Warner Bros. and DC Studios are riding high following the $200M+ debut of James Gunn’s Superman. It’s the biggest superhero film of the year (at least until Fantastic Four in a couple of weeks), and, shocker, already plans are underway to grow the Man of Steel franchise significantly. Is it too much too fast?
In a new WSJ piece, future plans are laid bare to expand the Superman universe beyond next year’s Supergirl. Already in the works for the DCEU are the horror film Clayface, along with the TV series Lanterns. But Gunn and co-chair Peter Safran have more in mind using characters introduced in Superman.
According to the report, TV spinoffs centered on Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen and Justice Gang member Mister Terrific are on Gunn and Safran’s list of possibilities. There’s also a plan to produce two live-action films per year, along with multiple live-action shows and one animated show per year.
Skyler Gisondo played Jimmy Olsen, and he had a very significant role due to his connection to Lex Luthor’s socialite girlfriend, Eve Tessmacher. It’s possible a Jimmy Olsen series wouldn’t just be about him, but the inner workings of The Daily Planet and the other reporters played by Rachel Brosnahan, Wendell Pierce, Mikaela Hoover, and Beck Bennett.
Michael Holt aka Mister Terrific, was played perfectly by Edi Gathegi, and he arguably stole the show as the Justice Gang’s resident tech genius. There’s a rich history that a Mister Terrific series could tap into, and since he’s my favorite DC Comics character I would be so down for this.
Personally, I think all of this is premature. Let’s see how Superman holds up over the long run because doing too much too fast is part of what killed the DCEU’s predecessor.
