James Gunn’s No-brainer Decision With DCU is Something Marvel Never Had the Privilege to do Except in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Homecoming
- James Gunn’s DCU will likely skip origin stories for iconic characters like Superman and Batman, as their backgrounds are widely known.
- Marvel could afford to do that only with Spider-Man, as it was perhaps the only MCU character whose origin was as popular as Batman and Superman.
- Gunn emphasizes telling authentic stories regardless of box-office outcomes and plans to explore various ratings.
After facing years of setbacks and uncertainty, DC fans are again hoping to see their beloved heroes on screen as James Gunn and Peter Safran took on the leading positions of DC Studios. However, there was a time when DC was on the way to competing with its own universe against Marvel’s multiverse. But now, the studio will start with a brand new DC Universe.
Marvel has built its cinematic universe and established a multiverse after many movies and TV shows over the years. Although the earlier DCEU had a similar plan, it looks like Gunn is willing to begin the new DCU in a different way.
James Gunn’s Plans for Origin Stories in DCU
The DCU is about to begin with Creature Commandos, which will premiere on December 5, 2024, on Max. After that, the universe will expand with the much anticipated Superman, directed by James Gunn.
Although Zack Snyder went with an origin story with Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel, it looks like Gunn is going with a different approach with David Corenswet‘s Superman. In a recent interaction with fans on Threads, Gunn was asked why he is not willing to show origin stories, to which the director replied,
I’m not telling Batman and Superman’s origin stories again because everyone knows them.
To support Gunn’s statement, it can’t be denied that almost every superhero audience is aware of the origin stories of big characters like Superman and Batman, and almost every earlier film adaptation has already done it. So, it might not fire back if DCU doesn’t present the origin stories of its most popular characters once again.
On the other hand, MCU was built on characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, etc., and it won’t be wrong to say that none of their origin stories held the same level of global popularity as Superman and Batman. Other MCU characters like Captain Marvel, Ant-Man and Black Panther don’t come near the fame level of the iconic DC heroes.
Moreover, there were no popular movies on them before MCU. The few on-screen adaptations they had were made decades ago, which people barely remembered, which made it necessary for the studio to show their origin stories in their first MCU appearances.
However, Spider-Man is probably the only Marvel character that comes close to the fame of Superman and Batman since its comic days. And with the very successful original Tobey Maguire trilogy, the studio didn’t feel the necessity to do an origin story with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
James Gunn’s Idealistic Creative Approach for DCU
It is well known among the fans that studios often decide to continue a movie or a franchise only if the original show or movie gives them profits. However, it looks like Gunn is willing to take risks with his new approach for DCU. In a recent interview with Collider, he said,
I am a great believer that if we tell good, authentic stories, if a movie does well or doesn’t do as well, if you keep with that same philosophy, that you’re going to build a universe that people are going to love and want to be a part of for a long time.
Moreover, studios often try to tone down superhero movies to make them more family-friendly, as it has been a constant criticism of Disney over the years. But Gunn seems to disagree with this approach, as he said,
It’s not about testing out to see if this thing works. It’s just about telling a story. If a story is going to be R-rated, we’re totally okay with that. If it’s going to be PG, PG-13, or G, I don’t care — whatever is worthy of the story, that’s what we’re going to do.
James Gunn has also referenced the popularity of Deadpool & Wolverine and teased more R-rated projects in DCU. The director has experience with R-rated DC projects like The Suicide Squad already, and his comments will definitely spark some excitement in DC fans who have been waiting for some time now.
Superman will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is available to stream on Disney+.
