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Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers.
Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor's degree in journalism.
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A new announcement from James Gunn has revealed a new hero and confirmed that Zack Snyder's DCEU is officially done. The "Snyderverse," also known as the DCEU, officially ended when James Gunn took over as the co-CEO of DC and began the new DCU. By the time 2025's Superman was released, the DCU was well-established as a separate franchise from the DCEU. However, fans of the Snyderverse were holding out hope that it could return in some form.
As with all comic book adaptations, there's always room for non-canon stories that take place in alternate realities. Fans of the Snyderverse may have hoped that characters from the DCEU could return in an Elseworlds story that's separate from Gunn's DCU. A new announcement, however, officially confirms that James Gunn has no plans on continuing the Snyderverse in any way, and that he's replacing elements of the DCEU in upcoming projects.
Mister Miracle Is Bringing Apokolips To The DCU
James Gunn took to social media to confirm that Mister Miracle is coming to the DCU via an upcoming animated series. The show will be an adaptation of Tom King and Mitch Gerads' 12-issue run for the character. Along with Gunn's announcement, DC also released an official description of the Mister Miracle show (via DC), which outlines his relationship with Big Barda and a conflict with Darkseid.
No prison can hold him. No trap can contain him. He is Scott Free, the worldwide celebrity sensation known as Mister Miracle, and he is the greatest escape artist who ever lived. But can he pull off the ultimate trick – and escape death itself?
Something has gone horribly wrong with the perfect life that Scott and his warrior wife Big Barda have built for themselves on Earth. With war raging between their home worlds of Apocalypse and New Genesis, Scott’s cruel adoptive father, Darkseid, seems to have finally captured the Anti-Life Equation – the ultimate weapon that will give Darkseid total dominance over the universe.
As the mountains of bodies on both sides grow ever higher, only Mister Miracle can stop the slaughter and restore peace. But the terrible power of the Anti-Life Equation may already be at work in his own mind, warping his reality, exposing his long-buried pain, and shattering the fragile happiness he’s found with the woman he loves.
And so, begins the odyssey of Scott Free, Mister Miracle: a harrowing, hilarious, heart wrenching journey across the pitfalls of the ordinary and extraordinary as the son of God raised by the devil tries to save his family, his world, and maybe even himself.
The official synopsis of the Mister Miracle animated show also confirms that the series will bring both Darkseid and Apokolips to James Gunn's DCU. Even Darkseid's long-coveted Anti-Life Equation will play a big role in Mister Miracle. That news seems to confirm that James Gunn has no plans to continue the Synderverse, even as an Elseworlds spinoff story.
The New Gods Were A Major Part Of The Snyderverse
Apokolips, Darkseid, and the New Gods were major parts of Zack Snyder's DCEU. The entirety of Zack Snyder's Justice League pitted the Justice League against Steppenwolf, a disgraced lieutenant of Darkseid. Clearly, Snyder was preparing to make the New Gods the main overarching antagonists of the DCEU. Darkseid, Apokolips, and the New Gods were absolutely essential to the Snyderverse.
Now, James Gunn's DCU is doing its own take on the New Gods instead of leaving that for an Elseworlds version of the Snyderverse. If there were any plans to continue the DCEU in a non-canon capacity, Gunn probably would have chosen to focus on a different DC antagonist. Now that Mister Miracle is bringing Darkseid and the New Gods into a mainline DCU project, however, there's little chance that the Snyderverse would continue.
Continuing the Snyderverse would necessarily mean focusing on the New Gods in some capacity. Too much of Zack Snyder's Justice League focused on them to just disregard them entirely. With Mister Miracle, however, the New Gods are already coming to the main DCU, and there's likely a desire to not overwhelm or confuse audiences with both canon and non-canon versions of the same villains.
Should Darkseid Be The Big Bad Of James Gunn's DCU?
The news of the New Gods and Apokolips coming to the DCU via Mister Miracle brings up two valid questions: will Darkseid be the franchise's main villain, and should he be? At present, Darkseid is one of the only characters set to appear in upcoming DCU movies and shows who could pose a franchise-wide threat to the Justice League. Mister Miracle's story and its focus on both Darkseid and the Anti-Life Equation also makes it seem like Gunn is heading towards that decision.
|
Movie |
Continuity |
|
Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios (Clash Of Empires) |
Stand-Alone / Elseworlds |
|
Supergirl |
DCU |
|
Clayface |
DCU |
|
The Batman Part II |
The Batman Epic Crime Saga / Elseworlds |
|
Dynamic Duo |
TBC |
|
The Authority |
DCU |
|
The Brave and the Bold |
DCU |
|
Teen Titans |
DCU |
|
Bane & Deathstroke |
TBC |
|
Swamp Thing |
DCU |
|
Constantine 2 |
Sequel / Elseworlds |
There are, however, plenty of other villains in the DC universe to choose from aside from Darkseid. Everyone from the Anti-Monitor to Perpetua could pose a big enough threat to act as the DCU's "big bad." Plus, we've seen Darkseid plenty of times before, notably in the animated Justice League Unlimited and briefly in the DCEU's Justice League. If there's anyone who can give the DCU a more fresh and unique villain rooted in comic history, it's James Gunn.
Created by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Movie(s) Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold
Character(s) Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam
English (US) ·