Things are really picking up for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU, which will replace the DCEU that was now that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is gone from cinemas.
The first big bit of news is that we now have our Supergirl with House of the Dragon star Milly Alcock having been cast in the sought after role in next year’s Superman: Legacy.
Alcock was down to the finally three according to reports last week along with Emilia Jones and Meg Donnelly but now we know that she has inherited the red, blue and yellow from Sasha Calle who appeared in The Flash last year. Alcock will be Kara Zor-El, Kryptonian cousin of Kal-El AKA Superman who will be played by David Corenset in the new DCU.
the 23-year-old Australian Alcock has come on to social media (below) to thank Gunn and Safran “for trusting me with Kara / Supergirl”
View this post on Instagram
Interestingly, when Gunn revealed the first stage of his DCU, called Gods and Monsters, a year ago, he brought up Alcock’s (left) name to Peter Safran for the role of Supergirl, saying on socials: “I was watching House of the Dragon and thought she might have the edge, grace & authenticity we needed for the DCU’s Supergirl. And now here we are. Life is wild sometimes”
It looks like his instincts were right… but we can’t help feeling sorry for Calle whose Supergirl was great in The Flash, but for a fresh slate, Alcock is a great choice.
Gunn has previously said of Supergirl when we meet her in the DCU: “In our series we see the difference between Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl who was raised on a rock, a chip off Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life, and then came to Earth when she was a young girl. She’s much more hardcore; she’s not exactly the Supergirl we’re used to seeing.”
While we know that Legacy, releasing next July, is the official starting point for the new DC universe, Gunn has made it clear that the new animated series, Creature Commandos which is coming this year, is actually a sort of soft introduction to this new universe: “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,” he’s said, primarily to clear up any confusion over previous comments which confusingly hinted that either Blue Beetle or Peacemaker (more on this in a minute) might be the start of the new universe, adding:“It’s a very human drive to want to understand everything all the time, but I think it’s okay to be confused on what’s happening in the DCU since no one has seen anything from the DCU yet. And, yes, some actors will be playing characters they’ve played in other stories and some plot points might be consistent with plot points from the dozens of films, shows and animated projects that have come from DC in the past. But nothing is canon until C[creature]C[commandos] and Legacy.”
Thoughts? I know you have them! Voice-off in the usual ways on FTN’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Bluesky,
Truth, Tumblr, Threads & Mastodon!
However, he’s keen to point out that the DCU won’t be exactly as connected as the MCU, with movies and shows being more standalone and not as essential to the overall plot as the Marvel movies and shows like to be (or at least think they are); probably because he’s said before that the DCU will have connected TV shows, movies, animated movies and video games: “Every story should be enjoyed and worth partaking in, in an of itself, without its attachment to an outside world. If it feels like homework, screw it. ‘Shared universes’ should add fun to the individual stories, not the other way around. The individual stories and characters are much more important to me than the connections between them.”
Now, getting back to John Cena’s Peacemaker series, Gunn has confirmed that the second season will be part of his DCU and will explain how it’s now part of the new universe, but the first season is not – and he’s explained that tonally, there’s room for all sorts of projects in the new connected universe: “[tone] will shift from project to project and will reflect the unique sensibilities of the filmmakers involved.”
One of the big questions about the new movies and shows has been about Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and if she will be part of the new world or will we get a new actress playing her, especially after the actress herself raised concerns about her future in the role when she said: “I always wanted Harley to be a character that would get passed on to other actresses to play, the way there are so many iconic male characters. That was always the dream for her.”
Superman, Lois, Guy Gardner and more… who are the main players in the DCU so far
However, Gunn was quick to say that, as of now, Robbie is still Harley Quinn in the DCU: “I haven’t talked to Margot about Harley for a long time,” he said, “But I’d love to work with her again as Harley or as someone else. There are no plans at this time for anyone else to play Harley (I mean, other than in Todd’s movie (Joker: Folie à Deux) or the animated show/s.)”
In other news, Kick-Ass and King’s Man director Matthew Vaughn has addressed rumours that he’s directing The Authority movie and has confirmed that he’s been contacted but nothing is happening… yet: “DC has reached out and Gunn and Peter, we’ve been talking. Never say never, at the moment I’m enjoying creating my own things. The franchise is in the best hands, so let’s see what happens.”
Let’s not forget that before Zack Snyder made Man of Steel, Vaughn had pitched a Superman movie that started very differently than the lore we all know and love: “Our big idea was that Krypton doesn’t blow up. It does eventually. The dad was right, but he got his timing wrong. When Superman is grown up, suddenly there’s a mass exodus and all hell breaks loose. That was our main idea.”
Oh, and on a side note, James Gunn, Seann William Scott wants to play Booster Gold in the DCU… make this happen, this is perfect! Scott was the star of the American Pie movies as Stifler but has proven over his career – check out Star Raving Mad, please! – that he has the acting chops and the humour that would make him a perfect Booster. And, for the record, ten years ago, I thought he’d have been a great Batman… ask me the next time we meet.
Seann William Scott wants to play BOOSTER GOLD pic.twitter.com/UillT69uHx
— DCU Updates (@DCU_Updates) January 25, 2024
So that’s all the big news for DC for now – I’m sure there’ll be more very soon.
Superman: Legacy so far features Superman (David Corenset), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), Supergirl (Milly Alcock), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría(, Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Guy Gardner(Nathan Fillion) and Metamorpho/Anthony Carrigan).
We’re now on Discord!
Click HERE to join and chat about all your favourite Nerdy stuff!
James Mangold confirms he’s set to write the DCU’s Swamp Thing movie
Sources: Instagram, Variety, Deadline
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
Nerd Comments