James Gunn Reveals DC's New Brain Trust Including Fan-Favorite Movie and Comic Writers

01/31/2023 02:17 pm EST

DC Studios head James Gunn has revealed that he formed a brain trust to help map out the DC Universe's overarching story – and that group consisted of some of the biggest fan-favorite TV and/or movie writers around! As reporters confirmed during the DC Studios presentation, Drew Goddard (Cloverfield, Cabin in the Woods), Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), Christina Hodson (The Flash, Batgirl, Birds of Prey), Christal Henry (HBO's Watchmen), and comics writer Tom King (Batman, Batman/Catwoman) all contributed to helping set up the DCU. 

James Gunn let members of the press know some additional details about how the DC Studios brain trust came together, and what it did for the franchise: 

"Listen, Tom King has been my partner throughout all of this... He was giving me answers to sh*t before I took the job when I was talking to him that summer. Me, him, Christal Henry, who worked on Watchmen, who was doing Waller, Christina Hodson, who wrote The Flash... Drew Goddard, who you guys probably know..."

DC Studios co-head Peter Safran added, "And Jeremy Slater who just did Moon Knight, that group of people we've been meeting with and putting all of this together with that group of people."

Some of the DCU brain trust talent is actually moving on to help work on TV/movie projects for DC Studios: Christal Henry will take on the Waller series, which continues Gunn's The Suicide Squad saga, and is set between Peacemaker Seasons 1 and 2. It wouldn't be surprising if additional brain trust members get announced for DCU projects down the line. 

What Is On DC Studios' New Slate?

Chapter One of the DCU will be titled "Gods & Monsters" and will do a two-pronged job of introducing both kinds of characters to the franchise. The big movies include Superman: Legacy, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, and team film The Authority. HBO Max DC TV series will include shows like Lanterns, Creature Commandos, Booster Gold, Waller, and Paradise Lost. There is also a Supergirl project in the works, which will take a sci-fi bend. On the surface, a lot of these projects seem like they are in very separate lanes – so it's even more interesting to hear Gunn and Safran insist this version of the franchise will be much more cohesive, and that it these choices were the result of some of the most talented minds in genre entertainment coming together. 

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