James Gunn Confirms MISTER MIRACLE Animated Series Is Officially DCU Canon
James Gunn has confirmed that Mister Miracle, the upcoming animated series inspired by the acclaimed comic from Tom King and Mitch Gerads, is officially set within the DCU.
DC Studios has been steadily laying the groundwork for its interconnected franchise under Gunn and Peter Safran, with projects spanning film, live action television, and animation.
While some animated shows are being positioned as standalone Elseworlds stories, Mister Miracle isn’t one of them. This series is canon, and that confirmation carries some massive implications for the cosmic side of the DCU.
Scott Free, also known as Mister Miracle, first appeared in Mister Miracle #1 back in 1971, created by Jack Kirby. He’s a legendary escape artist and the adopted son of Darkseid, raised in the hellscape of Apokolips before fleeing to New Genesis.
When the animated series was first announced, it came with artwork of Scott alongside his wife, Big Barda, and news that King would serve as showrunner. What it didn’t come with was clarity on whether the story would tie into the DCU or live on its own.
Gunn recently took to Instagram to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the character’s debut and used the moment to confirm the show’s status. In his caption, he wrote:
"The world's greatest escape artist made his debut on this day 55 years ago in 1971! Happy anniversary to Mister Miracle, who debuted in MISTER MIRACLE #1, written by Jack Kirby, with pencils by Jack Kirby and inks by Vince Colletta. Soon [to] be seen in our DCU animated show, based on the 12-issue comic book series from [Tom King] and [Mitch Gerads]."
That confirmation means the New Gods are officially part of the DCU. Apokolips exists. New Genesis exists. And yes, Darkseid exists too. Still, that doesn’t mean the iconic villain is being positioned as the saga’s ultimate threat.
Gunn explained previously why Darkseid isn’t currently being set up as the franchise’s main antagonist:
"To give you probably more of an answer than you expected, using Darkseid as the big bad right now is not necessarily the thing for a lot of reasons. Because Zack [Snyder] did it so cool in his way. And because [of] Thanos and Marvel."
The series is expected to closely follow the emotional and psychological weight of King and Gerads’ comic. When Mister Miracle was first revealed, an official description was shared, and it reads:
"The new series follows Scott Free, the world's greatest escape artist, known to the world as Mister Miracle, whose perfect life with his warrior wife Big Barda falls apart when their two home worlds — Apocalypse and New Genesis — go to war and Scott's cruel adoptive father Darkseid appears to have captured the ultimate weapon, the Anti-Life Equation, that will give him total dominance over the universe.
As the mountains of bodies on both sides grow ever higher, only Mister Miracle can stop the slaughter and restore peace. But the terrible power of the Anti-Life Equation may already be at work in his own mind, warping his reality, exposing his long-buried pain, and shattering the fragile happiness he's found with the woman he loves."
That description hints at something far more intense than a standard superhero cartoon. Development also appears to be moving along nicely. Earlier this month, King revealed that casting for Mister Miracle is currently underway.
There’s still no release date, but with casting in progress and its DCU status now confirmed, the series feels closer than ever to becoming a major piece of DC Studios’ animated slate.