James Gunn hosted a new video revealing DC Studios’ 10 year plan for the future of DC media outside comic books, and where video games factor in into it.
James is co-CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, and in this capacity they have formulated this new plan, called Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, which will make sure that –
“…the DCU is connected, in film, television, gaming, and animation. That the characters are consistent, played by the same actors, and it works within one story. And if something is outside of that, like Matt Reeves’ Batman, or Todd Phillips’ Joker, or Teen Titans Go, that it is clearly labeled as DC Elseworlds, outside of the mainstream DCU continuity.”
James did not announce any upcoming video game projects, but there is still a lot to extrapolate from this announcement. He also made it clear that they only announced some of the projects that fall under Gods & Monsters, so it may be the case that video games are already being planned as well, that have simply not yet been announced yet.
James also did not reveal which actors they have cast for major roles, save Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. As he had confirmed, whoever gets cast will also come in to do the performances (which can include voice acting, motion capture, and more) for the video games under Gods & Monsters.
A cursory glance at the projects he did announce lets us know these characters, including their villains, supporting characters, and universes, could appear in DC Gods and Monsters video games in the future:
- Superman
- Supergirl
- Green Lanterns
- The Authority
- Booster Gold, including the Justice League of America
- Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin (Damian Wayne)
- Wonder Woman, including the Amazons of Themyscira
- Amanda Waller, including Peacemaker and possibly Suicide Squad
- Creature Commandos
- Swamp Thing
It’s a more varied mix of characters under DC’s ownership than the original DCEU cycle. We now see Wildstorm characters, and Swamp Thing, who sits in a strange place in between DC’s main superhero universe, Vertigo, and its own twisted continuity. So Gods and Monsters may play loose with the very idea of the DC universe. Again, all these things will be factors in the making of future DC video games.
As of the present, we may have to wait out the release of the still upcoming DC character based video games before we see any Gods and Monsters related video games. Upcoming games include the kid friendly Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, coming March10, 2023, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, coming this May 26, 2023, and the Wonder Woman game announced in the 2021 The Game Awards, made by Monolith but with no release date set in sight.
The most recent game using DC hero characters, Gotham Knights, received a harsh reception, particularly on consoles, but DC characters also appeared in Warner Bros crossover platform fighter Multiversus, and that has been received well. Perhaps the future of DC related video games will be games that tie in to the stories found in the movies, shows, and cartoons made under Gods & Monsters within the next decade.
You can watch the presentation below.