Exterior of the comics, 2024 was a reasonably quiet yr for DC. It didn’t assist that Joker: Folie à Deux turned out to be one of many yr’s largest field workplace bombs. However there’s a brand new hope on the horizon. James Gunn’s DCU is coming, and with it a model new period for DC on the large and small screens.
From Gunn’s hotly anticipated Superman film to the return of reveals like Peacemaker and The Sandman to the growth of DC’s Absolute Universe, let’s break down the largest and most essential DC initiatives arriving in 2025.
Superman Kicks Off the Reside-Motion DCU
In comparison with 2023, which noticed the discharge of no fewer than 4 movies set within the now-defunct DC Prolonged Universe, 2025 is certainly smaller in scope. Identical to with 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux, there’s just one new live-action DC film hitting theaters this yr. That stated, it’s simply an important film DC has launched in years.
That film is, in fact, James Gunn’s Superman. The place Gunn’s Creature Commandos animated sequence gave us our first style of the brand new DCU cinematic universe, Superman is our first live-action foray into this world. Based mostly on Creature Commandos’ high quality, to not point out Gunn’s work on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, we’ve got excessive hopes.
Superman casts David Corenswet because the Man of Metal. Quite than exploring Kal-El’s origin story for the umpteenth time, the film takes place after Superman has been on the job for a number of years. He’s attempting his finest to make use of his powers to information and shield mankind and show that there’s room for decency and kindness in our cynical fashionable world. In different phrases, precisely the kind of superhero movie we may all use proper about now.
Superman additionally stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. And since this movie is our introduction to the DCU in live-action, followers can anticipate a variety of different DC heroes to drop by. That lineup consists of Nathan Fillion as Inexperienced Lantern Man Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho. Additionally serving to tie collectively the rising DCU will likely be Frank Grillo, who reprises the function of Rick Flag, Sr. from Creature Commandos.
Evidently, there’s lots driving on Superman’s brawny shoulders proper now. This movie marks the complete debut of a brand-new cinematic universe, and it paves the way in which for a lot of big-budget DC initiatives within the years forward, from motion pictures like Supergirl and The Authority to reveals like Lanterns and Paradise Misplaced. It’s a chunk in a a lot bigger puzzle Gunn is looking “Gods and Monsters.”
The query is whether or not Superman can succeed the place so many DC motion pictures have crashed and burned in recent times. Given the way in which movies like The Flash and Shazam! Fury of the Gods bombed on the field workplace in 2023, it’s clear followers had written off the previous DCEU earlier than it even completed. And Joker: Folie à Deux proved to be an entire misfire for DC in 2024. Is the DC model irrevocably tarnished in Hollywood, or can Superman begin the street to restoration?
No matter occurs, we’re eagerly wanting ahead to the discharge of Superman, which hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
Batman: Knightfall Will get Animated
Superman could be the solely live-action theatrical launch DC is placing out in 2025, nevertheless it received’t be the one new DC film. DC’s line of direct-to-DVD animated movies will proceed within the new yr, with particulars beginning to leak about their formidable subsequent undertaking.
Following the discharge of the critically acclaimed two-part Watchmen adaptation, DC is popping to a different traditional graphic novel for its subsequent adaptation, Batman: Knightfall. In actual fact, Knightfall is reportedly getting a full trilogy of variations, matching the scope of the current Disaster on Infinite Earths film trilogy. The trilogy hasn’t been formally introduced but, however as identified by The Direct, an inventory for the primary film has appeared on the EIDR database.
Batman: Knightfall is the well-known 1993 crossover the place Batman first encountered the ruthless Bane. Over the course of the story, Bane wears down the Darkish Knight bodily and psychologically and breaks his again. Left paralyzed, Bruce has no possibility however to show the Batman mantle over to a different like-minded vigilante named Jean-Paul Valley.
