WARNING: There are spoilers for Superman (2025) ahead! The DC Universe hit the big screen faster than a speeding bullet this weekend, and a big franchise is already taking shape right before our eyes. Superman is the first movie in the new DCU continuity, and it managed to plant a lot of seeds without feeling like an exposition-dump. The movie introduced characters and settings, established relationship dynamics, and even left a few plot threads dangling without feeling unsatisfying or incomplete. It’s especially impressive as the DCU is under a lot of pressure to “catch up” with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, without feeling rushed or contrived.
Superman is jam-packed with superheroes — to the point that some fans felt nervous looking at the cast list before its release — yet the story doesn’t feel over-crowded. Instead, writer, director, and studio co-executive James Gunn established three centuries of DCU history in a few title cards at the beginning of the movie. Right off the bat, this allows for greater immersion and suspension of disbelief for the audience, while also allowing the story to completely skip the familiar origin stories we’ve all seen before.
The pre-existing history also made it easier to set up future DCU stories in a way that feels natural and organic. Superman is in theaters now. The DCU’s next release is Peacemaker Season 2, premiering on August 21st on HBO Max. Read on for a look at the other DCU projects this movie hinted at.
Supergirl
The DCU won’t be back in theaters until June 26, 2026 when Supergirl premieres. It’s no surprise that Superman teed up the next movie, and while it probably seems the most out of place, it still doesn’t feel all that contrived — probably because it’s funny and short.
Superman’s disdain for the Kryptonian dog, Krypto, feels oddly out of character throughout his movie. Eventually, he mentions that Krypto is not even his dog — he’s just “fostering” him for a time. Finally, in the end, Supergirl (Milly Alcock) stumbles drunkenly into the Fortress of Solitude, demanding, “Where’s my dog?!” This provides an opening for Superman to explain that his cousin likes to party, but she needs to travel to other solar systems to do so, since the superpowers she gains from earth’s yellow sun also make her immune to intoxicants.
The brilliance of this movie is that Supergirl is actually characterized throughout this entire movie — not by Superman’s explanation, but by Krypto’s behavior. It wouldn’t make sense for Clark to let Krypto run around untrained, but once we see Kara’s state of mind, it all comes together. At the same time, the dog keeps Supergirl’s recklessness lighthearted and lovable.
From what we’ve heard about Supergirl so far, the movie is about her taking a trip through space with Krypto to celebrate her 21st birthday. Along the way, she meets Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) and joins her on a “murderous quest for revenge.” The movie will also feature an appearance by Jason Momoa as Lobo, an alien bounty hunter. This trip was set up pretty well in the final minutes of Superman, and many fans are already wishing it was coming out sooner.
Lanterns
On the small screen, the next new title coming to the DCU is Lanterns, a live-action series about the Green Lantern Corps. Obviously, Superman introduced us to Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), giving us a few glorious glimpses of what his ring can do and a few hilarious quotes demonstrating how it has inflated his ego. Gardner is listed as one of the main cast members of Lanterns, but he doesn’t seem to be the show’s focus. Instead, it will follow two other human Green Lanterns — Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre).
From what we’ve hard so far, Lanterns will begin with Jordan and Stewart investigating a murder in Nebraska, which turns out to be bigger than they expected. We know that Jordan is approaching his retirement from the Green Lantern Corps, and Stewart is a new recruit expected to replace him. It’s unclear where Gardner fits into that dynamic. Many fans are expecting this series to spend a lot of time off earth, and to have higher stakes than one murder in the midwest — Green Lanterns are supposed to patrol a massive sector of their galaxy. So much of this story is still a mystery that it’s hard to guess what’s coming.
One other character may have helped set up Lanterns in a very indirect way — Isabela Merced plays Kendra Saunders, a.k.a. Hawkgirl in Superman. She fought alongside Gardner in the “Justice Gang,” so she’s familiar with his powers. In the animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, there was a prominent romance between Hawkgirl and John Stewart. Merced has said she would love to see this romance carry over to the DCU versions of these characters, so there’s always a chance she’ll turn up in Lanterns, or interact with Stewart down the line.
The Authority
The Authority was one of the first DCU projects announced, but sadly, it has been slow to develop, and it still has no release date or even production schedule. As recently as February, Gunn said that The Authority script has been re-written many times, and it’s not finished yet. Gunn will not allow work to begin on any DCU projects until the scripts are completely finished, he said.
