Along with the public announcement of the DCU’s first chapter (titled Gods and Monsters) and the various projects that form part of it, James Gunn also spoke to some publications in a private press event, and it was here where he openly detailed the problems he had with the prior DCEU.
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Gunn, the acclaimed director best known for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies, was hired to helm the newly launched DC Studios back in November 2022. His plan is to reset the current DC franchise and create a new universe, which he’s calling the DCU, with all new versions of the famous DC superheroes. As relayed byScreen Rant, Gunn told publications that, moving forward, he wanted DC media to feel consistent and unified, for it to all be part of “one real universe, one real world,” and he was candid in stating that DC media over the past decade was anythingbutthat.
“We all know it’s been a f**ed up road for many of [these characters],” he stated. “The history has been sht.” Gunn said that there was “no one minding the mint,” and that “they were giving out IP to any creative that smiled at whoever was in charge.” The crux of his criticism seemed to be the lack ofoneunified vision that brought all the different projects together. He believes that those in charge of the DC universe as a whole were never given “any real power,” so, therefore, those working on individual projects “could always go over their head and do whatever they wanted.”
Gunn went on to detail all the different twists and turns that the prior ‘DCEU’ took. “We had the DCEU,” he started, “which then became the Joss Whedon Justice League, but it also became the Snyderverse, which became this. And then we have Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 2, which doesn’t even match what happened in Wonder Woman 1.” He even calls out his own Suicide Squad project, as well as TV’s Arrowverse, to make a note of how dispersed DC projects have been.
This is most likely why Gunn wanted to start fresh with new characters in a new universe, as this would better allow him to set up a cohesive universe from scratch, instead of having to forcefully patch together multiple separate storylines. “I wanted to take care of these characters.” said Gunn, “…I think it’s a possibility to create something really wonderful with [them].” Gunn outlinesnumerousTV shows and movies in the video above, but among the most eye-catching are the Superman movie, theBatman & Robin movie, and the Green Lantern HBO show.
