James Gunn Reveals Exactly When New DC Universe Movie Canon Officially Starts

James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe has yet to launch, but the shared universe — which will encompass film, TV, animation, and video games — has already got a lot of fans confused. With some actors returning to roles they played in DC’s previous cinematic universe and others being recast, fans have struggled to understand what it all means, and what will “count” once the new universe is fully launched with 2025’s Superman: Legacy. 

Gunn, speaking with fans on social media, did his best to clarify: as previously announced, the animated Creature Commandos series will take place in the DC Universe, but won’t give away much. Superman: Legacy will be the first big-picture look at the world as it will exist going forward.

“Nothing is canon until Creature Commandos next year – a sort of aperitif to the DCU – & then a deeper dive into the universe with Superman: Legacy after that,” Gunn posted to Threads, Meta’s microblogging site. “It’s a very human drive to want to understand everything all the time, but I think its okay to be confused on what’s happening in the DCU since no one has seen anything from the DCU yet.”

It’s not entirely clear yet whether Warner Bros. and Gunn will still be able to get Superman into theaters in 2025, given that photography hadn’t even started on the film yet before actors went on strike in July. Still, it doesn’t seem like  that potential delay has changed much else about the plans.

“And, yes, some actors will be playing characters they’ve played in other stories & some plot points might be consistent with plot points from the dozens of films, shows & animated projects that have come from DC in the past,” Gunn added. “But nothing is canon until [Creature Commandos and Superman: Legacy].”

That has raised some confusion among fans, especially since Gunn has said that John Cena, Viola Davis, and Xolo Maridueña will reprise their “DC Extended Universe” roles. But as Gunn says, it’s actually fairly simple: they will play new characters, who may have had very similar experiences to those seen in the previous movies and shows. The filmmaker also has not yet weighed in on whether other DC actors might return, with Gal Gadot and Margot Robbie being especially popular questions in his thread.

Are you hyped for Superman: Legacy and beyond? Sound off in the comments or hit up @russ.burlingame on Threads to talk all things DC.