What to Expect From DC in 2025

Outside of nan comics, 2024 was a beautiful quiet twelvemonth for DC. It didn’t thief that Joker: Folie à Deux turned retired to beryllium 1 of nan year’s biggest container agency bombs. But there’s a caller dream connected nan horizon. James Gunn’s DCU is coming, and pinch it a marque caller era for DC connected nan large and mini screens.

From Gunn’s hotly anticipated Superman movie to nan return of shows for illustration Peacemaker and The Sandman to nan description of DC’s Absolute Universe, let’s break down nan biggest and astir important DC projects arriving successful 2025.

Superman Kicks Off nan Live-Action DCU

Compared to 2023, which saw nan merchandise of nary less than 4 films group successful nan now-defunct DC Extended Universe, 2025 is decidedly smaller successful scope. Just for illustration pinch 2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux, there’s only 1 caller live-action DC movie hitting theaters this year. That said, it’s easy nan astir important movie DC has released successful years.

That movie is, of course, James Gunn’s Superman. Where Gunn’s Creature Commandos animated bid gave america our first sensation of nan caller DCU cinematic universe, Superman is our first live-action foray into this world. Based connected Creature Commandos’ quality, not to mention Gunn’s activity connected nan Guardians of nan Galaxy trilogy, we person precocious hopes.

Superman casts David Corenswet arsenic nan Man of Steel. Rather than exploring Kal-El’s root communicative for nan umpteenth time, nan movie takes spot aft Superman has been connected nan occupation for a fewer years. He’s trying his champion to usage his powers to guideline and protect mankind and beryllium that there’s room for decency and kindness successful our cynical modern world. In different words, precisely nan benignant of superhero movie we could each usage correct astir now.

Superman besides stars Rachel Brosnahan arsenic Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult arsenic Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo arsenic Jimmy Olsen, and Wendell Pierce arsenic Perry White. And because this movie is our preamble to nan DCU successful live-action, fans tin expect a batch of different DC heroes to driblet by. That lineup includes Nathan Fillion arsenic Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi arsenic Mister Terrific, Isabela Merced arsenic Hawkgirl, and Anthony Carrigan arsenic Metamorpho. Also helping necktie together nan increasing DCU will beryllium Frank Grillo, who reprises nan domiciled of Rick Flag, Sr. from Creature Commandos.

Needless to say, there’s a batch riding connected Superman’s brawny shoulders correct now. This movie marks nan afloat debut of a brand-new cinematic universe, and it paves nan measurement for a number of big-budget DC projects successful nan years ahead, from movies for illustration Supergirl and The Authority to shows for illustration Lanterns and Paradise Lost. It’s a portion successful a overmuch larger puzzle Gunn is calling “Gods and Monsters.”

The mobility is whether Superman tin win wherever truthful galore DC movies person collapsed and burned successful caller years. Given nan measurement films for illustration The Flash and Shazam! Fury of nan Gods bombed astatine nan container agency successful 2023, it’s clear fans had written disconnected nan aged DCEU earlier it moreover finished. And Joker: Folie à Deux proved to beryllium a complete misfire for DC successful 2024. Is nan DC marque irrevocably tarnished successful Hollywood, aliases tin Superman commencement nan roadworthy to recovery?

Whatever happens, we’re eagerly looking guardant to nan merchandise of Superman, which hits theaters connected July 11, 2025.

Batman: Knightfall Gets Animated

Superman whitethorn beryllium nan only live-action theatrical merchandise DC is putting retired successful 2025, but it won’t beryllium nan only caller DC movie. DC’s statement of direct-to-DVD animated films will proceed successful nan caller year, pinch specifications starting to leak astir their eager adjacent project.

Following nan merchandise of nan critically acclaimed two-part Watchmen adaptation, DC is turning to different classical schematic caller for its adjacent adaptation, Batman: Knightfall. In fact, Knightfall is reportedly getting a afloat trilogy of adaptations, matching nan scope of nan caller Crisis connected Infinite Earths movie trilogy. The trilogy hasn’t been officially announced yet, but arsenic pointed retired by The Direct, a listing for nan first movie has appeared connected nan EIDR database.

Batman: Knightfall is nan celebrated 1993 crossover wherever Batman first encountered nan ruthless Bane. Over nan people of nan story, Bane wears down nan Dark Knight physically and psychologically and breaks his back. Left paralyzed, Bruce has nary action but to move nan Batman mantle complete to different like-minded vigilante named Jean-Paul Valley.

