James Gunn’s DCU could set up SALVATION RUN as a major crossover event

The first major crossover film in James Gunn AND Pietro SafranThe DC Universe of may have just been revealed, and it may be Race to salvation.

According to a new report from Knight Edge Media, DC Studios recently registered a copyright trademark for Salvation Run. While this still doesn’t confirm anything, it lines up a little too well with where things were left at the end Peacemaker Season 2, suggesting that this could be the first major unifying event for the DCU.

The new DCU timeline began in December 2024 with the animated series Commando of creaturesfollowed by Gunn’s Superman in July. Then came the second season of The Fools Peacemakerwhich wrapped on HBO Max earlier this month.

That ending included a major cliffhanger when Giovanni CenaChristopher Smith aka Peacemaker has been kidnapped and dumped on a mysterious planet called Salvation. That’s a world Franco GrilloRick Flag Sr. intends to use it as a prison for metahumans.

If it sounds familiar, that’s because Race to salvation was also the title of a seven-issue DC Comics miniseries written by Bill Willingham AND Lilah Sturgeswith art of Sean Chen, Walden Wong, Joe BennettAND Belardino Brabo. In the comic, some of DC’s deadliest villains are exiled to the hostile planet Cygnus 4019 and forced to fend for themselves.

If Race to salvation ends up being the next big DCU crossover film or simply an inspiration for future projects, it’s clear that Gunn and Safran are creating a connected narrative thread that’s already paying off. The branding could simply mean that DC Studios is securing the title, or it could signal something much bigger in motion.

The report also noted this Race to salvation it could be related to the Bane/Deathstroke movie currently in development. Regardless, the story’s themes of survival and villain alliances fit perfectly with the darker, more down-to-earth tone Gunn has constructed.

More clarity on the long-term direction of the DCU should arrive in 2026 Lanterns on HBO, Craig Gillespie’S Supergirl movies and James Watkins’ Clay face movie. For now, DC fans can only speculate, but that appears to be the case Race to salvation could be the next major step in Gunn’s evolving cinematic universe.

If that’s the case, the first true DCU crossover could be something wickedly wild with a cosmic prison world full of villains struggling to survive, led by some of the most dangerous characters on the DC roster.