James Gunn Debunks DCU Batman & Teen Titans Rumors: “Complete B.S.”

In February, two years after James Gunn and Peter Safran first announced the 10 film and TV projects that would comprise the first chapter of their new DC Universe, the co-chairs and CEOs of DC Studios offered updates on their slate that includes Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns, and season 2 of Peacemaker. During the briefing, Gunn and Safran revealed that some of the projects they initially announced — including HBO Max series Waller and live-action features Swamp Thing and The Authority — were on the back burner, and that they had “no plans on making a Clayface movie” before they saw Mike Flanagan’s screenplay.

The duo also confirmed reports that Supergirl writer Ana Nogueira is scripting a live-action Teen Titans movie (another project not part of the initial wave) and that Luca Guadagnino’s Sgt. Rock movie was in development. (The latter is currently on hold.)

Months have passed since that update, so Gunn took to social media to dispel some of the rumors surrounding the ever-evolving DCU slate of projects, fielding questions about casting the DCU Batman and the Teen Titans, the wait for Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II script, and more.

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First, Gunn addressed a rumor circulating on TikTok and Twitter that Teen Titans is casting in the fall. “That’s complete B.S.,” he wrote on Threads. Gunn has stated in the past that the casting process for DC Studios projects won’t begin until the screenplay and director are in place.

The last official word on Teen Titans was that “the script’s not ready yet,” Safran said in February, and Gunn has repeatedly stated that no project will start production without a finished script. Teen Titans “was something that Ana was really impassioned about, and she turned over an amazing script for us,” Gunn said at the time. “She’s fiddling with that now, but it’s definitely not a finished script.”

The same rule applies to casting the actor who will play the DCU Batman. Asked if rumors he’s in the process of casting a new Batman actor are also “complete B.S.,” Gunn replied, “Yes.” When asked if there’s any truth to the rumor that Reeves was expected to turn in a draft of his Batman 2 script by Memorial Day, Gunn answered, “Haven’t heard that one but it’s also not true. No one ever expected it by then.”

In February, Gunn acknowledged that it’s been a “bumpy road” for The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker spinoff series Waller announced for HBO Max with Viola Davis in the title role. Christal Henry (HBO’s Watchmen), part of the DCU writers’ room, is writing the series with Jeremy Carver (Doom Patrol). “We’ve taken a couple of cracks at it but still haven’t been able to land,” Safran said during the briefing.

Gunn confirmed that Waller remains in development and debunked a rumor that its being retooled into Checkmate, about a spy/security agency and metahuman monitoring force chartered by the United Nations. (In Greg Rucka and Jesus Saiz’s 2006 Checkmate series, Amanda Waller served as the “White Queen” opposite Green Lantern Alan Scott’s “White King” in the organization that included Michael Holt/Mister Terrific as his Bishop.)

In another morsel, Gunn teased he’s talked to his Guardians of the Galaxy cast members about potential roles in the DCU, although he didn’t name names. Michael Rooker, Yondu in the Guardians movies and Savant in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, is already set to portray the Eagly hunting Red St. Wild in Peacemaker season 2, and Nathan Fillion (who had bit roles in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) plays the ring-slinging Guy Gardner Green Lantern in Superman, Peacemaker season 2, and HBO’s Lanterns.