James Gunn's Superman Sequel Already Has WB Seeing Dollar Signs

The success of James Gunn’s Superman has DC Studios in a rare position. For the first time ever, fan anticipation for a cinematic universe based on DC characters is at an all-time high while Marvel fatigue continues to be a very real thing. Fantastic Four: First Steps did OK out of the gate, and then ran out of juice real quick.

Naturally, David Zaslav wasted no time spiking the football in a new letter to Warner Bros. shareholders that leaned into the momentum at Gunn’s back. Zaslav not only pulled the curtain back a bit on the sequel to Superman, but he announced a new filming date for The Batman Part II, which is apparently just The Batman II now. (Yes, I’m going to shoehorn some thoughts on that in a bit. Folks, you know me.)

Via Variety:

James Gunn will write and direct “the next installment in the Super-Family,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed during the company’s earnings call.

Gunn had previously said in various interviews during his “Superman” press tour that he was writing a new movie featuring David Corenswet’s Superman in it, although he always remained coy on whether it was a standalone “Superman” sequel or something else. Zaslav provided no clarity there, opting to say “next movie in the Super-Family,” but it’s news that Gunn will direct the movie in addition to writing the screenplay. He served the same dual role on “Superman.”

The “Super-Family” wording is interesting because, as Variety notes, Gunn has made it a point to say that the sequel to Superman won’t be entirely focused on Supes. Could Gunn be taking a bold swing and going right to Superman’s son from the comics, Jon Kent? It’s starting to feel that way, and not for nothing, the Robin that will show up in the DCU will be Batman’s son Damian Wayne. We could easily be looking at a Super Sons situation. There’s also the fact that Superman was originally titled Superman: Legacy, so the bread crumbs are stacking up.

As for The Batman II, that will reportedly start filming “next spring.” Whether or not that movie will continue to be in its own universe or absorbed into the DCU is still up in the air. Recently, Gunn has hedged his comments by saying Robert Pattinson being the DCU’s Batman is probably not happening, but he’s also hinted that things are still in flux. If you watch Gunn’s appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he’s noticeably weird about the subject of Batman.

Here are my batsh*t thoughts:

1. If The Batman II is really happening — and I fully concede its chances are looking better than ever right now — I think it will stay self-contained. The first one made money in a rough climate with COVID still raging, so why mess with that?

2. The recent mad scramble for a script makes sense now that we see Zaslav touting the movie to shareholders. It shuts them up about clamoring for Batman money to stack on top of their Superman money, which gives Gunn breathing room to figure out the DCU version of Batman. He’s openly admitted that it’s been a tough nut to crack. With The Batman II showing forward motion, that at least gives the appearance of, “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, we’re all over Batman.” And maybe that means The Batman II still happens, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it run into problems down the line.