---
title: 'Why the DCU Will Never Be the Same Again'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=UDjzXsK6eMU'
video_id: 'UDjzXsK6eMU'
date: 2026-07-14
duration_sec: 1139
---

# Why the DCU Will Never Be the Same Again

> Source: [Why the DCU Will Never Be the Same Again](https://youtube.com/watch?v=UDjzXsK6eMU)

## Summary

The video analyzes the current state of the DC Universe (DCU), arguing that a major leadership change is imminent due to the massive box office failure of 'Supergirl,' underwhelming performance of other projects, and the impending Paramount merger. The host believes the current strategy of focusing on niche characters without establishing core heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman is flawed and will lead to another reboot.

### Key Points

- **Supergirl's Box Office Bomb** [00:28] — Supergirl had a terrible third weekend, grossing only $3.4 million overseas, lower than Madame Web's $5 million. It's on track for $125-130 million global, making it one of the biggest flops of all time, even worse than Morbius ($167.5 million).
- **One Flop Can Derail a Shared Universe** [01:35] — Shared universes rely on momentum. A single bomb like Supergirl can break that momentum, causing knock-on effects for future projects and increasing costs. It also fuels superhero fatigue.
- **Warner Bros.' History of Abrupt Changes** [03:17] — Warner Bros. has a track record of canceling projects without warning, such as Batgirl (fully shot) and Henry Cavill's Superman return. They are willing to tank everything to change direction.
- **Sony's Spider-Man Reboots as a Precedent** [04:10] — Sony rebooted Spider-Man three times in nine years, canceling announced sequels (Spider-Man 4) and entire universes (Venomverse) after middling entries, showing how easily studios can pivot.
- **James Gunn's Overloaded Role** [05:16] — Gunn is stretched thin as head of DC Studios, writing/directing multiple projects. He himself said he doesn't know if he'll still be in charge after 'Man of Tomorrow.' The job is unprecedented and extremely difficult.
- **Niche Projects Hurt Momentum** [06:13] — Gunn's slate focuses on niche characters (Clayface, Supergirl) without first establishing the core Trinity (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman). Spin-offs should come after the main characters are successful.
- **Lack of a Clear Plan** [08:28] — The original announcement video was confusing, claiming old DCEU projects were still canon while also rebooting. Many announced projects (Waller, Booster Gold) haven't materialized, eroding confidence.
- **DC Skipping Comic-Con is a Red Flag** [11:26] — DC announced they won't attend Comic-Con 2025, citing expense. The host believes this is to avoid announcing projects that may not be made, further signaling lack of confidence.
- **Gunn's 'Train Left the Station' Comment** [12:18] — Gunn said some projects are 'where the train has already left the station,' implying they are too far along to cancel, but not necessarily indicative of long-term commitment from new owners Paramount.
- **Paramount's Debt and Profit Focus** [13:10] — Paramount is taking on massive debt (~$100B) to acquire Warner Bros. They will prioritize profitable projects and likely question the strategy of greenlighting niche characters over proven moneymakers.
- **Possible Outcomes After Man of Tomorrow** [15:51] — If Man of Tomorrow underperforms, the shared universe may be abandoned for standalone films or a hard reset focusing on the Trinity. Gunn may be demoted to directing only.

### Conclusion

The host believes the DCU is headed for another major shakeup after Man of Tomorrow, likely driven by Paramount's profit motives and the failure of Supergirl. A hard reset focusing on core characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman is the most probable outcome.

