James Gunn Teases the New DC Universe's World Map

Gotham City, Metropolis, and more cities will be spotlighted.

By Jenna Anderson

With James Gunn and Peter Safran now in charge of DC Studios, fans are expecting a fresh new approach to the DC Universe's movies and television shows. As we wait to see their plans fall into place in the next few years with highly-anticipated projects like Superman: Legacy, Creature Commandos, and Waller, Gunn just teased one interesting aspect of this new universe. In a recent post on Threads, Gunn revealed that DC Studios is creating "an incredibly detailed world map" for the DCU.

While there's no telling if this world map will just be used internally, or eventually released to fans, it could show where Gotham City, Metropolis, Star City, and other corners of the universe exist on a geographical scale.

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(Photo: James Gunn / Threads)

What Is On the DC Universe Slate?

As Gunn and Safran revealed earlier this year, the initial DC Studios slate for "Gods and Monsters" will include movies for Superman: Legacy, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Swamp Thing, and The Authority. It will include the HBO Max television shows Waller, Booster Gold, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, and an animated Creature Commandos series.

"If you look at the MCU, there are very few traditional superheroes," Gunn previously said of the DCU's approach. "There was never a guy with a secret identity until Spider-Man in the MCU. Their Cap was turned into a soldier even though he wears a mask. Iron Man outed himself at the end of the first Iron Man because they don't want to deal with the whole secret identity stuff. But there is a bit more of a fantasy element to DCU, because there are these larger-than-life superheroes and for me, there's Superman and Clark Kent. They're two different characters, and you have to find a way to deal with them that's as grounded as possible within this world of DC. One of the things that I love about DC, that excites me about DC, is that in a way it's another alternate history. It is Gotham City and Metropolis and Star City and Bludhaven, and all these different places in this other reality, and it makes it a little bit like Westeros in some ways. I love it in that way. I love that we get to create true worldbuilding in DC, it isn't just 'we're throwing some superheroes on Earth.' I think right now, that's one of the key differences." 

What Is Superman: Legacy About?

Per DC Studios, Superman: Legacy tells the story of Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan have been cast as Legacy's version of Clark Kent / Superman and Lois Lane, with the cast also including Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mr. Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho, and Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner.

"We got James Gunn and Peter (Safran) working very hard on DC, which is going to be a very big growth driver for this company," Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav explained earlier this year. "We are very bullish on DC. The Superman script first draft is done. Gunn is on a mission from god. It is a really good moment to prove out on DC what we got and how strong it is globally for long-term sustainable growth."

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Are you excited for the DCU's world map? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Superman: Legacy is set to debut exclusively in theaters on July 11, 2025.

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