This article contains SPOILERS for Superman.

has arrived in theaters and is the beginning of a new era for DC. While the DCU received a soft launch with the release of Creature Commandos in December 2024, which also incorporated previous DCEU titles such as The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, Superman has always been positioned as the true starting point of this new shared universe. Dropping the audience into a world filled with "Gods and Monsters," Superman acts both as an effective Superman movie, but, in the broader sense, a DC Universe movie with roles for characters like Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, Metamorpho, and a Green Lantern.

Superman works as a standalone movie, but it also does a great job setting up the future of the franchise. Instead of opting for the MCU method of teasing future films in the post-credit scenes, Superman takes a different approach. The post-credit scenes of Superman are more codas, fun little bits of comedic or emotional payoff that are little bonus scenes. Yet within the film, they drop some key details that both work within the context of Superman but also imply larger stories on the horizon. Here is how Superman sets the stage for the future of the DCU.

, which is set to be released in theaters a little less than a year from Superman's release on June 26, 2026. At the end of the movie, Superman is healing in the Fortress of Solitude when his cousin, Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), crashes in drunk to pick up Krypto, revealing that Clark has been dog sitting for her while she was away partying on other planets. Supergirl leaves with Krypto, seeming off into her solo film.

Supergirl will be the second film in the DCU and will be directed by Craig Gillespie, known for Fright Night and Cruella. The film will draw heavily from Tom King and Bilquis Evely's series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which was the original title for the film. The film, like the comic, is very much True Grit in space, where a young alien girl hires a drunken and broken Supergirl to hunt down the man who killed her father. Supergirl will feature Lobo (Jason Momoa) and likely other alien figures from the DC Universe.

Krypto is a key part of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how the film adapts his role in the comic. Additionally, it will be curious to see if the film expands on Superman's shocking revelation about the Kryptonians sending him to conquer the planet. It is a big game changer to the Kryptonian mythology, and given Kara Zor-El grew up on Krypton before its destruction, likely has a different relationship with her culture than Clark Kent.

In the film's climax, Lex Luthor reveals that Ultraman is a clone of Superman, albeit an imperfect clone. Lex describes him as "dumb," and the character appears to be unable to speak; instead, he follows every order Lex gives him. .

The Bizarro connection gets more interesting during the film's climax, as Superman throws Ultraman in front of a bus that sends him into a black hole in another dimension. Earlier in the film, that same black hole was the one where the anti-proton river in Lex Luthor's pocket dimension flowed into, and they took the shapes of cubes. In the comics, Bizarro's home, known as Bizarro World, is in the shape of cubes. With Ultraman being thrown into the same interdimensional black hole that the cube-shaped anti-protons went, it is possible this is all setting up the DCU's version of Bizzaro World, those anti-proton blocks being the foundation for this new world, and Ultraman to return in the future as Bizzaro with a limited and reversed vocabulary.

, who was introduced in The Adventures of Superman #500 following the "Death of Superman" storyline. Superboy is a clone of Superman, but one not as powerful since he has half-human DNA. The half-human DNA part of him comes from none other than Lex Luthor. With Lex proving he can clone Superman already, he might try again, but use his own DNA to patch up some incomplete elements, leading to the creation of Superboy. Teen Titans is currently in development, and Superboy could be a vital member of the team.

In one of the best surprises of Superman, . Peacemaker Season 2 is set to air on HBO Max on Aug. 21, 2025, and Gunn has said the series builds directly off the events of Superman. The trailer for Peacemaker has already established that the title character will interview for recruitment into The Justice Gang by Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), Hawkgirl (Isabella Merced), and Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion).

Superman features a small supporting role for Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., making his live-action debut after voicing the character in Creature Commandos, and who is set to return in Peacemaker Season 2. Superman ends with the ominous look of Flag Sr. grappling with a world where metahumans now seem to run the show, likely a storyline that will bleed into Peacemaker Season 2. Not only does Flag Sr. have a vendetta against Peacemaker for killing his son in The Suicide Squad, but now he might be looking to flex his control over various other metahumans.

A subtle recurring theme in the background of Superman is the growing influence of billionaires and tech moguls in the world of the DCU. Lex Luthor is the film's main antagonist, manipulating a conflict between two nations solely to kill Superman. He has also created a privatized military force and developed two metahumans, Ultraman and The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), whom he is looking to lease to the United States government.

Meanwhile, the Justice Gang is backed by billionaire Maxwell Lord, whose Lord Technology logo can be seen on Lois Lane's tape recorder. Lord's cameo at the end of Superman suggests he himself does not have a high opinion of Lex Luthor, and the two are likely rivals in both business and personal settings.

Following Superman receiving the terrible news about his parents' message, he and the Justice Gang take up residence in the office building of Stagg Industries. Stagg Industries is run by billionaire Simon Stagg, who in the comics is responsible for the creation of Metamorpho. While Metamorpho's backstory is not delved into during the film, the fact that Stagg Industries, Metamorpho, and Stagg's daughter/Metamorpho's wife, Saphhire Stagg, are present seems to suggest the hero's origins are tied to this company.

. The Engineer, who is last seen alive but unconscious, later joins the superhero team The Authority, which is still slated to receive a feature film in the DCU. However, the movie has faced some development issues. The Engineer could take the remnants of Lex's Planet Watch and turn them into The Authority. Meanwhile, the Justice Gang, a superhero team backed by a billionaire, has some dark implications for the DCU's future, and one that might explain how the Justice League forms as an independent entity, free from outside control or interference.

One billionaire who is not mentioned or referenced is Bruce Wayne / Batman and his company, Wayne Enterprise. The DCU has already established that Batman exists within the DCU, as seen in Creature Commandos.. Perhaps some details about Wayne Enterprises will be featured in Clayface, the solo movie based on the Batman villain, which is set to hit theaters on September 11, 2026.

Superman introduces a new superhero team to the DCU, The Justice Gang (though they have not officially settled on that name yet). Backed by Maxwell Lord, the team consists of Guy Gardner / Green Lantern, Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl, and, by the end of the movie, Metamorpho. , including the team setting up shop in the still-under-construction Hall of Justice, the base of the Justice League that originated from the Superfriends animated series.

James Gunn has hinted that they are building up to the Justice League, as both a DCU Batman and Wonder Woman film are in development, which, alongside Superman, are the three leaders needed for the team. The upcoming HBO Max series Lanterns will introduce two more Green Lanterns, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler). Hal Jordan is a founding member of the Justice League in the comics, while John Stewart is likely the most famous to general audiences, given his role in the popular animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. That animated series notably featured a romance between John Stewart and Hawkgirl, something James Gunn might be building to with his new DCU.

The Hall of Justice features a giant mural, one that James Gunn said honors the history of metahumans and superheroes in the DCU. While no official shot of the mural exists yet, some notable characters that appear on the wall include the Silent Knight, the Black Pirate, the Wildcat, and the original Flash, Jay Garrick. Silent Knight and Black Pirate are teases at the long-storied history of the DCU, but Wildcat and Jay Garrick are interesting as both characters have had other heroes take on their mantles.

The original Wildcat Ted Grant was followed by Yolanda Mortez, and then Ted's long-lost son, Thomas "Tom" Bronson, a werecat metahuman. Many have followed Jay Garrick's legacy as the Flash, including Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen, meaning James Gunn has his pick to choose from when he decides to bring the Scarlet Speedster back into the DCU. With so many metahumans already existing in the DCU, and more on the way, the Justice League roster will have plenty to choose from.