## Transcript

your host Paul, and after our last two videos about DC, I thought we'd drop in to look at the way things currently stand and why I think the hierarchy of the DC Universe is about to change again. Yay! Another change of leadership
coming soon. THE SKY IS FALLING. OKAY, SO THOUGH IT seems a bit doom and gloom, um I've been looking at things around Supergirl, the projects in the past, um the way things are with Warner Brothers and Paramount. As of yesterday,
terrible third weekend and it grossed just 3.4 million on its third weekend overseas. Shout out to Luis Fernando as well for putting together all these stats, but the guy absolutely kills it
always there with the facts and figures, so it just makes my job a lot, lot it lower than Madame Web's box office on the third weekend, which brought in $5 million. This also makes it the lowest
20 years. In total, the film is currently eyeing a $125 to $130 million global run, making it one of the biggest flops of all time. Just checking what Morbius grossed. $167.5
which was bad, but still better than this. Now, I personally believe that there's going to be a big change in leadership soon um because of what's happened with this, Superman not really over performing to the level that they
needed it to, Peacemaker season 2's number, and yeah, Creature Commandos wasn't really a big show. Paramount are also taking over the company, too. So, I change. Now, whenever I brought up the idea of reboot, I'm hit with a
counterpoint that this is just one movie and we're only two films in. So, one flop isn't bad, but let me say it again, one of the biggest bombs of all time. little bit of money. Like, this is going to cost the studio hundreds of millions
of dollars. Beyond that, it might cost them even more than that now because the going to lose money because of the effect that this will have on them for being bad. Shared universes are built upon momentum and connection and when
things are going well, it's like an unstoppable locomotive. That's how you go from Iron Man 1 getting $500 to getting 600 and then after Avengers, Iron Man 3 gets $1.2 billion. There was a time in the MCU where like
billion dollars and it was because they built up this momentum that just made of bounced off each other and built towards the next thing being something you had to go and see. However, we've seen with the MCU how when people feel
things are bad or the motion gets knocked and people don't consider things as stuff that they need to go and see. This has a knock-on effect when it comes to the projects down the line. It actually costs more when these movies
lose money because it affects your next couple of movies and you have to build even go so far to say that it hurts the genre as a whole because superhero fatigue is of course a big talking point at the moment and to have another
mediocre project just makes it seem like there's nothing in the genre that's doing anything new and worth seeking out. Audiences are craving new concepts and something different and that's why we're in a situation where obsession and
backrooms are completely all over a Star Wars and DC movie, which uh thinking about what's likely going to happen cuz I know movie studios and I
know Warner Brothers and they've got rid of people for less without even warning Cavill announced he was back as Superman. He showed up in Black Adam and put out a big post and then a couple of days later was announcing he was out.
Batgirl was all shot and ready to go post-production wise and then they canceled that entire movie. And it had Michael Keaton as Batman in it. Brendan Fraser as Firefly. They shot the whole thing and still got rid of it. In the
words of Rachel Zegler, it's Hollywood, baby and we've seen time and time again aren't there that Hollywood will pull the plug and tank absolutely everything in order to move in another direction. Now that Warner Brothers are seen as the
actually another studio out there that are even worse. That is none other than Sony, who I have to say make great TVs and headphones as well. Going to send me that? I'm more than down. However, when it comes to Spider-Man, we it's the
perfect example of how stuff would be rebooted and changed with no real warning or even reason for doing it. If you're as old as me, then you might remember that after Spider-Man 3, Sony announced they were moving forward with
Spider-Man 4. Tobey Maguire was involved, Sam Raimi was back, the Vulture was going to be there, and yeah, it was all going ahead. The Sam Raimi comic book movies of all time, and they were critically acclaimed and made lots
and lots of money. But Sony still the bed after a middling entry. That also wasn't critically panned and one of the worst bombs of all time. I'll say it Amazing Spider-Man universe and put out two movies in quick succession. Both
made money, but weren't these beloved things, and then yeah, we know they rebooted once more to tie with the MCU. So in the space of 9 years, we had three different Spider-Man and two movies that were announced that never went anywhere.
universe, and even though Venom's films crushed at the box office, like even during a pandemic, they still canceled the whole universe after things turned sour. And Morbius again made more money than Supergirl. So it can happen. Now,
let's look at Warner Brothers and what's on the horizon. James Gunn said during he doesn't know if he'll still be in charge after Man of Tomorrow. Now, I do more on his plate than Fiegie seems to. So far, DC Studios have released
directed, Peacemaker season 2, which he wrote and directed, Superman, which he he didn't write and direct, but he did end up being heavily involved with and writing some of it, and by the sounds of it, directing certain creative choices.
green-light the scripts and then blah, blah, blah. It's a big, big job. Doing Tomorrow is a lot, and it's going to be very difficult for him to keep up with for anyone, to be completely honest. There's a reason that there hasn't been
this kind of job in Hollywood before, and it's because it's very, very, very difficult. Like, this is very difficult. Now, kind of jumping back to the idea of momentum before, I think the projects that he's picked are actually sort of
