Finally, it is here. James Gunn’s highly anticipated unraveling of the roadmap of the new DC Studios projects has been done. The announcement received a mixed reception from the fans, some were happy while others were surprised by the abrupt choices made by James Gunn like Creature Commandos and The Authority for their first chapter of the upcoming DCU. To find our full coverage of the announcement, read here. In spite of a filled schedule, a bunch of things were missing that fans were anticipating ahead of the announcement. 

No Lobo

Perhaps one of the most surprising rumors that were being circulated ahead of the announcement was that Jason Momoa who was already portraying Aquaman in DCEU would be taking the mantle of a new character in the new DCU – Lobo. Lobo is a fan-favorite character who is an intergalactic bounty hunter. Fans have been demanding a Lobo movie for eternity. Some speculated that Jason Momoa could leave Aquaman and rather focus on Lobo in DCU, while others believed that Lobo could be an Elseworld project which takes place in a different universe than in which DCU is set in.

On one of Momoa’s social networking websites, Momoa was shown to be very enthusiastic and eclectic after meeting Gunn about his future at DCU. Fans instantly began hoping that the rumored ‘Lobo’ project has been green-lit and at the same time Momoa has been allowed to continue his portrayal of Arthur Curry aka Aquaman. However, Gunn did not give any official confirmation of the ‘Lobo’ project or if Aquaman 3 will ever happen, let alone Momoa’s future in his version of DCU.

No Wonder Woman 

If one sees Gunn’s slate of DCU, it is rather apparent that he is aiming to center his universe around Superman and Batman, with his own version of the characters. However, when it comes to superpowered heroes in DC, a trio is above everyone viz. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. And surprisingly, Wonder Woman wasn’t there in Gunn’s plans. Although he did announce a tv show centered around Themyscira (Paradise Lost), Wonder Woman’s home island, it will mainly be structured around the political rifts among the Amazonians and will apparently be set years before Wonder Woman was born.

Maybe, the studio is still looking for a perfect script for a Wonder Woman project or looking for a way to incorporate Gal Gadot’s portrayal of the character into this new universe. But one thing is certain the lukewarm reception of Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) has the studio executives rethinking the future of the character. It is possible that the Gunn gang may decide to include her in one of the future projects. However, one thing is certain – for now, Petty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman 3 movie has been shelved.

No Big-Team-Up 

Another very apparent ingredient missing from Gunn’s announcement is the lack of any big team-up movie/tv show. Justice League, Justice Society of America, Titans, Doom Patrol, Legion of Superheroes, etc. were all missing from the slate. It could be possible that many project titles are still being kept under wraps.

There are still many DC heroes like Green Arrow, Cyclops, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, etc. who have not been mentioned in the lineup. It could be a possibility that they could be introduced in the future and then a culminating huge event could result in a big-team-up film, concluding the first chapter of the DC Universe (DCU).

DC under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran is not shying up in experimenting with including B-grade and rather unpopular projects in their timeline. Hence, it can safely be concluded that they have it all figured out. Whatever it is, hopefully, this could be the dawn of a new era of comic book films…until then – Up, Up, and Away!