More than a dozen upcoming DC TV shows are releasing after The Suicide Squad, many of which will come to HBO Max. A big focus from Warner Bros, as well as casual fans, tends to be on the DC Extended Universe, but that's only one corner of DC Comics adaptations. There's the ongoing Arrowverse on The CW, various animated shows that have been developed for Cartoon Network, and many more shows that have come and gone on streaming services, not to mention several in development for HBO Max.
Now that there's room for expansion on streaming as well as an interest from studio executives to build out the movie franchises on the small screen, something Marvel Studios began doing with the MCU in 2021, there's been a significant push towards developing more DC TV shows. Some of those were put into production during the pandemic and will release either in 2021 or 2022, while others are moving fast enough behind-the-scenes to make either a late 2022 or 2023 release.
Note that every TV show on this list is a new DC series in active development - in animation and live-action; ongoing shows, including those with new season renewals, were excluded. But judging by how many shows are in the works, DC fans won't be short on options for the next few years.
The first DCEU TV show to release will be Peacemaker, starring John Cena as the eponymous character. Cena made his debut as Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker, a character who self-proclaims he would stop at nothing - not even at killing women and children - to achieve peace, in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Now he will return on the small screen in a spinoff series that will explore his origin story and see him take on a new threat after the events of the Suicide Squad sequel.
Other characters from The Suicide Squad, including Jennifer Holland's Emilia Harcourt, are expected to return for the spinoff, along with franchise newcomers like Freddie Stroma's Adrian Chase aka Vigilante. Peacemaker was pitched and filmed entirely during the pandemic, and it'll premiere on HBO Max in January 2022, with eight episodes. It's unclear if Peacemaker season 2 will happen, but as it stands, there's no indication that this is strictly meant to be a miniseries or limited series.
Arrowverse co-creator Greg Berlanti is working with Seth-Grahame Smith to develop a live-action Green Lantern TV series for HBO Max that features multiple incarnations of the superhero. Specific details regarding the show's story and villains are being kept under wraps, as is the series' projected premiere date, but it's one of many DC TV shows currently in the works for the streaming service that may not be a part of the ongoing DCEU. So far, the confirmed Green Lanterns for the series are Alan Scott (Jeremy Irvine), Guy Gardner (Finn Wittrock), Simon Baz, and Jessica Cruz - strangely, Hal Jordan hasn't yet been announced.
Another one of Berlanti's series debuting on HBO Max is Strange Adventures, an hour-long anthology show that will explore the lives of superheroes and average citizens. As comic book readers would expect, the main character in Strange Adventures will be Adam Strange, an interstellar-traveling superhero who led a comic book series of the same name. Unlike the heroes that make up most teams in DC Comics and on-screen, Strange Adventures will stand apart from the crowd for presumably being a pulpy sci-fi series in the vein of DC's original comic run.
Not connected to the DCEU or FOX's Gotham series, the untitled Gotham PD show from showrunner Joe Barton will be set in the same universe as Matt Reeves' The Batman film, starring Robert Pattinson, and will reportedly focus on Jim Gordon, who's played by Jeffrey Wright in the movie. It's unclear if Wright will return in the spinoff series, but the goal is to explore Gotham's police while Batman is fighting crime as the Caped Crusader, which would make it markedly different from the previous Gotham series.
J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot inked an overall deal with WarnerMedia in 2019 that would see them develop movies, TV shows, video games, and other types of content for the next five years. A huge part of that now means working on DC properties like Justice League Dark. In 2020, it was announced that Abrams and Ben Stephenson will produce a live-action Justice League Dark TV series for HBO Max that would exist as a part of a larger JLD universe, spanning TV and film. So far, nothing has been announced regarding what the series will look like or which characters will appear in it - despite the superhero team being the core focus - but this property is at the forefront of the studio's efforts with DC.
While the lineup of HBO Max's Justice League Dark team hasn't been announced, an upcoming live-action Constantine series from Bad Robot will connect to the team-up show. An iconic character who's been around for decades and has seen his fair share of adaptations already, John Constantine brings a uniqueness to the DC universe through his expertise in the occult and magic. Matt Ryan currently plays John Constantine in the Arrowverse, but it's expected that the role will be recast for WarnerMedia's streaming service. Furthermore, instead of spending time delving into the religious aspects of Constantine's story, the series will reportedly be more horror-focused.
