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Supergirl, (more) Superman, and a trio of Lanterns: The future of DC Studios DCU looks like this [Future Fest]
DC Studios is ready to pivot to what the audience wants and what filmmakers are ready to make - which means more Superman, some Supergirl, and a Mike Flanagan-written Clayface horror movie

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And everything happening this week for Future Fest!
If one thing has proven true of DC Studios in its first three years of existence, it’s that the studio isn’t afraid to pivot. After unveiling a slate of projects back in 2023, the official upcoming line-up of DC Studios projects that are guaranteed to happen includes multiple projects that weren’t part of that initial announcement — with at least one of that initial slate rumored to be cancelled because the screenplay couldn’t come together. (Getting the script first right is a big thing for DC.)
Nonetheless, with the launch of the new DCU in this past year, it seems as if the audience is taking to the new DC reality well — Superman reportedly made three times the profit of 2016’s Man of Steel during its theatrical run, for context — so let’s take a look at what’s next, shall we?
Lanterns (2026)

The eight-episode reboot of the Green Lantern mythos centers around John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), a new Green Lantern being trained by Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) as his potential replacement — although fans should expect Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) to show up during the run, as well. They’re not the only familiar characters to GL fans in the series: Ulrich Thomsen is going to play Sinestro, the former Green Lantern gone rogue who turns up to cause trouble for the Green Lantern Corps at the worst possible time. At the core of the series is a murder in Nebraska, which hides a deeper truth that is (of course) far more complicated… Exact scheduling for the series hasn’t been announced, but DC Studios chief James Gunn has suggested publicly that fans should expect it around the same time as the Supergirl movie, so think of it as a summer 2026 release until we know more.
Supergirl (June 26, 2026)

A loose adaptation of the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic book series, DC Studios’ second feature film once again focuses on those Kryptonians as Milly Alcock follows up on her scene-stealing Superman cameo to show what happens when Kara gets mixed up in a quest for revenge in outer space. Don’t expect this to go the way the comic goes exactly, however, we already know that the movie will feature Supergirl’s parents as well as Lobo, none of whom appear in the comic. (That said, still read the comic for clues: it’s very good.)
Clayface (September 11, 2026)

One of the projects added to the DC Studios slate after that original announcement, this horror movie take on the classic Batman villain was originally written by Mike Flanagan (it was, in part, rewritten by Hossein Amini, who’s previously worked on Gangs of New York and Drive), and is currently being shot with James Watkins (Black Mirror, Speak No Evil) directing. Tom Rhys Harries is playing Matt Hagen, an actor who is transformed into a clay monster, with the movie being compared to David Cronenberg’s 1986 classic remake of The Fly. It’s a particularly notable project because, a brief cameo in the animated Creature Commandos aside, this will be the first time the Batman mythos will be put into the spotlight in the new DCU… although the Dark Knight himself isn’t expected to appear in this movie.
Man of Tomorrow (July 9, 2027)

The sequel to 2025’s Superman is in the pre-production stage at the time of writing, with writer/director James Gunn recently revealing that it’s a two-hander with Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) acting as essentially the second lead this time around, as Superman (David Corenswet) and Luthor have to work together in the face of a larger threat. We’ve got two years to work out who that threat is. Use them wisely.
The Batman, Part II (October 1, 2027)

Not part of the shared universe DCU, the sequel to Matt Reeves’ acclaimed The Batman is finally set to arrive in October 2027, with Robert Pattinson stepping back into the cowl for a second time to deal with an as-yet unknown threat to Gotham. We do know that Colin Farrell has read the screenplay for the second installment and loved it, but that doesn’t mean it’s all about the Penguin. (It’s apparently not.) It’s going to be a long wait for this one, but it’s not as if we’ve not already been waiting some time for it.
Dynamic Duo (June 30, 2028)

Despite being an animated movie — and a mixture of stop-motion and CGI animation at that! — this Batfamily-centric movie will be part of the DCU, meaning that we’ll somehow get a chance to see not just Clayface, but Jason Todd and Dick Grayson (the Dynamic Duo of the title, surprisingly) before the DCU Batman gets his own movie. This one is all about Dick and Jason as two childhood friends who have to deal with the fact that they have very different ideas of what their future looks like — and what the line is between right and wrong.
Beyond these projects, DC is developing a number of undated projects, including a Sgt. Rock movie, a Wonder Woman movie, The Brave and the Bold (about Batman and Damian Wayne), a Booster Gold TV show, and all manner of other things we’re not aware of just yet. One of the things that differentiates Marvel and DC Studios is that DC tends to try to keep projects undated until they’re ready to go into production, and make some last minute moves to keep its line-up fresh. (There’s also a second season of Creature Commandos in the works, but that one doesn’t have a release date attached yet.)
What that means in practice is, DC might just announce a project no-one even know was coming, just to keep everyone on their toes. (Or move things out of development if something else takes priority, as is reportedly the case of Teen Titans, which was backburnered when Wonder Woman became more important.)
In short, the future of DC Studios is much more clear the closer to the present day it gets — and for anything beyond that, it’s probably best that you keep an eye or two on Popverse for news as it breaks.
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