James Gunn has dropped a major cliue to his plans for the DC Universe. The DCU has been subect to a staggering number of course corrections over the years, mostly driven by changes at an executive level. The latest shift has seen writer-director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran placed in charge of DC Studios, and they're currently in the early stages of implementing their vision for the shared universe.The last few days have seen a stream of conflicting and contradictory reports on the franchise's future direction. Gunn gave a direct response to the latest reports, taking to social media to say as much as he could at this stage. According to Gunn, some of the latest claims are true, some are half-true, some are outright false, and still others have yet to be decided upon. Decisions are clearly still at an early stage, explaining Gunn's reluctance to go into detail. Audiences will have to wait a little bit longer for anything concrete.
James Gunn's Comments Hint At His New DCU Approach
Gunn's remarks included an intriguing clue to the approach he's taking with the DCU. "We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way," he observed. "But we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY & in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives." James Gunn's vision for the DCU is clearly a labor of love, driven by the desire to fulfil the franchise's potential at last. But it's interesting to note his specific word-choice here; he refers to a single definitive story ahead of even the characters. Gunn is a tremendously skilled writer first and foremost, and it really does sound as though his story is already taking shape.
Such an approach would be a marked improvement over past decision-making at Warner Bros. It's important to note it may well mean some films and characters are put on a back-burner, simply because they don't fit well in the current story. Such decisions may be counterintuitive or even seem self-defeating to viewers, who aren't aware of the overarching narrative and so initially focus on what is not being done rather than on what is. But it hopefully means the future of DC's movies will become clearer with each release. Making this even more exciting, Gunn has continually referred to plans that incorporate films, TV, and even animation - suggesting he has a transmedia vision beyond even the rival MCU.
James Gunn's DCU Can Become What The MCU Is Supposed To Be
Oddly enough, this could actually means the DCU becomes what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is supposed to be. Marvel Studios has enjoyed a reputation for its long-term planning, but in truth the studio is a lot more flexible and adaptive than most viewers realize. Its president Kevin Feige is a producer, not a writer, and the story is in a state of flux; Avengers: Endgame director Joe Russo recently admitted as much, hinting that the MCU masterplan as a myth. James Gunn's DCU, in contrast, has the potential to be story-driven - meaning there really will be a consistent narrative throughline.
This, naturally, raises the question of just what that throughline will be. It seems likely Gunn has the basic structure already worked out, but he's trying to get all the different pieces in place - to figure out the characters that are needed, the projects that can be tweaked to fit into it, and the films that need to be set aside for later development. This will be a difficult endeavor, one that will test even a writer of Gunn's caliber, and there will still need to be a degree of flexibility built into the plan if something doesn't perform - or, indeed, performs better than expected. Audiences will still need to wait a little longer while the DCU takes shape, but Gunn's comments are certainly promising.
