‘Man of Tomorrow’ Director James Gunn Reacts to a Fan-Made DCU Chronological Timeline, and His Verdict Is Encouraging

The DC Universe has been growing quickly under James Gunn and Peter Safran. Since Gunn’s ‘Superman’ arrived in 2025, DC Studios has added ‘Supergirl’, ‘Clayface’ and HBO’s ‘Lanterns’, alongside earlier projects that carried over into the new universe.

With so many movies and shows now in play, fans have started trying to work out exactly how everything fits together chronologically. DC Studios hasn’t released an official timeline, so the job has largely fallen to fans.

One fan decided to go straight to the source. The account comicbookcollide shared its version of the DCU timeline on Threads and asked Gunn, calling him a favorite director, to weigh in. Gunn responded about an hour later. He admitted that timelines make him anxious but said he thought this one was pretty good, as ComingSoon reported.

He didn’t flag any mistakes or offer any corrections. For fans, that was about as close to an endorsement as they could hope for. The fan’s timeline begins with ‘Lanterns’ episodes 1 to 5, set in 2016. It then places ‘Clayface’ in 2021, ‘The Suicide Squad’ around May 2022, and ‘Peacemaker’ Season 1 in October 2022.

From there, it lists ‘Blue Beetle’ in 2023 and ‘Creature Commandos’ Season 1 in 2024. ‘Superman’ lands in May 2025, followed by ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 in June 2025. The timeline then puts ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Lanterns’ episodes 6 to 8 in 2026. ‘Man of Tomorrow’ closes things out in 2027, while ‘Creature Commandos’ Season 2 and ‘The People vs. Gorilla Grodd’ are listed as TBD.

The most interesting detail is the split placement of ‘Lanterns’. The structure matches comments from showrunner Chris Mundy, who told EW that the series takes place across 2 eras about a decade apart.

According to Mundy, the 2016 storyline shows John Stewart serving as the backup Lantern in case anything happens to Hal Jordan, a dynamic he described as the old guard and the heir apparent. He has kept the 2026 storyline more mysterious, calling it a second mystery waiting down the road.

No evil shall escape their sight. Watch the official trailer now. #Lanterns arrives August 16 on @hbomax. https://t.co/PQdkto9G2R

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 24, 2026

Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, while Aaron Pierre stars as John Stewart. Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner is also set to appear several times. The timeline also places ‘Clayface’ well before ‘Superman’. That fits Gunn’s approach of letting some DCU projects stand on their own.

Directed by James Watkins, ‘Clayface’ stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising movie star whose experimental treatment turns his body into living clay. The film opened in October and has shown strong staying power at the box office.

Gunn has compared the DCU to ‘Star Wars’, saying audiences can jump into the story at different points. That philosophy could explain why he hasn’t shared an official chronology.

Still, his reply suggests the fan’s version is close to how the studio sees things. ‘Superman’ also connects directly to ‘Man of Tomorrow’, making that film a key part of the DCU’s next chapter. For now, fans who want to watch the DCU in order have a timeline that seems to have Gunn’s informal stamp of approval.

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