the antithesis to how you build things and get a real motion going. Gunn has there's pretty much all the projects seem to have a level of niche to them. Bar of course Superman, but even stuff like Clayface coming as the third movie
something that's going to build up momentum. You go from Superman to Supergirl, which kind of makes sense, but then Clayface as number three is a weird choice. Out of the three films so far, you have one big character, and
then two are spin-off ones, with one being a Batman film for a Batman that we spin-offs as well, normally, is that you have to actually build the thing up that you're spinning off from, and get that in place first, and then then when
that's successful, then you can spin off. Otherwise, you're just making something about a side character that doesn't have a main character to anchor it. Now, this even got me thinking about what happens if Clayface is successful.
project, and he's gone on to work on his own things. But, like, if it comes out and it does really well, does he suddenly come back? Like, do we get a Clayface 2? I was thinking that they might even put a Clayface sequel in the
works before we've even seen a Batman film. Now, if you do that, then you also follow-your-destiny situation. And we're back to another one of the biggest bombs of all time. So, do you then bring him back as a villain for The Brave and the
Bold, and do we launch the DCU Batman with Clayface? I don't know, and I would else, cuz I don't know if Clayface is who what they're They're making a movie on the guy, so who knows at this point. But
happen, and this will be kind of a one-off that again speaks the idea of momentum. It doesn't really feel like there's a through-line on this universe, characters that are all kind of off in the world, but not connected in any
meaningful way, which is sort of what happened with the DCEU in the end in that we had like Shazam, Aquaman, Birds of Prey, Blue Beetle, all these projects of Prey, Blue Beetle, all these projects that Sure, they're in the same universe,
but don't necessarily feel like they coexist. I've said it once, and I've said it again, but due to how much of a mess the DC universe was, the first thing they should have done was make sensible choices. Supergirl was always
film in the universe because you hadn't even established your big names yet. Obviously, anyone coming into this looking at how to guarantee success and Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. I don't think that's a hot take, but there
is a reason that these three are known as the pillars of DC. Personally, I actually think they don't really have a plan, and this was shown by the fact the plan they announced hasn't really came to fruition. If we jump back to that
original James Gunn video, it didn't really seem like he was rebooting things >> Shazam has always been off kind of in his own part of the DCU, so he connects very well. That moves directly into The Flash, a fantastic movie that I really
love that resets the entire DC universe. And then to move into Blue Beetle, a fantastic film about a kid who's a marvelous part of the DCU, and then into Aquaman 2, which leads directly into our next few projects, which I'm going to
>> So, all of them was still part of the DCU as he stated. Peacemaker is still Suicide Squad, which had Harley Quinn in, which connected to the first Suicide Squad, which is connected to The Flash and Batfleck. So, I don't even know if
general audiences are aware that this is all a new thing, cuz it's not really. In the video, he also says Shazam's off in the corner, Blue Beetle's still in the DCU, Flash then kind of resets things, but keeps around Aquaman for Aquaman 2.
But now, Jason Momoa is also playing Lobo. Plus, the stuff they announced in the video doesn't really seem to be in production. Creature Commandos was be followed by Walla, and Gunn then said that the DCU truly begins with Superman.
But what you mean truly begins? Like, the first project is where it truly begins. But it just shows they still have these hangover projects, and they're all in the way before they can kick things off, um, and the old DC is
very much still influencing this. And it's not a full on reboot. He then goes works as well, which has been canceled, a Booster Gold TV show, Paradise Lost, All of which are still yet to
stuff that wasn't part of that, and they're kind of getting buried. So, the Jimmy Olsen and Mr. Terrific stuff is now taking center stage, but it's like, I don't know, it feels like what you get with Star Wars when they announce loads
of things, and they don't go anywhere. The video is is actually kind of like the equivalent of, um, Marvel announcing their slate on stage at Comic-Con, and them not making any of the projects. Now, to Marvel's credit, I think Blade,
um, Armor Wars, and a couple of others like Captain America: Serpent Society, all our announcements have eventually been made. Gunn also explicitly stated things if the script wasn't good, and though he denied this video as being
like, you're telling the world this stuff is getting made. So, I do think behind the scenes, confidence is being lost in the plan, cuz the plan ain't planning. And circling back around to Comic-Con, DC have said they aren't
doing it this year. This has been said to be because of the expense, which is definitely a factor, but I feel that they might be saving face. I actually think that everything is currently tied up with Man of Tomorrow and that if that
change of leadership. But, I do think that behind the scenes they've said, "Do anything into production until we're fully sure about where we're going with one of those things they have to do because they can't go there and announce
things because those things might not be made and people will lose further confidence. Personally, I think that's a bad idea this because after a bomb, you with something, and show that you guys mean business, and people need to have
faith in you. Instead, this is giving me feelings in the opposite direction where I feel like it's a big red flag to miss this event. Beyond that, Gunn has also said something that really stuck out to me. In an interview with The Hollywood
Paramount were embracing the direction they were going and how Allison himself had visited the set of Man of Tomorrow. However, when asked about what was some projects where the train had already left the station, meaning that
