After the news that Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad writer/director James Gunn has taken over DC Comics' film division, now renamed DC Studios, alongside film producer Peter Safran, fans became immediately intrigued by the newfound possibilities. With the revelation that DC Studios will continue to produce standalone features such as The Batman and Joker while also continuing the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) with projects like the Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam! film series, not to mention the exciting return of Henry Cavill as Superman in Black Adam and beyond, the possibilities for DC Studios seem endless.

As DC's film division will oversee all non-comic book DC-related media such as live-action, animation, feature films, and television, the door has been opened for new adaptations of some of the most incredible DC Comics stories out there. While original stories and new material is exciting (and necessary) for the future of DC Studios, some of the most notable DC Comics feature films such as The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel, and Watchmen have been based on particular stories that propelled the DC Universe into a new age.

With so much source material to pull from, and so many great heroes to shine a light on, these are some of the greatest stories that DC Comics has to offer, stories that haven't yet been adapted to the fullest by any film or television production yet!

11 Kingdom Come

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Image via DC Comics

Possibly one of the most important comic books ever written, Kingdom Come is sort of Mark Waid and Alex Ross' answer to the "dark and gritty" era that DC found themselves in during the 1980s with stories like Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore's Watchmen. As a new generation of heroes rises up, strikingly more violent and careless than the last, the old guard of heroes such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are forced to return and heal the world once more.

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The miniseries has been previously referenced in the Arrowverse's Crisis On Infinite Earths event, as both Brandon Routh's Superman from Superman Returns and Kevin Conroy's dark interpretation of Batman appear, with backstories based on their Kingdom Come counterparts. Furthermore, James Gunn recently shared an image from the graphic novel on his Instagram, which may imply that Kingdom Come could be adapted in the future — though, it's probably just to get people talking.

10 Superman for All Seasons

Superman For All Seasons

One of the most beautiful Superman stories ever told, Superman for All Seasons reunites Jeph Loeb and Time Sale to tell a Superman story set across all four seasons during the time of the Man of Steel's first big appearance in Metropolis. An inspiration for the series Smallville (which Loeb wrote for), Superman for All Seasons jumps between the perspectives of Jonathan Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Lana Lang as they all encounter Clark Kent and Superman in their daily lives.

While there are plans for Henry Cavill to return as Superman, we have no idea what sorts of stories they're looking to adapt. One of the criticisms of Zack Snyder's vision for the character was an over-emphasis on action sequences (ironic, given that Superman Returns suffered the opposite criticism), but adapting something like Superman for All Seasons would allow for a compelling story to be told with both the right amount of action and plenty of heart.

9 Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen in Arrow
Image via The CW

To general audiences, Green Arrow wasn't exactly a popular character until he showed up on Smallville, and even then, it wasn't until his own series, Arrow, that the character was thrust into the center of a live-action DC Universe. Whether you prefer Justin Hartley or Stephen Amell, it's clear that Green Arrow is a well-rounded individual with plenty of interesting stories to pull from, one of the best being Mike Grell's Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters.

This story was a darker take on Oliver Queen, and a huge inspiration for Arrow, which relocated the Emerald Archer from Star City to Seattle as he worked to track down a serial killer. Of course, we've seen plenty of Green Arrow material lately, and there are probably no plans for a feature film adaptation, but if DC Studios wanted to capitalize on the character and tell an out-of-continuity tale like The Batman, this would be the story to pull from.

8 JLA: Earth 2

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Written by Grant Morrison with artwork by Frank Quitely, JLA: Earth 2 is a story about the Justice League of America's first encounter with their antimatter universe counterparts the Crime Syndicate of Amerika. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash are all forced to battle evil versions of, well, they're not exactly themselves, but they certainly took their place in the hierarchy of the antimatter universe. If this sounds like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, that's because Earth 2 helped inspire that animated feature.

As one of the better Justice League stories from this era (which is saying a lot given most JLA arcs were fantastic), Earth 2 would be a great launching point for a post-Snyder Justice League sequel. After seeing so many evil versions of our favorite heroes in projects like Injustice or the "Knightmare" sequences from Snyder's DCEU, it would be great to watch the JLA overcome the villains they could easily have been.

7 Batman: Hush

Jason O'Mara as Bruce Wayne and Geoffrey Arend as Hush in 'Batman: Hush'
Image via Warner Bros. Animation

Another Jeph Loeb story, this one with art by Jim Lee, Batman: Hush is a defining Batman story and one with some pretty lasting effects. As Batman begins a relationship with Catwoman, and an old friend comes back into Bruce Wayne's life, the Dark Knight is tormented by a new villain who utilizes all of Batman's old friends and foes against him. Hush has already been adapted into animation, but it's still worth mentioning here since The Batman dropped so many hints that this may be the basis for the sequel.

