James Gunn, the new Grand Vizier of DC Studios (a role he shares with Peter Safran) officially began beating the war drums of his upcoming slate this week. The creator of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise at Marvel (and “Peacemaker” for DC, among other titles) laid out the first step in what he said was an eight-to-10-year plan for live-action and animated television shows and feature films, and added that whosoever is cast as these mighty superheroes will play that role across all media—including as voices in video games. (Though he did couch it with a “we hope.”)
Part of his plan is to make the DC Universe feel whole, which, if anyone knows anything about comics, is next to impossible. The publishers of these funny books have been grappling with confusing multiple timelines since 1961, when The Flash (Barry Allen) first met The Flash (Jay Garrick). Garrick’s version came first, by the way, yet he lives on “Earth-2.” See? You are already perplexed.
Nevertheless, Gunn seems to think he’s the one who can get the house in order, and once things fully move under his creative control, it might actually happen. Though he did add the asterisk that Matt Reeves’s successful Batman projects and Todd Phillips’s Oscar-winning Joker stories exist on their own. So … other than TWO WHOPPING TITLES, it’ll all be connected, including a new Batman (with Robin) played by a new actor in the forthcoming “The Brave and the Bold.”
Nevertheless, Gunn is feeling confident. So much so that he gave previous producers a little Biff Bam Pow action. During a chat with reporters, he said the former creative heads (which would include longtime comic book author Geoff Johns) had “f–ked up” and that Henry Cavill had been “dicked around.” (This is a reference, quite likely, to what by all accounts was a promise he’d return to the role of Superman before those plans had actually been made.)
He added, “No one was minding the mint. They were giving away IP like they were party favors at any creator who smiled at them.” He then listed the many different splinter universes that exist both in film and on television’s so-called “Arrowverse,” and elsewhere. He even was critical of how his own successful “Suicide Squad” film didn’t really fit into any wider puzzle.
It’s pretty rare for someone in a position of authority in Hollywood to speak so candidly, especially about a topic with such enthusiastic fans. The Hollywood Reporter said a rival studio head, who remained nameless, commented, “This is what happens when you put a writer and a director in an executive role.”
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