HBO CEO Confirms No New DC Shows Are Currently in Development

Building a shared television universe necessitates a consistent flow of new projects to maintain momentum, a strategy that Marvel has successfully executed with its relentless Disney+ rollout in recent years. In contrast, DC’s approach at HBO has been markedly different, progressing at a much more measured pace since James Gunn and Peter Safran took the reins of the franchise.

This pacing issue was directly addressed in a recent interview with HBO’s CEO, who candidly discussed the current state of DC content development on the platform. Unfortunately for fans eager for a swift expansion of the DC Universe, the news was not what they had hoped for.

HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed to Deadline that there are no new DCU projects in active development at the network right now. “No, not right now, 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,” Bloys noted, highlighting the one DC project currently in production.

The Gorilla Grodd project, officially titled ‘The People v. Gorilla Grodd,’ takes a unique approach for the franchise. This eight-episode HBO Max series is being crafted as an in-universe true-crime documentary, developed by Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creators behind Netflix’s cult favorite ‘American Vandal.’

The show centers on Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen, portrayed by Skyler Gisondo, who reprises his role from James Gunn’s ‘Superman.’ The narrative revisits the notorious murder trial of Gorilla Grodd, a hyper-intelligent ape found guilty of killing his father, King Grodd, in an attempt to take control of Gorilla City. Jimmy Tatro lends his voice to Grodd, marking the character’s first significant live-action appearance since his time on The CW’s Arrowverse shows.

In discussing their vision for the project, showrunners Yacenda and Perrault expressed their enthusiasm for the challenge of crafting a series that “feels less like an entry into the DCU and more like an artifact from it,” positioning the show as a Daily Planet original documentary intended specifically for the fictional citizens of Metropolis, rather than a typical superhero narrative.

Bloys’ remarks align with his previous statements regarding HBO’s strategy for greenlighting DC content. In an earlier interview with Variety, he clarified that DC projects are assessed on an individual basis rather than being drawn from a predetermined master plan. Decisions are based on the quality and creative interest of a script, rather than merely filling a scheduling void.

This philosophy has led to a noticeably different pace compared to Marvel’s Disney+ strategy, where new series are released in a nearly continuous stream. HBO’s current DC television lineup includes the forthcoming ‘Lanterns’ series featuring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre, alongside ‘Clayface,’ while other previously discussed projects, such as a Mr. Terrific series, have progressed more slowly through development.

With Bloys explicitly stating that no additional DCU shows are currently in development beyond the Gorilla Grodd project, fans anticipating a rapid growth of DC’s television presence may need to recalibrate their expectations regarding the speed of new announcements. Whether this deliberate, script-first approach will ultimately yield stronger individual shows remains to be seen, but for now, HBO’s DC slate remains notably sparse.

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