Given that Batman: Knightfall is simply a trilogy of movies, we presume nan first movie will accommodate Knightfall itself, while nan 2nd will screen nan follow-up crossover Knightquest and nan 3rd will headdress disconnected nan communicative by adapting Knightsend. In Knightquest, Jean-Paul establishes himself arsenic a much ruthless and deranged replacement to Bruce, while successful Knightsend a recovered Bruce has to reclaim nan Batman mantle and prevention Gotham City from this sadistic caller Dark Knight.

Again, DC has yet to formally denote nan Batman: Knightfall movies, truthful astatine this shape we don’t cognize nan sound formed aliases imaginable merchandise dates. It’s imaginable that Knightfall is simply a continuation of nan Tomorrowverse, meaning that Batman: The Long Halloween prima Jensen Ackles would reprise nan Batman domiciled again. But it’s besides imaginable that DC has closed nan doorway connected that animated beingness pursuing nan Crisis trilogy, meaning we whitethorn spot a caller character formed arsenic Batman. Either way, expect Batman: Knightfall to beryllium 1 of nan darkest and astir convulsive Batman movies since DC’s adjustment of The Dark Knight Returns.

DC TV successful 2024

There whitethorn beryllium only 1 caller DC movie hitting theaters successful 2025, but DC decidedly has a much stacked TV and streaming lineup planned this year. That includes different summation to nan caller but quickly increasing DCU, arsenic Gunn’s Peacemaker returns for Season 2.

Peacemaker: Season 2 will beryllium nan adjacent DCU task to deed aft Superman. How does that activity erstwhile nan first play was a spinoff of Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, which was portion of nan DCEU? Don’t deliberation excessively difficult astir it. Just cognize that Season 2 continues nan misadventures of John Cena’s peace-loving anti-hero Christopher Smith. Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick are each besides returning for Season 2, and Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. continues to service arsenic nan glue tying nan DCU together.

Peacemaker Season 2 will debut connected Max successful August 2025, truthful fans don’t person to hold agelong aft Superman’s merchandise to get much of this increasing superhero universe.

We’re expecting 1 different live-action DC bid to get successful 2025, arsenic Netflix yet continues nan saga of The Sandman. Tom Sturridge is backmost arsenic Morpheus, arsenic nan Lord of Dreams deals pinch caller challenges to his realm. One of those challenges comes from Gwendoline Christie’s Lucifer, who is retired for revenge aft being outwitted by Morpheus successful Season 1. It’s expected that Season 2 will accommodate nan comic storyline The Season of Mists, a communicative that pushes nan Morpheus/Lucifer rivalry successful a very unexpected direction.

We tin besides expect to meet nan remainder of Morpheus’ siblings successful Season 2, including Adrian Lester’s Destiny, Esmé Creed-Miles’ Delirium, and Barry Sloane’s Destruction. Why did Morpheus’ small relative Destruction abdicate his responsibilities? That’s different enigma nan bid looks poised to research successful Season 2.

With accumulation connected Season 2 having wrapped successful 2024, Netfix has antecedently confirmed a 2025 merchandise for Season 2. However, executive shaper Neil Gaiman was precocious accused of intersexual battle and abuse by aggregate women, and it’s unclear really this mightiness impact Netflix’s timetable.

On nan animated broadside of things, we’re hoping to spot caller seasons of Batman: Caped Crusader, My Adventures With Superman, and Harley Quinn successful 2025.

Caped Crusader debuted connected Prime Video successful 2024, astatine which constituent Amazon had already greenlit nan bid for a 2nd season. Hamish Linklater will return arsenic nan sound of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Based connected nan ending to Season 1, it seems safe to presume that Season 2 will woody pinch nan emergence of Batman’s top foe, nan Joker, though we don’t yet cognize who will sound nan Clown Prince of Crime.

As for My Adventures With Superman, this lighthearted, shonen anime-inspired bid has been greenlit for Season 3. With Season 1 debuting successful 2023 and Season 2 pursuing successful 2024, we’re hopeful that nan 3rd play tin proceed that yearly merchandise schedule, particularly pinch nan caller movie besides dropping this year. With Season 2 introducing Supergirl and pitting Superman against Amanda Waller and ARGUS, it’s anyone’s conjecture what parts of nan Superman mythos Season 3 will mine.

