Imploding DC Studios is keeping these three hero actors for now

The struggling DC Studios has experienced plenty of recent shakeups.

“Batgirl” was unceremoniously shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last year, and actor Henry Cavill was fired from the role of Superman shortly after. At the box office, DC has delivered flop after flop.

Now, as the DC Extended Universe is about to be rebooted by new studio co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran, Gunn has confirmed at least three actors from the old regime will stay on for the slate of new films.

“Xolo Maridueña will continue playing Blue Beetle in the DCU, as Viola Davis will Amanda Waller, and John Cena will Peacemaker,” Gunn said on Threads in response to a user’s question about “Blue Beetle.” 

That trio joins David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan as Superman and Lois Lane, respectively, who will star in “Superman: Legacy,” in theaters July 11, 2025.

But the performers Gunn didn’t mention are just as notable.

It’s still unclear if Ezra Miller will return as “The Flash” following the movie’s poor box office performance and the actor’s erratic behavior and legal woes. 

Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman, also didn’t get a shoutout. The actors said in an interview with Total Film, “I absolutely think Aquaman will be involved in the DCU.”

But that is likely dependent on the success of “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” out Dec. 20. No future Aquaman projects have been announced.

“Wonder Woman” actress Gal Gadot told Flaunt magazine this year that Gunn and Safran told her, “We’re going to develop ‘Wonder Woman 3’ with you.” But insider sources told Variety that is not true and that a third “Wonder Woman” is not in development. 

Meanwhile, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson tweeted that his Black Adam character, whose title film was a huge bomb, “will not be in their first chapter of storytelling” of the new DCEU. But that does not necessarily exclude Johnson from future entries.

And Gunn also didn’t name Zachary Levi, whose “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” was crushed by critics. Levi told The Hollywood Reporter, “I hope it’s not my last.”