Another Justice League Dark character getting their own series is Madame Xanadu, who's DC's version of the fairy enchantress Nimue from Arthurian legend. While Nimue is also the Lady of the Lake in the old tales, another character is meant to be Lady of the Lake in DC Comics, so Madame Xanadu is strictly the comics' Nimue. She's an immortal being with precognitive abilities, which she demonstrates through tarot readings in her occult shop. Although she was never the main character in her stories, she often got involved in her patrons' adventures, which could be the route Bad Robot's HBO Max show will take. Currently, no one's been cast as Madame Xanadu nor is there an estimated premiere date for Madame X.
The Arrowverse is starting to show its age - with Arrow over, Supergirl ending, and The Flash going into season 8 - but that doesn't mean the franchise is down for the count. The CW ordered a new show called Naomi to series in May 2021. It's based on the recently introduced character Naomi McDuffie aka Powerhouse. As her story goes, the atmosphere of her Earth degraded enough for some sort of radioactive energy to break through and affect 29 people, giving them superpowers. Most of them died over time, but from the eight metahumans remaining, two of them had a daughter together - Naomi. Similar to Superman's story, Naomi was then sent to Earth-Prime as a child and grew up not knowing her true background. It's a new, intriguing take on the superhero origin, and it's one The CW is certainly looking to tell. Kaci Walfall will play Naomi in the series, which should premiere sometime in 2022.
Following years of repeated fan-casts for Michael B. Jordan as Superman, he's now developing his own project for HBO Max based on the character Val-Zod. Jordan will produce the limited series through his production company Outlier Society and may even star in the title role, though that part remains to be seen. Val-Zod is a Kryptonian like Kal-El and he fled to Earth upon their home planet's destruction. But he's part of Earth-2 instead of Earth-Prime - the main universe in DC's continuity. Specific details on the Val-Zod series are scarce at this time, but it's been confirmed that this it will be separate from Bad Robot's own Black Superman project that's in development.
Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman are developing a live-action version of DC Superhero High for HBO Max that will be a half-hour comedy series. DC hasn't delved into comedy much before, only tackling Powerless a few years ago, but the young-adult focus could be easier to grasp than a workplace comedy aimed at adults. The streamer has described the series as a teen show focused on the "fun and drama of adolescence at a boarding school for gifted kids." They will go through their day-to-day lives focusing on high school, not ultimately realizing they'll one day become "legendary" DC superheroes. So far, no one's been cast in the show, nor has HBO Max confirmed which characters will appear in the school.
A three-episode animated miniseries on Arthur Curry aka Aquaman is coming to HBO Max from producer James Wan, who helmed the Aquaman movie for Warner Bros and is currently working on developing Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Mera, Vulko, and Ocean Master are all expected to appear in the animated show, and while each character also exists in the DCEU as part of Wan's movies, it doesn't seem like the HBO Max production will tie into any of the films. Rather, the show will build on the character's popularity and cater to the streaming service's family audience. Although a premiere date hasn't been set, Aquaman: King of Atlantis is shaping up to release in 2022.
In the vein of Pixar's Cars, HBO Max is working on an animated series called Batwheels that's aimed at preschoolers that follows crime-fighting vehicles in Gotham City. The confirmed characters are Bam (The Batmobile), Bibi (The Batgirl Cycle), Red (The Redbird), Jett (The Batwing) and Buff (The Bat Truck). Despite being kids, they will unite as a vehicle-based superhero team and fight bad guys alongside Gotham's other superheroes, like Batman and Robin.
Cartoon Network is working on a Teen Titans Go! spinoff that sees the core heroes - Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire - return to the world of Night Beings in order to Shine to protect a mixtape, the one key to saving the musical world. The standalone series comes after the original TV series popularized the song "The Night Begins to Shine", which was used in multiple episodes as well as two species - one in 2017 and another in 2020. Now it'll return in a brand-new show called Teen Titans Go! The Night Begins to Shine.
In an amazing combination of behind-the-scenes talent, Cartoon Network and HBO Max are working on a new Batman animated series called Batman: Caped Crusader, with Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves producing. Timm co-created Batman: The Animated Series and shepherded the DC Animated Universe throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and Reeves is currently working on The Batman movie. The goal is to reinvent Batman in animated form, using new animation technology to depict a visually-striking world that Batman fans haven't seen before.
Another animated series being developed by both Cartoon Network and HBO Max is My Adventures With Superman, a coming-of-age story that focuses on Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen in their 20s. Clark will learn to become a mild-mannered reporter while simultaneously learning to become Metropolis' hero, while Lois will develop into the intrepid reporter she's known for being. Presumably, the series will also show Clark and Lois' relationship unfold as they take on villains and become their iconic selves.
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Reviewed by Riyad
on
August 05, 2021
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