DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has revealed DC is developing a unique opening for Elseworlds projects like The Batman to differentiate them from DCU projects such as Superman.
Gunn was asked on Threads why animated series Harley Quinn or The Batman spin-off The Penguin don’t have the DC Studios branding like DCU opener Creature Commandos did.
“Because Harley Quinn was developed long before us, we didn’t think it was fair to put the DC Studio fanfare on there,” Gunn said. “On Penguin, which we had a small hand in developing, we have a different DC Studios animation at the end.”
He then confirmed there would be a clearer differentiator in the future to further make clear what belongs to the shared DCU and what doesn’t. “We’re currently working on the DC Studios Elseworlds opening,” Gunn said.
Elseworlds isn’t a shared universe in itself but basically means everything that isn’t in the DCU, such as The Batman film which spawned its own cinematic universe. This, alongside The Penguin and upcoming full sequel The Batman 2, is part of The Batman Epic Crime Saga, but falls under Elseworlds since this isn’t canon to the DCU.
There’s little to the DCU at this point, of course, with Creature Commandos the only currently released entry. Superman will kick things off proper when it arrives on July 11, 2025, however, and following this comes a new season of Peacemaker, a Lanterns series, and the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
