Don’t worry, James Gunn’s DCU won’t touch your precious Joker
Stand-alone DC films and TV shows will remain a part of DC Studios as James Gunn sorts out his cinematic universe
Thanksgiving might be over, but James Gunn has a full plate. First, the one-time pariah of the MCU jumped to DC, fixed that place, and returned to Disney as the only one brave enough to direct a Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special. And now, after turning Suicide Squad into the centerpiece of the DC’s cinematic universe, Gunn sits at the head of the table with his co-chairman and co-CEO Peter Safran. As one head of the hydra that is DC Studios, Gunn plans on finally cleaning the place up by building a DCU that makes sense.
But what of the things that were already working? The stand-alone movies and series that were graciously kept separate from the Snyder Verse? Will Black Adam head to Gotham to join Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga for a little tap dancing in Folie A Deux? Will we get a little Billy Batson to appear under the blood-red sky of The Batman’s Gotham? Will the DCU ever get its own Batman that sticks around for adventures?
In a word, “yes,” at least according to James Gunn, the guy who’s planning all this stuff. On Twitter, when asked, “Will there still be some stand-alone animation or live-action shows that take place in separate worlds (like Harley Quinn)?” Gunn answered, “Yes, some.” Unfortunately, due to the recent the hierarchy of power change in the DCU, it’s impossible to tell what’s in or out these days. But Gunn plans on making this a little bit easier to understand by finally allowing these properties to interact in a satisfying way.
“The DCU will be connected across film and TV (and animation),” Gunn said, describing what we assumed the DCU would include. But Gunn also promised video games, so fans can also expect homework for their consoles.
Gunn also pointed out that they do not have control over comic books, which they still make, apparently. So if Daniel Clowes wants to draw Batman, he better ask someone other than James Gunn because Gunn’s jurisdiction ends at the printed page. “As everyone knows, I’m a huge comic book fan,” Gunn tweeted. “I hope everything we do will lead to more people reading DC Comics (& vice versa). But Peter and I are not in charge of the comics — just all filmed DC entertainment.”
But the most important revelation from Gunn’s brief Q&A was that fans really want to see a Booster Gold anything. “Interestingly, Booster was the MOST requested character when I asked people on Mastodon what character they’d most like to see on screen,” Gunn wrote. “I’m not creating stories by public vote, but I found it fascinating nevertheless.”
Fascinating, indeed. Well, lesson learned. This will likely be the last time anyone from a major studio solicits opinions on Mastodon.
[via Variety]