That being said, Superman sets up The Authority quite a bit through the antagonist Angela Spica, a.k.a. “The Engineer,” played by María Gabriela de Faría. The character’s presence in this movie is enough to get the ball rolling on The Authority, but now that it’s out, we can see how the story characterized Angela, and speculate about the kind of team-up story she might become embroiled in.
The Angela we meet in Superman is violent and ruthless, but she’s not completely unsympathetic. She’s a pawn for Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who funded and apparently helped create the nanobot technology that gives Angela her shapeshifting superpowers. Like Lex, all of Angela’s efforts have been aimed at toppling Superman, but she is willing to sacrifice much more for the cause — including her body, and perhaps her life. Her hateful fear and mistrust of Superman certainly aren’t admirable, but they’re more comprehensible than Luthor’s feelings, especially as they don’t seem to be tied up in delusions of grandeur like his are.
The Authority is about a team of superpowered people bent on changing the world for the better by any means necessary. Unlike superheroes, they don’t scruple to take lives or engage in sabotage and trickery. It’s not an unfamiliar set-up these days, as fans of The Boys, Watchmen, and Invincible can attest, but it will be interesting to see it in the context of the DCU. Sadly, there’s no hint of when it might be ready.
Peacemaker Season 2
Peacemaker Season 2 is the DCU’s next confirmed release, and Gunn managed to plug the show in Superman without being too obvious about it. We see Christopher Smith (John Cena) on a talk show airing in Metropolis, giving his “expert opinion” on Superman, and on other superheroes in general. He speculates that most costumed heroes are “jealous” because they’re “not as jacked as me.” It doesn’t tell us much about the story to come, but it reminds us that Peacemaker is set in the same world as Superman, and that the show is coming back soon.
Peacemaker has an odd place within the DCU, as Season 1 of the show is not considered entirely canon. Season 2 is considered a “soft reboot,” determining which elements will carry on in the DCU and which will be discarded. However, the show itself is a spinoff of The Suicide Squad (2021), so the ripple effects here could be considerable. Peacemaker Season 2 premieres on August 21st on HBO Max.
Waller and Creature Commandos Season 2
Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, and the upcoming live-action spinoff Waller all share a lot of characters and story elements in common, so by teasing one of them, Superman really helped to set them all up. Aside from Smith’s appearance on TV, the biggest crossover here was the appearance of Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), who appeared in Creature Commandos and will appear in Peacemaker as well. Flag is now the head of the shady government organization A.R.G.U.S., taking over Waller’s job, so it’s safe to say the two will have a strained relationship whenever they meet again.
It’s also worth noting that at the end of Superman, Lex Luthor is carted off to Belle Reve Prison — the same facility where A.R.G.U.S. holds its dangerous metahuman prisoners, and forms teams like Task Force M. Placing Luthor there may not be their best idea, and it may prove to be a problem down the line. So far, Hoult has not been added to the casts of any of these TV shows, but holding his appearance back for a surprise could make it all the more shocking.
Justice League
Finally, Gunn has said that he has a long-term plan to assemble a Justice League in the DCU, likely building up to it similarly to how the MCU built up to its first Avengers crossover. The eventual Justice League movie has hardly been mentioned and doesn’t seem to be a high priority for the DCU right now, but it’s still clear to see how Superman is paving the way for it. This movie introduces us to the Justice Gang, a team of heroes that receives corporate support from Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) and enjoys the wealth and fame that comes with it.
The Justice Gang is contrasted with Superman throughout the movie — they don’t care nearly as much to avoid collateral damage as he does, and they’re willing to play along with publicity stunts and more than he is. They also keep a headquarters in the Hall of Justice — a landmark typically reserved for the Justice League in DC Comics. It seems safe to say that when the Justice League comes together properly, this contrast will continue, and they’ll be distinguished for their integrity in a world that is already familiar with jaded superheroes.
There are even more subtle hints of DC lore in Superman, which may or may not come back around in later DCU titles. Fans can comb through them now, as Superman is playing in theaters around the world. The DCU’s next release is Peacemaker Season 2, premiering on August 21st on HBO Max, while its next movie is Supergirl, coming to theaters on June 26, 2026.
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