James Gunn’s rebooted and fresh DCU has begun with the release of the Max series Creature Commandos. True to Gunn’s style, the animated series focuses on a few lesser-known characters from the DC Comics roster and gives a Suicide Squad-esque mission for a bunch of oddballs to go on before DC’s biggest superhero makes an appearance.
Gunn took over from the fumbling DCEU in late 2023 and announced his plan for the revamped universe, which is finally seeing the light. The filmmaker has also directed the upcoming Superman film and the second season of Peacemaker, which will jumpstart the DCU. However, there are a few concerns regarding the reboot.
1 James Gunn Needs To Get Superman Right
While James Gunn has delivered some truly great superhero content in the last ten years, beginning with the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy, he has never tackled a tier-1 superhero till now. The DC Studios co-chief has directed The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, both of which had the freedom to get the Gunn treatment.
However, his first DCU project as a director will be none other than Kal-El himself in Superman. The 2025 film will see Gunn tackle the one who started it all with new hero David Corenswet and a host of other characters like Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Guy Gardner, and more. Despite being the DCU’s first film, Gunn has maintained that this is not an origin story.
Not only has Gunn never tackled a huge hero like Superman, but the character itself can be too morally black and white for him to be relevant to this era. The filmmaker has the momentous task of delivering a Superman who stays true to his ideals and is appealing to a whole new generation of fans.
Image Comics writer Todd McFarlane stressed the importance of getting Superman right in an interview with ScreenRant. He said,
How do you take a character that’s been around so long… So long that not only does your mom know about it, but your grandparents know about it, and make a character that your grandparents used to know relevant today? That’s hard because there’s a stigma of like, ‘That’s Mom and Dad stuff. We’ve got cool hip stuff over here.’ How do you make Mickey Mouse relevant to kids today when you have Buzz Lightyear?
It is also the type of character where James Gunn’s brand of humor might be tough to pull off. Gunn has already tackled a Superman-esque character as a producer on Brightburn but this is more cookie-clutter than any of those films. This one created superheroes and it is as formulaic as it gets.
2 Will James Gunn’s Controversial Casting Work For The DCU?
The DCEU had Henry Cavill as Superman but despite announcing that he would return, James Gunn’s insistence on the DCU focusing on a younger Superman led to him exiting the franchise. This move angered many fans as Cavill never really got a chance to shine as the caped Kryptonian, with only Man of Steel being a full-fledged role.
Gunn instead chose to go with David Corenswet, an up-and-coming star whose best-known role to date is his appearance in Netflix’s Hollywood. The casting was controversial for many reasons, but many fans pointed out his physical similarity with Cavill, leading many to question the decision. Superman is also not an origin story so was there really a need for a younger Superman?
The Peacemaker director really has a tough task up his sleeve as the casting will be seen through the lens of having to let Henry Cavill go. Corenswet not only has the pressure of playing one of the most popular characters in the world but also has to live up to his predecessor’s performance, which many have grown to like now.
James Gunn has maintained that Corenswet has delivered an exceptional performance. While promoting Creature Commandos, Gunn reiterated his statement as he reportedly test-screened the film which is still in post-production. He said to THR,
Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, David Corenswet is going to freak everyone out with how great he is. He is one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with, and he can do everything. The man is incredible.
One can only hope that the ‘freaking out’ is positive. Gunn is yet to cast a Batman for the DCU, though a Brave and the Bold film has been announced as part of the slate for the DCU’s first chapter: Gods and Monsters.
3 The DCEU Hangover Needs To Be Eliminated
Okay, the Snyderverse was not perfect. But it has its fans. Zack Snyder’s dark and biblical take on superheroes starting with Man of Steel and going along with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League may be a bold take on the genre, but it was not the billion-dollar pumping MCU formula that WB needed at the time.
A whole lot of meddling from the studio and some truly horrendous box office bombs later (looking at you The Flash), the DCEU was silently sent to play on the farm and James Gunn came with his ten-year plan for the new and improved DCU. However, there are still remnants of the past, with actors like Viola Davis and John Cena still continuing their roles.
While Gunn hopes to completely revamp the DCEU with a new set of actors and stories (even if they are not origin stories), the DCEU is not that old, and the last film was released in December of 2023 with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The Snyderverse still has a lot of fans who hoped he could make his five-part vision into a reality.
James Gunn’s DCU has the momentous task of making the fans forget the DCEU and its storylines while also continuing on a similar path of high-concept fantasy-sci-fi stories. Previous reboots had the luxury of moving from a grounded setting to a more fantastical one but the DCU has to just get it right.
4 The DCU Cannot Use The Same MCU Formula
The Marvel Cinematic Universe changed Hollywood for better or worse. Suddenly, every studio wanted that sweet shared universe cash to munch on and there were some truly horrendous results (looking at you 2017’s The Mummy). DC Comics was the obvious competitor for the MCU but man, they fell hard so fast.
However, since Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has also not been consistent with its offerings. What was once the most revolutionary franchise, fell into the trap of churning out content once it began focusing on streaming with Disney+. The franchise has seen success only a few and far between projects, with the shows especially taking a hit.
Plus, it is a lot of shows to catch up on to make sense of what is going on in a new film or TV show. While newer entries have tried to keep it simple in order to not alienate general audiences, the whole point of a shared universe is to have continuing storylines and with the Multiverse Saga, things have become more convoluted than ever.
James Gunn’s statements about not going the MCU route in this way have given some hope to fans. He mentioned in an interview with Collider,
I don’t want to have to do, as an audience member, the homework to have to see every single thing. It is more of a connected universe that exists within one place, which is the DCU, which will have differences depending on who the artists and the directors, and the production designers are that are making the shows.
The co-chief also mentioned that no project would be greenlit without a third-act ready unless the studio is fully happy with the screenplay, which is another difference in the way the MCU functions.
5 He Has To Make The Elseworlds And The DCU Work In Tandem
The CW show Superman & Lois is ending its four-season run as the DCU begins with Creature Commandos. The entertainment chief of the CW revealed in an interview with The Wrap that the decision to end Superman & Lois came from WB as they did not want another Superman to exist when James Gunn’s Superman opens next year.
While the Tyler Hoechlin starrer was never part of the DCU or the DCEU, with a more cohesive plan in place, it makes sense why they wanted it to end. However, Gunn may not have the same freedom with some of the other Elseworld stories that are in the making, particularly Matt Reeves’ BatVerse, which recently expanded with The Penguin.
Gunn has maintained that Reeves’ universe would be separate from the main DCU continuity and with more of those films and shows in development, fans might be confused about what is canon when the DCU’s Batman eventually rolls in with The Brave and Bold. Gunn has the task of making sure this works and there is a clear distinction.
Creature Commandos is available to stream on Max.
