DC Studios co-head James Gunn has shared some new details regarding the new DC Universe. Gunn is now spearheading all of DC alongside producer Peter Safran. Gunn, known best as the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, is currently making the rounds to promote Creature Commandos. During the press tour, he explained how the new DCU will be different from Marvel. In his mind, it’s going to be more like Star Wars.
Gunn’s new Max animated series is technically the beginning of the new DCU. That said, Creature Commandos picks up where Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker left off, in many ways. In a chat on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn explained that DC won’t be building up to one big bad like the Marvel Cinematic Universe did with Thanos. Instead, it’s more of a sprawling universe with many different pockets.
“These are interconnected stories. People are always asking me, ‘Who’s the big bad?’ Are there big bads for connected films? Yes. But is this all about, ‘Hey, I’m telling this one story about this big bad?’ No. This is about a connected universe. We’re worldbuilding, we’re not storybuilding. We’re not writing one story that has a beginning, middle, and end. We’re creating a universe in which people can go join into this universe and experience it. It’s much more like Star Wars than Marvel in that respect.”
In the Star Wars galaxy, everything exists in the same sandbox. Yet, something like Rogue One can exist on its own terms, far removed from something like Solo: A Star Wars Story. Gunn and Safran, to that end, have an ambitious, varied slate for the new DC Universe. Gods and Monsters is the first phase. It will kick off, in earnest, with Gunn’s new Superman next year. Other movies include Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Swamp Thing and The Brave and the Bold, among others.
“DC has been disconnected in film and television for a long time,” Gunn explained when the initial DC Universe slate was announced last year. “One of our jobs, mine and Peter’s, is to come in and to make sure the DCU is connected in film, television, gaming and animation. That the characters are consistent, played by the same actors and it works within one story. And if something is outside of that, like Matt Reeves’ Batman, or Todd Phillips’ Joker, or Teen Titans Go!, that it is clearly labeled as DC Elseworlds, outside of the mainstream DCU continuity.”
Reeves is currently working on The Batman Part II, which begins filming next year. That can still exist as an Elseworlds tale. Meanwhile, Gunn will also cast a new Batman for the main DCU. That version of Batman will appear in The Brave and the Bold. Andy Muschietti (The Flash) is directing the film.
Superman hits theaters on July 11, 2025.
What do you think? Are you excited for Superman? What new DCU project are you looking forward to most? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