Provided that Batman: Knightfall is a trilogy of films, we assume the primary movie will adapt Knightfall itself, whereas the second will cowl the follow-up crossover Knightquest and the third will cap off the story by adapting Knightsend. In Knightquest, Jean-Paul establishes himself as a extra ruthless and deranged different to Bruce, whereas in Knightsend a recovered Bruce has to reclaim the Batman mantle and save Gotham Metropolis from this sadistic new Darkish Knight.
Once more, DC has but to formally announce the Batman: Knightfall motion pictures, so at this stage we don’t know the voice solid or potential launch dates. It’s doable that Knightfall is a continuation of the Tomorrowverse, which means that Batman: The Lengthy Halloween star Jensen Ackles would reprise the Batman function once more. Nevertheless it’s additionally doable that DC has closed the door on that animated universe following the Disaster trilogy, which means we might even see a brand new actor solid as Batman. Both manner, anticipate Batman: Knightfall to be one of many darkest and most violent Batman motion pictures since DC’s adaptation of The Darkish Knight Returns.
DC TV in 2024
There could also be just one new DC film hitting theaters in 2025, however DC undoubtedly has a extra stacked TV and streaming lineup deliberate this yr. That features one other addition to the brand new however quickly rising DCU, as Gunn’s Peacemaker returns for Season 2.
Peacemaker: Season 2 would be the subsequent DCU undertaking to hit after Superman. How does that work when the primary season was a by-product of Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, which was a part of the DCEU? Don’t suppose too exhausting about it. Simply know that Season 2 continues the misadventures of John Cena’s peace-loving anti-hero Christopher Smith. Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick are all additionally returning for Season 2, and Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. continues to function the glue tying the DCU collectively.
Peacemaker Season 2 will debut on Max in August 2025, so followers don’t have to attend lengthy after Superman’s launch to get extra of this rising superhero universe.
We’re anticipating one different live-action DC sequence to reach in 2025, as Netflix lastly continues the saga of The Sandman. Tom Sturridge is again as Morpheus, because the Lord of Goals offers with new challenges to his realm. A kind of challenges comes from Gwendoline Christie’s Lucifer, who’s out for revenge after being outwitted by Morpheus in Season 1. It’s anticipated that Season 2 will adapt the comedian storyline The Season of Mists, a story that pushes the Morpheus/Lucifer rivalry in a really sudden route.
We will additionally anticipate to satisfy the remainder of Morpheus’ siblings in Season 2, together with Adrian Lester’s Future, Esmé Creed-Miles’ Delirium, and Barry Sloane’s Destruction. Why did Morpheus’ little brother Destruction abdicate his obligations? That’s one other thriller the sequence seems to be poised to discover in Season 2.
With manufacturing on Season 2 having wrapped in 2024, Netfix has beforehand confirmed a 2025 launch for Season 2. Nevertheless, govt producer Neil Gaiman was just lately accused of sexual assault and abuse by a number of ladies, and it’s unclear how this would possibly have an effect on Netflix’s timetable.
On the animated aspect of issues, we’re hoping to see new seasons of Batman: Caped Crusader, My Adventures With Superman, and Harley Quinn in 2025.
Caped Crusader debuted on Prime Video in 2024, at which level Amazon had already greenlit the sequence for a second season. Hamish Linklater will return because the voice of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Based mostly on the ending to Season 1, it appears secure to imagine that Season 2 will cope with the emergence of Batman’s best foe, the Joker, although we don’t but know who will voice the Clown Prince of Crime.
As for My Adventures With Superman, this lighthearted, shonen anime-inspired sequence has been greenlit for Season 3. With Season 1 debuting in 2023 and Season 2 following in 2024, we’re hopeful that the third season can proceed that annual launch schedule, particularly with the brand new film additionally dropping this yr. With Season 2 introducing Supergirl and pitting Superman in opposition to Amanda Waller and ARGUS, it’s anybody’s guess what components of the Superman mythos Season 3 will mine.