Finally, Harley Quinn is confirmed to return successful January 2025. This decidedly adults-only animated bid took a twelvemonth disconnected successful 2024 to make room for nan Kite-Man spinoff, but it’s clip to put nan spotlight backmost connected Kaley Cuoco’s Harley and Lake Bell’s Poison Ivy.

DC Games: Will We See a New Arkham Game?

2025 is looking to beryllium beautiful quiet connected nan gaming beforehand for DC. Rocksteady will beryllium adding Deathstroke arsenic nan newest and past playable characteristic to Suicide Squad: Kill nan Justice League. After a unsmooth motorboat successful 2024, that live-service crippled looks to beryllium headed into attraction mode successful 2025.

We could spot caller DC characters added to nan free-to-play fighting crippled MultiVersus, which already includes mainstays Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Joker, and Harley Quinn. And it’s besides imaginable nan Meta Quest-exclusive Batman: Arkham Shadow will beryllium ported to different VR systems successful 2025.

But beyond that, there’s not overmuch for DC fans to look guardant to successful 2025. At best, we dream to spot immoderate actual announcements astir what’s coming successful position of DC’s video crippled roadmap.

We do cognize location are projects successful nan works. While Gunn has already shot down rumors of a caller crippled group successful Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, location is astatine slightest 1 caller Batman crippled successful improvement correct now. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav confirmed arsenic overmuch erstwhile he revealed connected a caller penanammodal telephone that Batman is 1 of nan halfway pillars of nan company’s gaming future going forward.

Could Rocksteady beryllium moving connected nan adjacent introduction successful nan Arkham franchise? Or will different workplace return complaint of putting players successful Batman’s boots? Either way, we’re hoping to drawback a glimpse of this mysterious crippled astatine immoderate constituent successful 2025. And while we’re astatine it, it would beryllium bully to spot a small much of Monolith’s Wonder Woman game, which was announced astatine nan 2021 Game Awards but has fundamentally dropped disconnected nan representation since.

DC Comics Goes All In

DC whitethorn person had a unsmooth twelvemonth connected nan large surface successful 2024, but DC Comics is coming disconnected a very successful twelvemonth and looking to proceed that momentum into 2025.

DC’s main attraction correct now is connected nan DC All In initiative, which intends to springiness readers fresh, easy jumping-on points for each of DC’s ongoing titles. That includes awesome books for illustration Tom King and Daniel Sampere’s Wonder Woman, Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora’s Superman, Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin’s Detective Comics, and Mark Waid and Dan Mora’s Justice League Unlimited. We’re besides eagerly looking guardant to digging into Ram V and Evan Cagle’s New Gods, a bid that conscionable kicked disconnected successful December 2024 and will beryllium arsenic important arsenic immoderate different erstwhile it comes to charting nan Darkseid-focused early of nan DC line.

Then there’s nan Absolute Universe, nan different broadside of nan DC All In coin. The Absolute statement is akin to Marvel’s Ultimate Universe successful that it focuses connected updating and streamlining DC’s iconic heroes without nan load of decades of existing continuity. Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman, Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s Absolute Wonder Woman, and Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval’s Absolute Superman person each proven to beryllium large hits for DC, and they’ll proceed to grow nan statement heading into 2025. Look for caller additions for illustration Al Ewing and Jahnoy Lindsay’s Absolute Green Lantern, Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles’ Absolute Flash and Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez’s Absolute Martian Manhunter, each debuting successful March.

DC’s biggest communicative of nan year, however, may good beryllium Batman: Hush 2. This sequel brings backmost writer Jeph Loeb and creator Jim Lee for a brand-new enigma centered astir nan titular villain. Hush 2 kicks disconnected successful nan pages of Batman #158, besides releasing successful March.

Finally, DC is bringing backmost nan beloved Vertigo imprint successful 2025. Once nan location of critically acclaimed mature readers comics for illustration The Sandman, Preacher, and Y: The Last Man, Vertigo was antecedently shuttered backmost successful 2019. But now it’s returning arsenic a location for creator-owned comics. James Tynion and Álvaro Martínez Bueno's The Nice House by nan Sea is nan first book to transportation nan Vertigo banner, but we’re expecting a batch much announcements successful nan months to come.

And that’s what you tin expect from DC successful 2025. Are you excited for Gunn’s Superman? What astir nan return of Peacemaker and The Sandman? Cast your ballot successful our canvass and fto america cognize successful nan comments which caller DC task you’re astir looking guardant to this year.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.