Whether he and his Apokoliptan forces are clashing with the New Gods of New Genesis, or he’s giving Superman and the other Justice Leaguers trouble, Darkseid has been cemented as one of DC Comics’ greatest villains for a long time. However, unlike what Zack Snyder had planned for his Justice League saga in the DCEU, DC Studios co-head James Gunn said last October that Darkseid will not be the “big bad” of the succeeding DCU. It’s not all bad news, though, as a new update from Gunn makes it sound like this cosmic threat may still have a future in the relatively new franchise.
In June 2025, DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation greenlit the upcoming DC TV show Mister Miracle, but it was unclear at the time if it would take place within the DCU or be set in a different continuity, like fellow forthcoming animated series Starfire and My Adventures with Green Lantern (a spinoff of My Adventures with Superman). Today, Gunn confirmed Mister Miracle will indeed be DCU canon in an Instagram post celebrating the character’s 55th anniversary. The skilled escape artist, also known as Scott Free, was created by Jack Kirby in 1971 and debuted in the first issue of his own comic book series.
For those who missed the original Mister Miracle announcement, the adult animated series is adapting the 12-issue comic book series of the same name that was written by Tom King and illustrated by Mitch Gerads. Considering that Darkseid appeared in that series, it’s probably a safe bet to say he’ll appear in the TV show as well. Even if we ignored the specific source material that’s being worked with, in the main DC continuity, Highfather, Scott Free’s father, traded him to Darkseid in exchange for Darkseid’s second-born son, Orion. Meaning, it’d be weird to make a Mister Miracle TV show without Darkseid being involved.
But it bears repeating, don’t go thinking this means that Mister Miracle is laying the groundwork for Darkseid to eventually start terrorizing the wider DCU. If I had to guess, he’ll likely be contained to just New Gods-focused stories in this franchise, assuming they get more coverage beyond Mister Miracle. I’d be ok with that, but at the same time would also hope there’d be an opportunity to depict the DCU’s Darkseid in live-action.
Back when the DCEU was still going, there were plans for Ava DuVernay to make a New Gods movie featuring Darkseid, Mister Miracle, Scott’s wife Big Barda, Highfather and Granny Goodness, among others. However, this project was scrapped due to Darkseid’s presence in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, although it ultimately became moot once it was decided at the end of 2022 to end the DCEU. Now there’s a new opportunity to explore the New Gods within a major franchise, albeit in an animated setting instead of live action, for now.
There’s no timetable yet on when Mister Miracle will be released, nor do we know yet if it will be another HBO Max-exclusive show or air somewhere else. What is known is that the next DCU show, HBO’s Lanterns, is expected to premiere on the 2026 TV schedule sometime this summer.
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