Lastly, Harley Quinn is confirmed to return in January 2025. This decidedly adults-only animated sequence took a yr off in 2024 to make room for the Kite-Man spinoff, nevertheless it’s time to place the highlight again on Kaley Cuoco’s Harley and Lake Bell’s Poison Ivy.
DC Video games: Will We See a New Arkham Sport?
2025 is trying to be fairly quiet on the gaming entrance for DC. Rocksteady will likely be including Deathstroke as the latest and final playable character to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. After a tough launch in 2024, that live-service sport seems to be to be headed into upkeep mode in 2025.
We may see new DC characters added to the free-to-play preventing sport MultiVersus, which already consists of mainstays Superman, Batman, Surprise Lady, Joker, and Harley Quinn. And it’s additionally doable the Meta Quest-exclusive Batman: Arkham Shadow will likely be ported to different VR techniques in 2025.
However past that, there’s not a lot for DC followers to sit up for in 2025. At finest, we hope to see some concrete bulletins about what’s coming by way of DC’s online game roadmap.
We do know there are initiatives within the works. Whereas Gunn has already shot down rumors of a brand new sport set in Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, there may be at the least one new Batman sport in growth proper now. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav confirmed as a lot when he revealed on a current investor name that Batman is without doubt one of the core pillars of the corporate’s gaming future going ahead.
May Rocksteady be engaged on the following entry within the Arkham franchise? Or will one other studio take cost of placing gamers in Batman’s boots? Both manner, we’re hoping to catch a glimpse of this mysterious sport in some unspecified time in the future in 2025. And whereas we’re at it, it will be good to see slightly extra of Monolith’s Surprise Lady sport, which was introduced on the 2021 Sport Awards however has principally dropped off the map since.
DC Comics Goes All In
DC could have had a tough yr on the large display in 2024, however DC Comics is coming off a really profitable yr and trying to proceed that momentum into 2025.
DC’s fundamental focus proper now could be on the DC All In initiative, which goals to offer readers contemporary, simple jumping-on factors for all of DC’s ongoing titles. That features main books like Tom King and Daniel Sampere’s Surprise Lady, Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora’s Superman, Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin’s Detective Comics, and Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s Justice League Limitless. We’re additionally eagerly wanting ahead to digging into Ram V and Evan Cagle’s New Gods, a sequence that simply kicked off in December 2024 and will likely be as essential as some other in terms of charting the Darkseid-focused way forward for the DC line.
Then there’s the Absolute Universe, the opposite aspect of the DC All In coin. The Absolute line is much like Marvel’s Final Universe in that it focuses on updating and streamlining DC’s iconic heroes with out the burden of many years of current continuity. Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman, Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s Absolute Surprise Lady, and Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval’s Absolute Superman have all confirmed to be huge hits for DC, they usually’ll proceed to broaden the road heading into 2025. Search for new additions like Al Ewing and Jahnoy Lindsay’s Absolute Inexperienced Lantern, Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles’ Absolute Flash and Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez’s Absolute Martian Manhunter, all debuting in March.
DC’s largest story of the yr, nevertheless, could be Batman: Hush 2. This sequel brings again author Jeph Loeb and artist Jim Lee for a brand-new thriller centered across the titular villain. Hush 2 kicks off within the pages of Batman #158, additionally releasing in March.
Lastly, DC is bringing again the beloved Vertigo imprint in 2025. As soon as the house of critically acclaimed mature readers comics like The Sandman, Preacher, and Y: The Final Man, Vertigo was beforehand shuttered again in 2019. However now it’s returning as a house for creator-owned comics. James Tynion and Álvaro Martínez Bueno’s The Good Home by the Sea is the primary ebook to hold the Vertigo banner, however we’re anticipating much more bulletins within the months to return.
And that’s what you’ll be able to anticipate from DC in 2025. Are you excited for Gunn’s Superman? What concerning the return of Peacemaker and The Sandman? Forged your vote in our ballot and tell us within the feedback which new DC undertaking you’re most wanting ahead to this yr.
Jesse is a mild-mannered workers author for IGN. Enable him to lend a machete to your mental thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
