A new social media cover photo by DC Studios head James Gunn has sparked speculation about the DC Universe adapting the Kingdom Come storyline. It's a new era for Warner Bros. Discovery when it comes to the DCU. Following several years of ups and downs, the company recently launched DC Studios, which is being led by Gunn and Peter Safran. While Gunn handles the creative side of DC Studios, Safran will be in charge of the business aspects, taking the DCU in a new direction.
Even though the two DC Studios bosses have yet to disclose fully what their plans are for the DCU, Gunn has left a hint as to what may be in store for the future. With Hive emerging as a new popular social media app, Gunn launched his official profile. But for his cover photo, Gunn used a Kingdom Come wallpaper, pulling from the iconic DC Comics storyline by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. The image has now sparked speculation that the DCU, under DC Studios, will perhaps adapt the infamous storyline in the films.
How Kingdom Come Could Work In Live-Action
While Kingdom Come didn't take place in the main DC Comics universe, it is regarded as one of the most popular Elseworlds storylines that have ever existed under the imprint. The essence of Kingdom Come follows an alternative version of the DC Universe, taking place in the future where heroism has shifted, with new superheroes lacking a moral compass. This forced the Justice League to come back together again to take down the new generation. With Kingdom Come not only being an alternative DCU story, but one that takes place in a completely different time period, there are multiple ways the films could tackle that storyline, especially involving the Justice League.
One approach is to literally do an Elseworlds-type movie for Kingdom Come, which could either use the actors from the DCU or cast a whole new Justice League that explores a grim future. However, if they would want to tackle it in the main DCU continuity, the best thing to do would be to build up Kingdom Come, which is a storyline that could be in a similar epic to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. If DC Studios wouldn't want to explore Kingdom Come as a movie, they could also adapt the infamous Waid/Ross arc as a TV show that could explore the plot for several seasons, especially if given HBO or HBO Max as a platform.
Kingdom Come has already gained some momentum in live-action when Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths re-introduced Brandon Routh's Superman, donning the infamous suit from the graphic novel. The 5-part crossover also saw the late Kevin Conroy come into the franchise playing a Bruce Wayne from Earth-99, who was seen wearing the exoskeleton suit that Batman wore in Kingdom Come. With this being one of the most beloved DC storylines that have remained popular since 1996, it would be massive to see it done in live-action, especially where storytelling is today. Hopefully, as DC Studios continues to go forward, Gunn's tease will lead to a potential DCU adaptation of Kingdom Come down the line.
Source: James Gunn