back and read the article, he talks about what's coming, it's like the train's left the station. Now, does that sound like the kind of thing you'd say if you were confident they were going to let you go ahead beyond that? Or is that
like, "Well, it's too late to stop those ones, mate, so even if we get canceled, out." So, yeah, that's just a phrase that really, really stuck out to me and with Paramount getting involved, I don't think anything is safe. You're talking
about people who are buying Warner Bros. and DC to utilize their properties to This is putting Paramount in a hell of a lot of debt, I think it's like over a hundred billion dollars, and they're
going to be wanting to make money because the interest on that alone be happy with the constant green-lighting of these niche characters, and the only reason that they're even buying this universe is
because they want things to go ahead. Now, I don't feel like they're going to announce that Man of Tomorrow is where things are going to change after because they're not stupid enough to do that and they have seen with the the original DC
announcement video how doing that kind of tanked those four films. But, there's nothing in the DCEU that really shows there's a massive and major interest in this universe and I think when they look at the profit and losses, how much these
they're green lighting, they're probably going to question things. They've only had one hit movie with Superman and even the success with that is slightly arguable. The box office was very similar to Man of Steel's from 13
years ago. It didn't have the after market that that did with um rentals, getting sold to TV networks, um Blu-ray sales, DVD sales, and when it gets released on 4K, that gets more money in. Um so, I do feel like though the numbers
haven't been put out in the public, using common sense, Man of Steel will have made more money. Peacemaker season 2 also didn't chart. Supergirl has bombed and Clayface, in my opinion, even if it's really good,
won't really move the needle in terms of building momentum towards a big shared universe. So, I think that the writing is kind of on the wall and people are going to have to really rein you in for the projects that you need to choose or
somewhere else and we're going to bring someone on board who is more aligned with our vision, which is making money." Whenever I talk about this stuff, um I'm always like, "Look, you guys are very attached to DC. I understand your
passion for it, but you have to view this as these being people who aren't universe." I doubt any of them have a big comic book collection. They probably heard of Batman. Um and personally, I think you have to view this like a
franchise that you don't care about. For example, I don't care about the Twilight guys. Put your tomatoes away. Put them away. But, if I bought Twilight and they and I was like, oh we're doing an Ed-
yeah we're doing that and go Bella movie. start bringing out all the niche characters that I'd never heard of. I'd characters that I'd never heard of. I'd just be like, can we can we do just the
main ones? Can we actually just remake and just re- redo everything? These choices because that's what makes the most money. I even think that if Man of Tomorrow underperforms or only breaks even, they'll probably abandon the Shed
Universe thing and have a reset or maybe just do standalone films for a while, things the way they are. I think Safran's track record is really getting to the point as well where the hit to flop ratio is going to be in the latter
brought on for another term since the majority of his films under DC have underperformed as well. You'll see this a ton during corporate shakeups where a company comes in and completely changes everything. Hell, even David Zaslav
repercussions. Like at the time, you might remember they they were even talking to Todd Phillips about taking over the DC Universe. The Rock also the end they settled on James Gunn. They also have lots of people that are really
wanting to do this job and get involved and I think with Paramount in charge, probably going to take a good hard look know if we can do another full-on reboot. I would probably put things on
ice for a while, maybe do some standalone films like with The Batman wait till the dust has settled and then do a hard reset where it's like, right, of a trilogy. That's going to be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and then
for the Justice League. The Batman universe actually seems far more on the slate at the moment and I just think the stuff I've laid out here, the fact we have a corporate merger, the comments by Gunn and everything else
means that we probably are going to be seeing a massive change of leadership after Man of Tomorrow. Gunn may even be put back on directing projects as well because that's where he excels at. I'm not really sure him choosing what things
to go ahead is the best idea because he doesn't really want to do something that ultimately who you have to make things for if you want to make money. Now, I've going to be getting Batman movies forever, but I don't really think that's
the case if they're smart about how they do things. But, they can't really rush come out straight away with their big hitters to draw people in with names characters that they haven't really heard of and they're not necessarily
going to be rushing to go see, especially when it's like, "Mate, you wait a month and it's out on streaming." So, yeah, just my two pennies on it and also, you know, if you like these industry videos I do, make sure you
comment below. I feel I'm going really hard on DC at the moment, but that's now. But, I just kind of wanted to touch upon this on the third week, some of the stuff that's being said and the news that DC aren't going to be at Comic-Con
videos, they needed to be there because yeah, this is like I don't know, this is lot of companies. So, yeah, please drop a like on the video or drop a dislike if at Heavy Spoilers if you want to keep up to date with what we're doing. Did you
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enjoy the rest of your week. Sam Neill is dead, so I feel like it there's a bummer over the whole thing like, how can I get happy now? But, yeah, thank you for watching this and take care of yourself. Peace.