Wonder Woman’s DCU Debut Was Reportedly Locked In Before Gunn’s Shock Exit

Less than two years after the DC Universe officially kicked off, DC Studios has been rocked by a leadership shake-up few fans saw coming. James Gunn was hired to run the studio alongside Peter Safran in October 2022, following the acclaim of ‘The Suicide Squad’ and ‘Peacemaker’ season 1. The pair set out to give a fragmented franchise one continuity, one casting bench and one tone.

That era is now ending. The exit was announced on November 9, 2026, as part of Skydance’s quarterly earnings call. Skydance is replacing Gunn and Safran as co-CEOs effective December 1, with former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham taking over as president and chief creative officer. ‘Man of Tomorrow’ keeps its July 9, 2027 release date, and Gunn stays on as a writer and producer.

Amid the fallout, a fresh report has fans buzzing about what the duo had lined up. ScreenRant highlighted on X that Wonder Woman will reportedly make her DCU debut in ‘Man of Tomorrow,’ citing The Wall Street Journal. The outlet reports that Gunn and Safran were debuting the Amazonian icon in the Superman sequel, though neither DC Studios nor Warner Bros. has confirmed it.

The scoop didn’t stop there. In a post on X, the WSJ’s Ben Fritz said Gunn and Safran also hoped to introduce the DCU’s Batman in ‘The Brave and the Bold,’ which they were targeting for 2028. They were also aiming for Gunn-directed Superman sequels that would quietly evolve into Justice League films in 2029 and 2031.

If the Wonder Woman rumor sounds familiar, that’s because it has been circling for months. Nexus Point News previously claimed a new female hero was being cast in ‘Man of Tomorrow,’ described as a warrior with a strong physique. Gunn pushed back on the idea as early as January 2026 on Threads.

Still, the speculation never fully died down. Jeff Sneider later backed up a claim from his Hot Mic co-host John Rocha that the DCU’s new Wonder Woman would be introduced in ‘Man of Tomorrow.’ Screen Rant has noted that if Adria Arjona does turn out to be Wonder Woman and audiences love her take, it would be foolish not to keep her around. Not everyone is convinced, though, as Inverse floated that Arjona could instead be joining the DCU as Maxima.

Wonder Woman is hardly an afterthought in the DCU’s plans. A standalone film is in development, with ‘Supergirl’ writer Ana Nogueira working on the script. Her arrival in a Superman sequel would make her a team player first, and the cast list is already filling up. Variety notes ‘Man of Tomorrow’ is expected to bolster the Justice Gang’s ranks with characters like Supergirl, John Stewart and Blue Beetle.

The bigger question is whether any of it survives the transition. Projects including ‘Swamp Thing,’ a ‘Brave and the Bold’ Batman film and a ‘Wonder Woman’ feature were in varying stages of development with no greenlights attached. It’s unclear whether Latcham will follow through on Gunn and Safran’s plans or throw them out.

Variety points out that no Justice League is complete without Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and without the latter two cast, a standalone ‘Justice League’ movie may be a few years off. Some Batman fans are already worried that ‘The Brave and the Bold’ could be canceled following the latest developments.

For now, ‘Man of Tomorrow’ looks like the film that could define what the DCU becomes next. If Wonder Woman really is waiting in the wings, July 2027 may be the moment fans find out whether Gunn’s blueprint endures or gets rewritten from scratch.