James Gunn Reveals the DC Heroes Who Hold the Entire DCU Together

Few comic book universes get picked apart online as quickly as the DCU. Every new release and every vague update turns into a debate about whether the plan still holds together. For fans, the biggest question has been where the shared universe is actually headed.

James Gunn’s DC Studios has now put several projects on screen. The DCU already includes ‘Superman’, with ‘Lanterns’ and ‘Clayface’ arriving this year. Even so, questions and criticisms about the approach have lingered, and Gunn has stepped in more than once to explain what the plan really is.

The latest explanation came on Threads, where Gunn pointed to the three diamond characters at the center of the DCU: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. He said the often-cited 8 to 10 year roadmap was never only about story points. It was also the plan for DC as a whole, and that included focusing on those three heroes.

He didn’t spell out exactly what diamond means, but the idea appears to describe characters with major franchise potential. He also named smaller characters who could be turned into diamonds: Krypto, John Stewart and Peacemaker.

The term isn’t new. At the January 2023 slate reveal, Gunn described a strategy of using the biggest heroes to prop up characters audiences don’t know as well. Co-head Peter Safran added that the goal was to build those lesser-known properties into the diamonds of tomorrow.

That slate included a Batman film introducing Bruce Wayne and his son Damian as Robin. Gunn has since confirmed that his DCU Batman plans have changed since ‘The Brave and the Bold’ was first announced. Wonder Woman is the only member of the trinity without a project of her own, though Gunn previously hinted that news was coming that he couldn’t share yet.

Gunn has repeatedly said the diamond approach works in 2 directions. At a roundtable press event, he described the mission as repositioning the big diamond properties while also creating new ones out of smaller characters such as Peacemaker. He has called Peacemaker really important to him.

This helps explain why the slate has such tonal range. Gunn has described ‘Supergirl’ as a space fantasy and ‘Clayface’ as an all-out R-rated horror movie, and said he wants those projects to feel different. His roadmap comments also referenced filmmaker freedom, multiple tones and ratings, and influences including Star Wars and George R.R. Martin.

The diamond comments arrived alongside a broader defense of how the DCU is structured. Gunn said each piece of the larger story should work on its own, with or without watching everything else. At the same time, he said the Superman Saga starts with ‘Superman’, continues into ‘Man of Tomorrow’ and onward, and includes many characters introduced in other stories.

‘Man of Tomorrow’ is the next DCU movie and works as a quasi-sequel to ‘Superman’. David Corenswet’s Superman, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane return, with Milly Alcock’s Supergirl, Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart and Lars Eidinger’s Brainiac also in the cast. Adria Arjona’s role remains a mystery, and many fans think she is Wonder Woman.

For viewers waiting on Batman and Wonder Woman, the message is that both are still part of the foundation. Gunn’s comments suggest they will eventually stand alongside Superman as core pillars of the shared universe. That would leave other creators more freedom to experiment with everything else.

Timing remains the open question. Gunn hasn’t offered new dates for the DCU’s Batman or Wonder Woman, and with several projects still ahead, fans will have to keep reading the clues. For now, the diamond characters give the DCU a clear center and a better sense of what DC Studios is building toward.

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