From São Paulo to Seoul: The DCU’s plan to make local heroes global icons

The DCU has always felt like a carefully guarded playground of American myth, but lately it hums with a different energy. Under James Gunn’s new watch, the DCU reportedly slips out of Gotham’s long shadows and past Metropolis’s endless grind. It breathes in the neon haze of Seoul, feels the electric pulse of São Paulo, wanders through alleys lined with murals, and moves to beats no one in the Hall of Justice could ever imagine.

Heroes might rise from local soil, carrying rhythms and accents that shape each punch, each rooftop sprint, and each quiet moment at sunrise. Neighborhood protectors could grow into global icons without losing the raw edges that make them human.

From São Paulo’s wild color riots to Seoul’s restless spirit, the DCU sketches a possible new map of courage, one that curves and pulses far beyond any skyline we thought we knew.

A new blueprint beyond Gotham

Speculation indicates that James Gunn’s plan for the DCU entails a daring structural transformation. Rather than linking every narrative to Gotham’s back streets or Metropolis’s skyline, fresh initiatives could anchor themselves in cities such as Seoul, Tokyo, and São Paulo.

Reports suggest narratives emerging in local languages, driven by regional actors and directors who are intimately familiar with those neighborhoods. These potential future chapters resemble sowing seeds in various cultural grounds, anticipating what type of hero will emerge beneath each sky.

Picture a Korean vigilante navigating through glowing arcades and late-night food vendors, or a Brazilian metahuman springing from roof to roof during a lively street celebration, vanishing into showers of confetti and materializing amidst the city’s illumination.

Industry murmurs indicate these champions harbor inquiries about identity, familial pride, societal turmoil, and regional legends that weave through the shadows of the night. Each figure shapes a personal dialect of justice, a set of improvisations and scars, spiritual debts inherited from places no American skyline can echo.

This rumored blueprint positions the DCU as a network of temples scattered across the world, each humming with local ghosts, street sounds, and midnight confessions. It promises stories that move differently, breathe differently, and taste like the night air of cities we’ve only half-dreamed about. Not everything is a rumor, though.

"We think that there are heroes all over this world that we can focus on and filmmakers that can tell their stories within the DCU. We already got things started with Korea, Japan, and Brazil." - James Gunn

Huntress in Korea

Among the most intriguing whispers is the possible Huntress series set in Seoul. Rumors place Pom Klementieff at the center of this vision, stepping into the role of Helena Bertinelli reimagined as half-Korean and half-Italian, moving through neon-soaked streets and cramped rooftops above late-night food stalls.

This Huntress carries layers beyond a standard vigilante mask. Her story might merge the weight of family secrets with Seoul’s restless cityscape, blending personal revenge with questions of cultural identity. A character shaped by two worlds, navigating alleys lit by LED signs and echoing with old shamanic chants drifting from hidden temples.

Industry talk hints that this possible series could become a blueprint for how the DCU approaches other local narratives. Huntress emerging in Seoul signals a creative hunger for spaces where legacy, language, and myth shift the shape of heroism. A rooftop run under Korea’s moonlight becomes more than an action beat; it pulses with the quiet weight of ancestors and unspoken debts.

Brazilian hero rising

Rumors circle around the DCU possibly planting new seeds in Brazil, especially in São Paulo. Industry whispers describe a future hero emerging from the city’s chaotic pulse, shaped by graffiti murals, samba rhythms, and the layered histories woven into every corner.

A Brazilian metahuman might move through crowded night markets like a phantom, blending into dance lines, dissolving into bursts of confetti, reappearing on rooftops painted with street poetry. Sources suggest that this hero could draw power not from alien planets or billionaire tech but from street legends, neighborhood folklore, and the spiritual lines connecting land and people. That would be extremely welcome and so culturally rich.

In this imagined future, São Paulo transforms into a living stage where resilience grows like ivy over concrete. A hero born from this soil speaks in local slang, holds grudges, forgives, and fights in ways no other DCU figure could echo. The city’s heat and music become armor, the community’s struggles turn into fuel.

A Brazilian storyline opens paths for new emotional stakes, new types of loyalty, and a raw sense of belonging. A narrative like this promises a DCU chapter that sweats, laughs, and bleeds with the same intensity that rushes through São Paulo’s veins every night.

The cameo as quiet recruitment

Industry whispers suggest that the DCU might explore cameo appearances as silent invitations, testing the pulse of audiences before pulling new heroes into the spotlight. A mysterious figure in a crowded alley, a fleeting shadow crossing a rooftop, a brief but electric moment in a larger series, these glimpses could feel like hidden seeds waiting to bloom.

Shows like Peacemaker reportedly serve as a proving ground for these experiments. A sudden guest appearance might spark curiosity, start fan theories, and ripple across social media without loud marketing campaigns. These quiet tests create spaces where a character can breathe before stepping fully into the frame, sensing the world’s reaction in real time.

Using guest appearances to test new characters isn’t unusual. Many shows have launched spin-offs through so-called backdoor pilots, introducing future leads inside established storylines. Yet this approach feels different when woven into something as layered and interconnected as the DCU. Instead of simply teasing a new series, these cameos start to shape an entire ecosystem, planting early roots for characters who might one day stand shoulder to shoulder with the biggest icons on screen.

This method shapes the DCU into something closer to a living city map than a rigid blueprint. Heroes don’t arrive with grand announcements but slip into scenes like rumors drifting through crowded streets. Each cameo becomes a possible door, each unexpected appearance a heartbeat echoing into future storylines.

Toward a multiverse of cultures for the DCU

If these rumors hold, the DCU will begin to look less like a single fortress and more like a mosaic of neighborhoods, each humming with its own ghosts, street chants, and secret rhythms. Heroes might carry dialects as sharp as their weapons, hometown loyalties stronger than any cosmic alliance, and scars shaped by local myths rather than distant planets.

“I would love to see an Indian actor, but I would also love to have Indian filmmaking collaborators. We, at DC Studios, think that there are heroes all over this world that we could focus on and filmmakers from all over this world that can tell their stories within the DCU.” - James Gunn

This imagined future feels closer to a multiverse stitched from real sidewalks and night buses than from abstract cosmic realms. New heroes can grow roots deep into the soil they protect, drawing strength from street murals, late-night markets, and whispered family stories. Each city offers its own vocabulary of courage, each corner a new way to move and fight.

Gunn’s words deepen the commitment to global storytelling, reaching beyond South Korea and Brazil into Japan and India. His vision signals an invitation to creative communities everywhere, suggesting that local perspectives might find a new stage inside the DCU’s expanding universe.

A DCU like this transforms, listens, and learns, allowing heroes to belong somewhere before they belong everywhere. From São Paulo to Seoul, these possible futures carry an electric promise: a universe that breathes in many languages and pulses with many hearts.