn

James Gunn: 2 Big DC Characters Will Appear in DCU "In Not Too Long"

General Zod, Doomsday, Doctor Fate, Black Adam, Ultraman & the Crime Syndicate, and Darkseid. Who will appear in the DCU "in not too long"?

We've said it before, and it continues to ring true. DC Studios co-CEO and writer/director James Gunn can get a whole lot of press for the DCU with just a few words on social media – in this case, seven words (and an ellipse). Over on Threads, Gunn was hit with a lineup of DC characters and asked if they would be appearing in the DCU: General Zod, Doomsday, Doctor Fate, Black Adam, Ultraman & the Crime Syndicate, and Darkseid. Well, it seems like the wait to see two of them won't be as long as some fans might think. "Two of them in not too long…" was Gunn's response, which did an excellent job of dumping a whole lot of gasoline on our raging dumpster fires of random speculation. I mean, Supergirl, Lanterns, and Man of Tomorrow alone open up a world of possibilities – and let's not forget that Creature Commandos would be a great way to introduce some of those folks to the DCU. Of course, there's one reported project that would be a great way to roll out some of those folks…

In November 2025, a report hit that DC Studios and HBO Max were developing DC Crime, a fictional true-crime docuseries set within the DCU and hosted by Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo). Reportedly set to premiere in 2026, the first season would focus on Gorilla Grodd, a member of The Flash's big bads, created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino, and introduced in The Flash #106 (May 1959). In addition, it was reported that Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault would serve as writers, executive producers, and showrunners, with Gunn and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran executive-producing, DC Studios' Galen Vaisman overseeing production, and Warner Bros. Television serving as the studio. Shortly after, Gunn took to social media to debunk both the title and the release date, while noting that not all of the reporting was necessarily wrong. Here's a look back on the timeline leading up to what sounds like a very cool project:

James Gunn, DC Studios & The Case of the Secret DCU TV Project

Speaking with EW in June 2025 in support of David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult-starring Superman, Gunn offered some updates on what's still ahead for the DCU, and that was when he dropped a tease about one project in particular that grabbed our attention… one that hadn't been announced. "Then there's another TV show that's my favorite thing in all of this, that is hopefully getting made soon. It's just my favorite thing," Gunn shared. Apparently, it's something that Gunn pitched to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav when describing what the new DCU would look like. "We did not announce in that first meeting because I felt like it was too easy to rip off by another company," Gunn explained.

During a post-Superman spoiler interview with Rolling Stone from July, Gunn teased a potentially big development on the television side of the DCU. When asked about the rumors of a Wonder Woman film being fast-tracked, Gunn shared, "We got the first few things started, and there's some other things that are really close to green-lighting — like there's a television show that I hope that we're gonna be green-lighting in the next few days." That brought us to Chris Hardwick's I Think You're Overthinking It podcast.

In the episode from August (start listening around the 52:55 mark), Hardwick asked Gunn for a status update on how things are looking with "Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters." During their conversation, Gunn shared that in terms of what DC Studios will be moving on next, he's hoping to have The Batman II filming, and then his "follow-up" to Superman… and that would be followed by the mysterious television project that we've become obsessed over. At first, we were surprised he didn't say Clayface, but that's most likely because the studios have really started moving forward on it, so it counts as being in production.

Later that month, Frank Grillo offered some additional intel on what sounded like this very same project (unless there's another secret project in play). With his Rick Flag appearing in Superman, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker Season 2, Grillo is no stranger to the DCU, and based on what he shared with GQ, there's definitely more on the way. "We were at the premiere, and I was like, 'This is cool. Like I'm really entangled in this world.' And then this is why I love Gunn: we were at the afterparty, and he leaned in, 'You know what we got coming next, right?' And I'm like, 'No.' He goes, 'We got something big—and you're all over it.' I don't know what it is, but he knows, whatever he needs me for, in whatever capacity, I'm in," Grillo offered. That brings us to today…

During an interview with GQ's Alex Pappademas, Gunn was asked if he could share any additional updates on what's going on in and around the DCU. Along with sharing that there are "actually two really cool film scripts that I'm hoping to take to the next level," Gunn touched on "getting 'Supergirl' into shape," how production on Man of Tomorrow is inching closer, and how HBO's Lanterns is "coming along well." But this was the quote that had the red lights on our radars flashing: "And then I'm excited about one TV project in particular. I don't know why we're not greenlighted on that already—it's just figuring out the budget."

That brings us to November 2025, with Gunn checking in on social media to let folks know that the reporting from earlier that month wasn't completely accurate. "Just FYI there has never been a project titled 'DC Crime' in development, not even as a working title. I don't know where that came from but it's weird," Gunn posted on Threads, responding to Deadline Hollywood's reporting on the series. That said, it seems that the title might be one of only two errors, with Gunn adding, "And no that doesn't mean all of the rest of the story is false." The other error was about the series debuting in 2026. "There are less than two months left and we haven't started shooting, so that's a definite no! (It's coming 2027.)," Gunn responded. "The story is from five days ago and I've had a few people come up to me IRL and say, 'I can't wait for DC Crime!' I was confused to say the least!" Of course, we dropped a theory on what it could be early on that we're still sticking with…

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