James Gunn's Animated Movie Promise Totally Changes DC's Theatrical Releases

As DC Studios is actively working on the new DC Universe, James Gunn reveals that at least some animated films will also appear on the big screen.

SUMMARY

James Gunn’s DC Universe will include theatrical animated films, something the DCEU never experimented with.
Animation has been a strength for DC, with a better reputation than Marvel in the non-live-action format.
DC Studios can capitalize on its strength by releasing animated films in theaters, something Marvel Studios has yet to do.

James Gunn’s DC Universe, which will also consist of animated films, will be released theatrically, according to the DC Studios co-CEO. The DCEU is coming to an end this year in light of Warner Bros. Discovery forming DC Studios to create a new DC Universe, a fresh start for the brand’s cinematic shared universe. While most of the projects they have announced thus far are live-action, animation is part of their strategy, with the Creature Commandos TV show for Max set to be one of them.

Since the original Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters,” announcement in late January of this year, no additional animated shows have been revealed by Gunn and Peter Safran. However, while no animated DC Universe films have been revealed to the public, Gunn may have just dropped a huge game-changing clarification about DC Studios.

On Threads, a user named @VNsvis asked if they can “expect theatrical animated projects for the universe in the future,” to which Gunn gave a blunt answer: “Yes.” This came after Gunn had to clarify that the upcoming Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths animated movie is not a DC Universe production.

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have had a better track record over the DCEU, animation is where DC has been thriving the most against the rival company for the last two decades. From all their classic shows, such as Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League: Unlimited, to their many animated film adaptations, DC has had a better reputation than Marvel when it comes to the non-live-action format. It wasn’t until Marvel Studios’ What If…? that the MCU started to gain positive reception in terms of animated projects.

But to this date, Marvel Studios has not had a single animated film in theaters, which is where DC Studios can actually lean into one of their strengths. Since Gunn’s DC Universe will have actors who get tapped for live-action roles also play them in animation, this makes a lot of sense for them to not just be limited to animated shows. Whether or not this will push Marvel Studios to also start producing animated films that will go to theaters is unclear at this point.

The bigger question that remains now is what DC animated films are actually in the works at DC Studios. Given the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, they likely won’t be able to announce them for quite some time until contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have been settled. But knowing that animated theatrical releases are part of the DC Universe makes things for “Gods and Monsters” a lot more exciting.