Though James Gunn’s DCU now has a number of main tasks below its belt, together with Superman in 2025 and each Lanterns and Clayface this 12 months, questions and criticisms of his method stay; nonetheless, Gunn has offered some extra perception and defenses which may imply excellent news for DC followers (and a few of the hottest characters within the franchise). Regardless of the recognition of a number of DCU films and reveals, together with the Lanterns collection and seemingly Clayface as effectively based mostly on its constructive reception to date, debates stay ongoing and, usually, fairly heated concerning whether or not Gunn is de facto the person for the job. Partly, that stems from arguments in favor of the Snyderverse, though that’s not the one counterpoint to Gunn’s DCU.
However, Gunn has constantly defended his decisions and the DCU films and reveals which have been launched to date (and, maybe to a lesser extent, these which might be at the moment in manufacturing, together with 2027’s Man of Tomorrow and the curious mockumentary collection The Folks v. Gorilla Grodd). Notably, these upcoming tasks solely function one actually large DC title, and that’s Superman, however a brand new replace from Gunn suggests he’ll quickly be joined by what Gunn has known as “diamond characters.” Particularly, as shared on Threads by Gunn himself, Superman, Batman, and Marvel Lady will all be key characters within the DCU—so now, followers simply need clarification on the introduction of the latter two. Right here’s what Gunn particularly stated, in addition to what questions stay in mild of those feedback.
When Will We Lastly See the DCU’s Batman and Marvel Lady?
Taking to his personal Threads account this week, Gunn stated of the DCU, amongst different issues, “The usually cited ‘8 to 10 12 months roadmap’ initially pitched wasn’t solely story factors (though that was part of it), but additionally the plan for DC as an entire, together with specializing in diamond characters (Superman, Batman, WW) in addition to smaller characters we might flip into diamonds (Krypto, John Stewart, Peacemaker), how we’d foster filmmaker freedom & permit for a number of tones & scores, the influences of Star Wars & George RR Martin, and a lot extra.” This response has understandably gotten loads of consideration for myriad causes, though there appear to be two key questions specifically: When will we see Batman and Marvel Lady within the DCU, and why haven’t they been extra central but if they’re “diamonds”?
When it comes to the previous query, there are some hints concerning when these characters might seem. For Marvel Lady, the pervasive concept continues to be that Adria Arjona is secretly enjoying her in Man of Tomorrow, however that’s removed from confirmed. If something, it’s simply as doubtless that she’s enjoying a very totally different character, maybe Maxima, or a no-name, as appears to be the case with Matthew Lillard’s character. Concerning Batman, he’s confirmed to be showing in a standalone film, reportedly titled The Courageous and the Daring, though that doesn’t routinely imply that will probably be his debut, and there are additionally uncertainties surrounding when that film would possibly truly lastly be in manufacturing—a lot much less hitting theaters.
Actually, that time would possibly deal with the second query that many DC followers have about these so-called diamond characters, as, at the very least so far as the DCU’s Batman is worried, there could also be obstacles in the way in which which might be past Gunn’s management. Specifically, whereas The Batman: Half II doesn’t essentially imply Gunn having to place a pause on his Batman plan, that film’s delays arguably couldn’t have helped issues, and it will make sense if Gunn needed to carry off till that film was launched (sadly, although, that’s already pushing issues again to 2028). Marvel Lady is a separate query, but when she is launched in Man of Tomorrow, that’s not an egregiously very long time to attend for this character.
When do you need to see Batman and Marvel Lady launched within the DCU, and who do you hope will probably be enjoying them? Share your ideas within the feedback beneath.