Whether it is or not, it would be a shame to waste such an important villain to Batman's modern mythos as Hush, and between this story and Paul Dini's Batman: Heart of Hush, there's plenty of great material to work with to bring to the screen. Whether Robert Pattinson or Ben Affleck is behind the cowl, this is a Batman story that deserves to be told. Plus, it's a killer detective mystery, right up the (crime) alley for all of us who want to see the World's Greatest Detective in action.

6 Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War

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After Green Lantern flopped back in 2011, most of our hopes for a live-action Green Lantern epic were squashed with it. Though there have been a few Green Lantern projects in development since then, we have yet to see a power ring on screen (unless you count the one we barely saw in Zack Snyder's Justice League). Regardless, Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons is probably the most important Green Lantern story ever told.

Not only does The Sinestro Corps War force Hal to finally beat his own fears and failures, but the other Lanterns such as John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Guy Gardner have to as well. A war story at its core, this one puts the Green Lantern Corps through the wringer, and the rest of the world goes through with them. If DC Studios is looking for their Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy, this is probably it.

5 Blackest Night

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Another Geoff Johns series rooted in his legendary nearly 10-year Green Lantern run, Blackest Night is a zombie horror show that brings dead heroes, villains, and loved ones to life as the entire DC Universe is forced to watch and tries to escape the terror. While this story couldn't be adapted exactly as is (there's a lot of context from the Green Lantern books that's somewhat necessary), there is plenty for DC Studios to work with to bring a book like this to life. \

Admittedly, Blackest Night may work better in animation than live-action, but that's okay too! No one said all we wanted were live-action feature films. With all the excellent animated films and series' that DC has been popping out, Blackest Night may thrive best as an animated series. Maybe it could even take a few cues from DCeased too.

4 Hawkworld

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Image Via Warner Bros.

From Timothy Truman came the legendary Hawkworld, a reinvention of the Hawkman mythos that took us on an interstellar journey to Katar Hol and Shayera Thal's homeworld of Thanagar. Originally a three-issue miniseries before graduating to a month ongoing, this almost Blade Runner-ish cop thriller partners up these two Hawk-people as they tackle crime on their alien planet, all before pursuing their suspect to Earth.

There are plenty of great Hawkman stories to tell (and some that are a lot less continuity-breaking), but Hawkworld still reigns supreme. The complex partnership between Katar and Shayera has yet to be adapted properly (and no, Legends of Tomorrow doesn't count), and Hawkworld is just begging for the HBO Max treatment. If edgier shows like Titans can work, then there's no reason that DC's Hawkman and Hawkwoman can't be reinvented too.

3 The Saga of the Swamp Thing

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Okay, so the Swamp Thing has been adapted before as a series of live-action films as well as television spin-offs (including one as recently as 2019), but the truth is that Len Wein's original Swamp Thing and the 1980s series The Saga of the Swamp Thing, which featured the titular character wandering across the Louisiana swamplands and even battling a possible Anti-Christ, haven't been adapted yet. Yeah, these books get pretty weird (especially when Alan Moore took over), but that's just more material to work from.

Whether a revival of the 2019 series is due or some sort of return to the screen (Marvel has proven with Werewolf By Night that shorter creature features can work too), there's got to be a way to bring The Saga of the Swamp Thing back from the murky grave. That's kind of his whole thing...

2 Batman and the Outsiders

Batman and the Outsiders
Image via DC.com

One of the most underrated and under-utilized parts of Batman's complex comic book history is his partnership with and formation of the Outsiders. Batman and the Outsiders (later just The Outsiders) was a comic book series that removed Batman from the bureaucracy of the Justice League of America and made him an independent agent, working with his own team of metahumans to make the world just a little bit safer.

With characters like Black Lightning, Geo-Force, Katana, Metamorpho, and Halo by his side, the Dark Knight assembled an incredibly diverse team of heroes to face threats foreign and domestic. The Outsiders is a perfect concept for a long-form series, and one that can even work with Batman running the team from the shadows, only making an appearance on occasion, sort-of like he does on Titans. If Doom Patrol can succeed on HBO Max, then Batman and the Outsiders could too.

1 The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract

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Image via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Another cheat, The New Teen Titans story The Judas Contract has been adapted before, both in the animated Teen Titans series and an animated film of the same name, but never quite with the weight of the original story behind it. Besides being a story about betrayal (with some pretty sketchy age-gaps between Deathstroke and Terra), The Judas Contract was a coming-of-age moment for the Dick Grayson incarnation of Robin too, who finally shed his yellow cape for his Nightwing uniform.

But beyond that, this story (by Marv Wolfman and George Perez) is everything you could ask for from the Teen Titans: agency, love, betrayal, heartbreak, and a climatic battle that'll rock your socks off. If you've never read the original comic book, it's a must, and it'll prove to you that this story, above all other Teen Titans tales, needs a proper adaptation. Whether it's live-action or animated, on the Titans series (which seems unlikely) or as a standalone, DC Studios would do best to take note and bring this one to life.