The ambitious DC television slate James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled after taking control of DC Studios continues to get smaller, and now HBO boss Casey Bloys says there are currently no additional DCU shows in active development beyond The People v. Gorilla Grodd.
During a new interview with Deadline, Bloys was questioned about the state of DC television after several previously announced projects failed to move forward.
His response offered an important distinction between projects audiences hear about being developed and shows HBO actually intends to make.
“People read about development, and they assume that those are greenlit shows, and they’re development,” Bloys explained.
“And everybody knows that development is just that — you’re trying things, you take big swings, not everything comes through,” he continued. “I would say our track record in DC, from Watchmen to Peacemaker to Penguin and now Lanterns, is pretty good. We’re very selective. We’re careful about what we do, nothing has changed. You’ll read about development, but focus on what we’re greenlighting.”
Then came the far more revealing follow-up.
Deadline asked Bloys whether there was anything else currently active in development.
“No, not right now,” Bloys answered. “Obviously you’ve got Gorilla Grodd, which I’m very happy about, doing something different, and I think it’s a really fun idea. They just started shooting.”
That’s a remarkably thin television pipeline compared to the sprawling DCU slate Gunn and Safran originally announced.
What Happened to the Original DCU Television Slate?
When Gunn and Safran revealed their Chapter One: Gods and Monsters plans in January 2023, television was supposed to be a major component of their interconnected universe.
Those plans included Creature Commandos, Waller, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, and Booster Gold, with characters intended to move between animation, television, and theatrical movies.
Some of that material obviously made it to audiences. Creature Commandos launched the new continuity, Peacemaker returned for another season, and Lanterns is currently airing.
The main characters in DC’s Lanterns on HBO – X, @DiscussingFilm
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But the future pipeline looks considerably different.
In August, it was reported that Waller, Paradise Lost, and Booster Gold were no longer being actively developed.
That was particularly notable for Paradise Lost, the planned Themyscira-set series that Gunn had previously talked up as an important part of his DC plans.
Now Bloys isn’t merely declining to provide an update on those individual shows. When specifically asked if anything else was actively being developed, the HBO boss answered, “No, not right now.”
The only project he named was The People v. Gorilla Grodd.
Gorilla Grodd is Actually Moving Forward
Unlike the various projects that have spent years floating around development, The People v. Gorilla Grodd is real, greenlit, and now filming.
The series grew out of the previously reported Jimmy Olsen project starring Skyler Gisondo, who reprises his role from Superman.
Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen in James Gunn’s Superman – Warner Bros. Discovery, DC Studios
HBO Max officially ordered an eight-episode first season in August. The mockumentary-style project follows Daily Planet reporters investigating supervillain-related cases, with Gorilla Grodd serving as the subject of its first season.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the premise involves Grodd being accused of killing his father, the king of Gorilla City.
So this isn’t a situation where HBO has abandoned DC television altogether. But it is a situation where the enormous list of possibilities audiences were originally sold has been whittled down to a single new live-action series currently moving through HBO.
HBO Says Pay Attention to What Actually Gets Greenlit
Perhaps the most interesting portion of Bloys’ comments is his warning that audiences shouldn’t put much stock into hearing that a show is merely “in development.”
“Focus on what we’re greenlighting,” he said.
That philosophy is worth remembering whenever another potential DC project is announced.
A clip from Episode 3 of Lanterns – HBO Max
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Gunn has frequently discussed projects at various stages of development while simultaneously insisting DC Studios won’t move forward until scripts meet its standards (it should be noted that Supergirl moved forward…). Gunn previously explained that the studio isn’t attempting to meet a predetermined production quota and that projects won’t enter production simply because they appeared on an announced slate.
That approach is certainly more defensible than pumping out unfinished projects to satisfy a corporate release calendar. But it also means the original Chapter One announcement increasingly looks less like a production roadmap and more like a collection of ideas DC Studios hoped might eventually become shows and movies.
Three and a half years after that announcement, Waller hasn’t happened. Booster Gold hasn’t happened. and Paradise Lost hasn’t happened.
And HBO’s CEO is now explicitly telling audiences to distinguish between development announcements and projects that actually receive greenlights.
What About Lanterns Season 2?
There’s also an enormous elephant in the room.
Lanterns is currently airing its first season, yet Bloys didn’t identify a second season as another DC project actively moving forward.
That doesn’t mean Lanterns has been canceled. However, there’s currently no announced second-season order, and Bloys’ statement certainly doesn’t provide any evidence that one is imminent.
Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan in Lanterns – HBO, DC Studios
Co-creator Damon Lindelof previously made the situation rather straightforward when discussing the possibility of continuing the series: another season depends on whether Lanterns is successful.
That leaves the show in an interesting position as its first season continues.
If HBO ultimately renews Lanterns, the DCU television lineup immediately becomes somewhat healthier. If it doesn’t, the lack of additional projects becomes even more conspicuous.
For now, however, the head of HBO has spoken plainly.
There isn’t another new DC show currently in active development that he’s pointing audiences toward.
There’s The People v. Gorilla Grodd. And that’s it.
James Gunn’s DCU Television Plans Have Become Much Smaller
None of this means the DCU itself is disappearing. Gunn and Safran continue to have theatrical projects moving forward, while Gorilla Grodd demonstrates HBO remains willing to greenlight DC television when executives believe they have the right concept.
But the television side of Chapter One unquestionably looks much smaller today than it did when Gunn and Safran stood before audiences in 2023 and unveiled their plans.
Perhaps some of those dormant concepts will eventually return. Development in Hollywood changes constantly, and Bloys himself isn’t declaring that Booster Gold, Waller, or Paradise Lost can never happen.
James Gunn sits for an interview – YouTube, GQ
But that’s also why his advice is so revealing. Don’t focus on everything that’s announced. Don’t focus on everything somebody says is being developed.
“Focus on what we’re greenlighting.”
Right now, when it comes to the next new DCU television series, HBO has exactly one answer: The People v. Gorilla Grodd… For better or worse.
Are you surprised that new DCU shows are at a standstill at Warner Bros.? Sound off and let us know!
