Not just Batman and Superman: James Gunn reveals the plan for DCU
Kyiv • UNN
James Gunn explained the combination of standalone stories and a shared DC saga. The next Superman film will be released on July 9, 2027.
James Gunn once again defended his DC universe on Threads, and this time clarified his previously proposed eight-to-ten-year plan for developing the fictional world, more clearly outlining each character’s place in it. UNN reports this, citing Variety.
Details
"You can look at my quotes from January 2023, when we began working, and I said that we would do exactly what we are doing now," the head of DC Studios wrote in response to a since-deleted post.
"I said that some stories would stand alone, like the Guardians films (Clayface is exactly that), while some would be part of a larger narrative structure, which is the Superman saga. At the same time, every part of the larger story must work on its own, regardless of whether you need to watch everything else," Gunn noted.
In his second post, he continued: "There is also some conflation of different things happening here. The originally proposed ‘8-10 year roadmap’ included not only storylines (although that was part of it), but also a plan for DC’s development as a whole, including a focus on diamond characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman), as well as lesser-known characters whom we could turn into diamonds (Krypto, John Stewart, Peacemaker), how we would foster filmmakers’ freedom and allow for different tones and ratings, the influence of ‘Star Wars’ and George R. R. Martin, and much more."
Gunn’s reference to the ‘8-10 year roadmap’ concerns a virtual Warner Bros. Discovery meeting in 2022 involving him and his co-chair, Peter Safran, where he said that they had developed an 8-10-year plan for DC’s development. In his third post, he added: "It’s exciting to see everything STARTING to come together, and all of this makes me even more interested in what we have in store for everyone in the film ‘Man of Tomorrow’."
On Saturday, Gunn took to social media to defend his decision to expand the DC universe through ‘standalone stories’ amid criticism of his films for not leading to a major crossover.
Responding to a commenter who noted that Gunn did not necessarily have to lay the foundation for one fully interconnected universe, he wrote: "I completely agree. The DC Universe is just an alternative universe; we can enter it at any place or time and tell that story. I don’t like the idea that individual stories have no meaning if they don’t lead to something else. I’m surprised people don’t understand this, because ‘Star Wars’ has essentially been doing this for 50 years in films, series, games, and books—albeit without a diversity of tone," he wrote.
Gunn’s next film, ‘Superman: Man of Tomorrow,’ will be released in theaters on July 9, 2027.