DC fans have taken wild guesses at the identity of the mystery director James Gunn may be working with in a still-undisclosed DCU project. As the DCU begins to take shape under the direction of James Gunn and Peter Safran, plans for upcoming DC movies and shows continue to unfold. Speculation about who will help Gunn and Safran build the franchise behind the camera remains high.
So far, only part of the DCU's official movie and TV slate has been confirmed. However, rumors about developing projects continue to proliferate. According to film journalist Jeff Sneider (via Above The Line), James Gunn and Peter Safran are working on a DCU movie with a director who's known for being leisurely with his projects.
"(...) they do, in fact, have one director working on a big project, though it hasn’t been announced yet and isn’t listed above, as it’ll come a little bit later, as this (male) director apparently likes to take his time when it comes to development."
Once Jeff Sneider's article was posted on Reddit, DC fans began to speculate. Some candidates brought forth by fans are unlikely, but technically fit the description. These include Richard Linklater, known for directing Boyhood over an 11-year period, as well as Werner Herzog, known for his troubled but brilliant independent productions. Other potential directors are more realistic options. For instance, Mad Max director George Miller helming a Justice League film is possible after his scrapped Justice League Mortal, and Guillermo del Toro's Justice League Dark project could get a second chance after remaining unmade in J.J. Abrams' hands for a long time.
Who Could Be James Gunn's Mystery DCU Director?
The list of Hollywood directors who take their time in development include Brad Bird, who directed The Incredibles 2 fourteen years after The Incredibles, and who's yet to bring his knowledge of the superhero genre to live-action. There's also Steven Spielberg, who has expressed his interest in adapting Blackhawks for DC — and if Spielberg's meeting with Christopher Nolan, DCU's Peter Safran, and WB president David Zaslav is anything to go by, his DCU future could be promising. And lastly there's Peter Jackson, who put all his focus on the back-to-back Lord of The Rings movies, and whose Adventures of Tintin sequel hasn't received a solid update in over 11 years.
There are other directors who fit Jeff Sneider's description, but whose view of the superhero genre makes a DCU collaboration more unlikely. For instance, Fight Club director David Fincher has previously stated that he isn't interested in adapting preexisting characters. Similarly, Edgar Wright originally developed Ant-Man as a passion project, but departed when Marvel Studios gave Ant-Man a more interconnected role in the MCU. Avatar franchise director James Cameron is the epitome of an artist who takes his time in development, but it's precisely his commitment to the Avatar movies that keeps him from working on any other production.
Therefore, the three most likely candidates are Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, and George Miller, all of whom have had an interest in working on DC projects before. Perhaps the DCU movie in question could be an updated version of Del Toro's Justice League Dark, a completely revamped Justice League movie from George Miller, or Steven Spielberg's Blackhawks. Only time will tell if fan predictions like these are remotely accurate.
Source: Jeff Sneider/Above The Line
