James Gunn almost directed a Krypto the Superdog movie. The director of the hit Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is currently working in the DCEU directing The Suicide Squad alongside a mini-series spin-off Peacemaker. It almost turned out very differently as he almost picked an unexpected superhero property from the pages of DC Comics.

Krypto was introduced in the pages of DC Comics in Adventure Comics #210 in March of 1955. The character was part of Otto Binder's legendary contributions to the Superman mythos during the Silver Age of Comics, including Supergirl, the Legion of Superheroes, and the villainous Brainiac. Originally intended to be a one-off character, Krypto became popular with fans, and the character would appear in later comics even as recent as DC Rebirth. The character has been featured in numerous adaptations, including an episode on Smallville, the series Titans, and his own animated series Krypto the Superdog, which ran on Cartoon Network from 2005 to 2006.

Related: Krypto The Superdog's Comic Origins & Powers Explained

James Gunn confirmed on Twitter that Krypto the Superdog was one of the DC properties he was interested in when Warner Bros. first approached him. He eventually settled on The Suicide Squad and confirmed he has no plans to direct a Krypto movie due to a full schedule between The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn didn't give any story details on what he would have done with Krypto or if it would be connected to Man of Steel.

Gunn considering Krypto falls in line with his affinity for off-beat and strange animal characters with Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy and King Shark in The Suicide Squad. Gunn even has Cosmo the Spacedog appear in a cameo role in Guardians of the Galaxy. From a business perspective, it also makes sense for Warner Bros. Animal movies have always been popular, with the Air Bud franchise spawning two theatrical films and twelve direct-to-video sequels. Special effects have been able to render animals to photorealistic effects that 2016's The Jungle Book won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and 2019 The Lion King was the second highest-grossing film of the year worldwide. Krypto is even getting an animated movie in DC Super-Pets, where he will appear alongside Ace the Bathound.

That Warner Bros. is considering making a Krypto movie speaks to a larger topic of how the studio and DC Entertainment see Superman. While they know the character is valuable, they struggled with how to handle the franchise for years. Simultaneously, Man of Steel was a box-office success even though the movie did underperform to the studio's expectations. Its direct follow-up Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was panned by critics and divided fans. Since then, the studio switched gears to a Supergirl movie, which now may become more a possibility given the recent casting of Sasha Calle as Supergirl in The Flash. J.J Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates are currently working on a reboot of Superman that will see a new take on the character. With a new focus on a multiverse, there is a chance a Krypto the Superdog movie could still happen somewhere down the road and be connected to one of these projects or stand on its own.

Next: Who's The Best Superhero Dog: Krypto The Superdog Or Ace The Bat-Hound?

Source: James Gunn/Twitter