It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the very first movie in James Gunn’s revamped DC Universe!
Now that Superman has hit theaters, James Gunn’s DC Universe is fully underway… Or is it? While Gunn has now released a movie, a TV show (Peacemaker), and an animated series (Creature Commandos) under his stewardship, there’s still a missing piece of the DC Universe puzzle: video games.
Gunn told fans back in 2022 that his master plan for an interconnected DC Universe includes video games. But unlike on the movies and TV side of things, there have been no official announcements regarding what the first DC Universe video game will be.
An absence of reveals doesn’t mean we don’t have a reasonably clear picture of what to expect, though. Across multiple interviews and press events, Gunn and co-studio head Peter Safran have explained their plans, including the fact that while they don’t technically oversee Warner Bros.’ gaming division, there’s now a much deeper collaboration between WB Games and DC Studios that could dramatically alter the way future DC video games are made. With that in mind, let’s analyze what the future of games will look like in the new DCU era.
Gunn Takes Over DC
The first time we learned that video games factored into Gunn’s DC plans was shortly after he and producer Peter Safran were announced as co-heads of DC Studios on October 25, 2022. While answering fan questions on X, Gunn responded to one user who asked if games would be connected to the DCU alongside films and TV. To this, he simply replied, “Yes.
It wouldn’t be until a few months later that Gunn revealed what movies and shows were in development as part of Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, which is the DCU’s equivalent of the MCU’s Phase 1. And while video games were conspicuously missing from the Chapter 1 roadmap, Gunn told members of the press, “Television, movies, and games all intertwine within the same universe. We’re going to cast actors who are going to be able to play the characters in [animation and TV], as well as in other things.” This was the first clear indication from Gunn that video games were indeed a part of his plans for the DCU.
One important thing to know is that Gunn’s job as head of DC Studios doesn’t include control over any of Warner Bros’ video game studios, which include developers like Avalanche Software (Hogwarts Legacy), NetherRealm Studios (Mortal Kombat), Rocksteady Studios (Batman Arkham), and TT Games (Lego).
Under the current Warner Bros. Discovery corporate structure, Warner Bros. Games exists separately from DC Studios and is overseen by Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO of global streaming and gaming, JB Perrette. But after Gunn and Safran were named DC co-heads in 2022, Perrette appears to be deferring to the new DC bosses when it comes to matters of comic book video games.
The Walls Break Down Between WB Games and DC Studios
In an interview with Variety in 2024, Perrette revealed, “Frankly, there hasn’t been as close a relationship between the studio and the games business as there should have been. And James [Gunn] is actually a gamer, so having someone who’s passionate about it is super helpful.” Perrette added that the games departments are now “actively working with [Gunn and Safran] on the core franchises within the DC Universe.”
Based on this interview, it appears there was once a wall that divided WB’s gaming division from the movie and TV studios. And according to Perrette, it was only after Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios that a newfound sense of collaboration was achieved.
This dividing wall was confirmed a year later during a DC Studios Presentation held on February 24, 2025. During the event, James Gunn and Peter Safran confirmed Perrette’s statements regarding the separation between the two WB divisions and how that relationship has changed since they took over.
“We work incredibly closely with JB Perrette, who runs that division, and it’s really the first time ever it’s been this way at Warner Bros,” Safran confirmed. “It’s been great, and we’ve enjoyed it enormously. Everything had been so siloed, and now that’s completely broken down, and it’s been great. Because it also applies to consumer products and experiences, and everything that DC touches runs up through us now, which is awesome.”
“James [Gunn] and I sit with literally the guys that run the studios underneath JB,” Safran added. “Whether it’s NetherRealm or whether it’s Rocksteady, [we] sit with them and talk about characters and stories that we’re interested in and that they’re interested in.”
It’s funny that Safran mentions Rocksteady, as it was reported earlier this year that the studio is developing a new single-player Batman game. While it may be too soon to tell, at least according to Gunn and Safran, there will likely be some input from their side of things at DC Studios.
“We see designs for the projects in their very earliest stages,” Gunn said at the event. “When they’re talking about what the story might be, we say, ‘Well, maybe you want to go this way because we’re planning on maybe doing something with this character and so forth and so on,’ and help deal with that.”
Does this mean Gunn will be fully in charge of the next Rocksteady Batman game? Not quite. Gunn confirmed that “not all” games will be connected to the DCU’s overarching story when another fan on X shared their concern about losing standalone experiences like Rocksteady’s Arkham series. So, depending on where Rocksteady wants to take its next single-player Batman game, there’s a chance it could be incorporated into the DCU, or treated as a separate universe like Matt Reeves’ The Batman movies.
Furthermore, Perrette said in the aforementioned Variety interview that WB’s game studios will still be making projects based on what’s best for the studios and gamers, saying, “We’re not going to launch a Superman game purely because we feel obligated. We have to do something that makes sense for the gaming strategy and for fans and for the consumer.”
How James Gunn’s DCU Is Already Shaping Games
Even if DC’s full gaming plans remain a mystery, we’re already seeing Gunn’s unified vision for DC play out in several games right now.
“Our characters can move in and out of animation or jump into a game or onto the big screen, but they will remain consistent throughout: same character, same history, same actor,” Gunn said during the press tour for Creature Commandos last year — a couple months after Peacemaker was added to Mortal Kombat 1 as a DLC character on February 28, 2024.
Just as Gunn said, NetherRealm enlisted John Cena to reprise his TV and movie role as Peacemaker in Mortal Kombat 1. Not only is his likeness and design identical to the version of the character that appears in the HBO series and The Suicide Squad movie, but even his Victory Pose in Mortal Kombat 1 is a direct reference to Peacemaker’s glam rock-themed opening credits.
Similarly, this month’s Superman-themed content for Fortnite features skins for Superman, Mr. Terrific, and The Engineer, which are all based on the likenesses of their movie counterparts. So, rather than a comic-book version of these characters, you’re playing as David Corenswet’s Superman, Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific, and Maria Gabriela de Faria’s Engineer. Like Peacemaker, it seems that any appearance by a DCU character in a video game will be identical to their movie and TV counterpart, just as Gunn promised (with the exception of those standalone projects Gunn also promised, of course.)
“Since taking the reins, our true north has been to bring DC film, TV, animation, and gaming into alignment under a single banner and bring a sense of unity and consistency into the DCU as a whole,” Gunn said ahead of the premiere of Creature Commandos. “This frees us to create a range of products that are diverse and compelling, and deliver great stand-alone entertainment experiences on every medium, while also being part of a larger story that we’re telling within our unified DCU.”
It’s been a rough couple of years for DC games under Warner Bros.. Between the closing of Monolith Software and the cancellation of a Wonder Woman video game, to Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s lackluster release, the future of DC video games appeared to be in major flux. Warner Bros. even considered selling off its gaming business entirely.
And while WB Games’ fortunes have changed with the massive success of games like Hogwarts Legacy, there’s still no official word yet on the future of DC video games. But it’s clear based on statements from Gunn, Safran, and Perrette that Warner Bros. Games and DC Studios are collaborating deeply when it comes to any upcoming video game starring DC’s caped heroes. Although the basic expectation is that if a character from DC’s movies and shows appears in a game, it will feature the same actor, the full plans for DC video games, especially from developers like Rocksteady, remain to be seen.
Be sure to check out our full list of upcoming DC movies and TV shows, as well as our Superman review for our full DC coverage.
Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor.
