A new piece of fan art imagines what the DC Universe's Justice League might look like with younger actors taking the reins following James Gunn and Peter Safran's franchise shakeup. The DC Universe is currently in flux as the franchise attempts to chart a new future after Gunn and Safran were named as co-CEOs of the recently rebranded DC Studios late last year. While DC still has four big-screen adventures slated to arrive in theaters later this year, each of this year's releases are remnants of decisions made by the franchise's previous leadership. It is widely expected that Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom will serve as the final entries in the former DCEU before Gunn and Safran's new vision for the franchise takes hold.
Now a new fan art collaboration between four different digital artists (spdrmnkyxxiii, subi.ozil, clements.ink, and savagecomics) imagines what the Justice League might look like with a set of fresh new faces assuming the roles of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and the Flash moving forward.
Taking their cue from Gunn's previous comments about looking to cast a younger version of Superman, this new proposed Justice League consists of much younger versions of the Man of Steel and Batman than those previously brought to the screen by Zack Snyder. The assembled team consists of MacGyver's Lucas Till as The Flash, Sierra Burgess Is a Loser's Wolfgang Novogratz as Superman, Euphoria's Jacob Elordi as Batman, and Top Gun: Maverick's Miles Teller as Green Lantern.
Will The Justice League Already Exist in James Gunn's New DC Universe?
With the former DCEU having already assembled its Justice League under Ben Affleck's Batman, many DC fans are eager to know whether Gunn and Safran will show their version of DC's superhero team forming again for the first time. While Gunn has already intimated that the younger Superman film he is working on will not be another origin story, it is not entirely clear whether he intends to follow the same approach for other key characters in the League or the team itself. Gunn has suggested that his Superman will already know of the existence of other heroes, so it is possible that the new DCU may start with an iteration of the Justice League already firmly in place.
With 2017's Justice League (and 2021's Zack Snyder's Justice League) already providing fans with a look at the team's origins, it would seem redundant to retread the same ground so soon. Even with a completely different version of the Justice League in place, it would make sense to presume audiences do not require yet another explanation of how the team first came to be. Instead, having the Hall of Justice established in Gunn and Safran's universe will allow the studio to jump straight into new interconnected stories without forcing fans to revisit familiar ground.
What The New Justice League Can Learn From Black Adam
Of course, if Gunn and Safran decide to take this approach, it would not be without precedent. Last year's Black Adam adopted a similar tactic regarding their inclusion of DC's other big team, the Justice Society of America. Rather than overwhelm audiences with the details surrounding the JSA's origins, the team led by Aldis Hodge's Hawkman was presented as an already established presence in the film's world, and fans were guided into it via some fresh recruits to the team. When Gunn and Safran finally bring their version of the DCU's new Justice League to the screen, it would not be too difficult to imagine replicating the same method. However it happens, only time will tell if the next Justice League lineup will strike a chord with fans and deliver Gunn and Safran's DCU the sort of box office success its beloved characters deserve.
Source: spdrmnkyxxiii/Instagram
