Warner Bros. Boss Backs James Gunn’s DCU After Supergirl Flop

Supergirl may have fallen well short of expectations at the box office, but Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is making it clear that the studio remains confident in the future of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe.

During Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest earnings call, Zaslav was asked about the state of DC following the disappointing theatrical performance of Supergirl. Rather than signaling a change in direction, the Warner Bros. Discovery boss pointed toward the unpredictable nature of the entertainment industry and the projects DC Studios already has in development.

“Media is by nature a business full of hits and misses,” Zaslav said.

The comments come after Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, struggled to find a sizable audience in theaters. The film opened to approximately $37 million domestically and ultimately finished its theatrical run with around $125 million worldwide against a reported $170 million production budget.

Milly Alcock Supergirl [Warner bros.]

Those numbers make Supergirl a significant financial disappointment for Warner Bros. and an early setback for Gunn and Safran’s rebooted DC Universe. However, Zaslav does not appear ready to judge the future of the franchise based on the performance of a single film.

“We have a robust pipeline,” Zaslav said while discussing what is coming from DC Studios.

One of the biggest projects in that pipeline is Man of Tomorrow, Gunn’s follow up to 2025’s Superman. Zaslav revealed that Gunn is currently focused on the upcoming film and said he has already seen material from the production.

“James is now focused on Man of Tomorrow,” Zaslav said, adding that he recently saw images from the film and that it “looks fantastic.”

Man of Tomorrow will bring David Corenswet back as Superman alongside Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Gunn has previously teased an unusual dynamic between the longtime enemies, revealing that Superman and Lex will be forced to work together, at least to some degree, against a larger threat.

The film is quickly becoming one of the most important projects in the early years of the new DCU. Gunn’s Superman successfully launched the theatrical side of the franchise in 2025, while Supergirl demonstrated just how difficult it can be to turn lesser established DC characters into major theatrical draws.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the DCU itself is in trouble. One unsuccessful movie rarely determines the fate of an entire cinematic universe, particularly this early in its lifespan. But Supergirl does put additional pressure on upcoming projects to prove that audiences are interested in exploring the wider DC roster beyond characters like Superman and Batman.

Superman Man of tomorrow [Warner bros.]

Warner Bros. also has more opportunities to build that audience. DC Studios has several projects moving forward across film and television, including Lanterns, Clayface and eventually The Batman Part II under the separate DC Elseworlds banner.

For now, Warner Bros. appears committed to staying the course.

Rather than reacting to Supergirl by immediately restructuring its DC plans, Zaslav’s comments suggest the studio understands that building a new cinematic universe will inevitably come with successes and failures. The real question will be whether Gunn and Safran can turn those individual projects into a franchise audiences consistently want to follow.

Man of Tomorrow could provide that answer sooner rather than later.

The film is currently scheduled to hit theaters on July 9, 2027.