James Gunn's DCU: Embracing the Morrisonverse

Here are just a few of our plans. Up, up, and away! #DCStudios #DCU @DCComics pic.twitter.com/8XNDNLUEPq

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 31, 2023

I mean these are basically all good choices as far as I can see?

Doom Patrol/Watchmen team do a Suicide Squad spin off, Gunn does presumably fun takes on Creature Commandos and Booster Gold, Morrison's takes on Superman and Batman and Green Lantern and The Authority, Tom King on Supergirl, pseudo-Moore horror anthology for Swamp Thing.

i assume he was given Flash and Shazam and Blue Beetle and told to make it work.

I hope everybody gets paid and these stay story forward in the same way Peacemaker was.

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/zachary-levi-anti-vaxx-pfizer-tweet-james-gunn-responds-1235507013/

yeah between that ezra miller, they really handed him a bag of shit to start with
i assume he has final approval for casting moving forward considering how immensely fucked up it's been until now

are they bringing back rpatz???

Separate continuity:

https://gizmodo.com/the-batman-2-title-release-date-robert-pattinson-dcu-1850053257

Separately, group interview with Gunn and Safran:

https://gizmodo.com/james-gunn-dc-slate-info-flash-aquaman-justice-league-1850051467

Well, Gunn's definitely not, uh, thrilled about the past:

Gunn: The history has been shit. It’s been a real fucked up journey for DC. I think that there was basically no one minding the mint and they were giving out IP to any creatives that, you know, smiled at whoever was in charge. There was never any real power given to the people in charge. And so somebody could always go over their head and do whatever they wanted. And, you know, we had the DCEU, which then became the Joss Whedon Justice League, but it also became the Snyderverse, which became this. And we have Wonder Woman and we have Wonder Woman [1984], which doesn’t even match what happened in Wonder Woman one. And then we have the Arrowverse and even us, coming in with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. And then all of a sudden Batmite is a real guy.

This is not the Gunnverse

cautiously optimistic this won't be as flat and predictable as MCU

Peacemaker bought a LOT of goodwill from me. Hard to think of anyone else I would even be even slightly optimistic taking the controls.

The problem with the DCEU wasn't that the continuity was poor. It was that its tentpole films sucked -- superman, superman v batman, justice league were all terrible, wonder woman 1 was ok. The continuity problems came afterwards when WB went into panic mode.

I bet half of these newly announced projects don't come out as described.

what's Bat-Mite in?!

that zachary levi thing is disappointing, he convincingly plays likable people; good actor then I guess because he appears to be a shit. that said I'll probably still see that since I liked the first one and I watched Leticia Wright in WakandaForever.

Maybe Zachary Levi just wants stringent price controls on the COVID vaccine.

its tentpole films sucked

I blame Snyder for that more than WB tho

James Gunn def a good creative choice, his movies are fun for one thing. Also I was a big fan of the most recent Batman flick, a pretty swift 170+ min and compellingly slow burn atmospheric vs the diminishing returns of the Nolan approach. I kinda hope they do keep it separate from the rest of the DCU, and Joker-free.

sic otm give me Bat-Mite

Bat-Mite is mentioned in the second episode of the DC Extended Universe series Peacemaker, "Best Friends, For Never", when John Economos mentions he would rather be working with Bat-Mite than Peacemaker.

I watched and liked Peacemaker but don’t remember that joke BUTTTT also I like it (and/but have 0 opinion over whether it means bat-mite is a dude)

Oh man, please please please gimme a good Swamp Thing movie with the Anatomy Lesson

BatMite in Canon & Morriverse has me hoping for some Zur-Eh-arrh references in the batfilm.

Sad to see, still no news on reviving the weird hunchback that lives in batmans cellar and fixes his stuff.

when's he gonna get his six part series on HBO?

most anyone who clicked the post already knows all this but for people unfamiliar with writer Grant Morrison's work in the DCU, this is a not-unreasonable primer (sic may disagree):
https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/james-gunn-dc-universe-chapter-one-why-you-should-read-grant-morrison

Okay obviously not GunnCU but since this might as well be the rolling thread now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hebWYacbdvc

a) shades of Rick and Morty
b) no cosmic treadmill no credibility
c) i hope keaton got paid well

I think Swamp Thing would work better as a tv streaming series. I don’t know that it would pace right for a 2 hour movie.

Wasn’t there a Swamp Thing series recently?

Ah, there was, cancelled after 1 series.

It was better than the movies, but that's really faint praise. Swamp Thing can't be a dude in a suit, it just doesn't work.

I was surprised to see the Blue Devil turn up in it.

v weird to see the keaton batman, who was almost completely immobile in the burton movies, nimbly flapping around in this like prequel-era cgi yoda

maybe there'll be a scene explaining his new yoga regime

Very recognisably Glasgow city centre at about the 0.11 mark on that trailer, complete with bus stops.

All narrative roads lead to the multiverse.

while I think that superhero fiction is a net negative in culture and wish that its period of dominance in popular culture would end, there is a part of me that feels sad that the DC milieu got fucked up SO BAD for movies by WB in the last ten years…WB and DC had decades of synergy so that they could get this right and not watch Marvel/Disney run away with this shit…I almost think that its too late and they should focus on the post CW TV shit and build their franchise there…I tried to watch some of the tv Crisis crossovers, but it was too much for me, a 60s-80s DC alt earth expert…

Is it not also odd that Marvel got to the different earths/timeline shit before DC? since 1961, that's been DC's thing, and Marvel only messed with that sparingly, almost as a commentary on that stuff being a cornerstone of DC storytelling/universe building. I would almost think Gunn should see to it that none of his films should mess with that conceit if Marvel is making Dr Strange movies about multiverse shit…

A thing:

https://deadline.com/2023/03/james-gunn-direct-superman-movie-warner-bros-dc-1235300632/

In what should come as no surprise, James Gunn will be directing his own script for Superman: Legacy, a major lynchpin project which will off the the multi-platform connected DC universe – “Chapter One, Gods and Monsters” ­– which he and his DC’ Co-Chairmen & CEO Peter Safran are launching....Superman Legacy tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned. Gunn has already mentioned on social that his Superman will be younger than his forties. The all-new action adventure is set to soar into theaters worldwide on July 11, 2025.

xp The contrast w/Marvel is pretty fascinating; esp. considering that DC had the "studio synergy" in place for decades longer.

Okay, so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhUht6vAsMY

Weird that they de-aged Brendan Fraser and got the guy from the New Radicals to play Lex Luthor.

Is this the first time they've done Krypto? Shame there's no sign of the rest of the Legion of Super-Pets.

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/b/b6/Legion_of_Super-Pets_01.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20220507020755

there was a Super-Pets animated movie a couple of years ago but it seems to have left absolutely no cultural footprint

Everything Gunn has directed has been solid, including that new cartoon, but they have also been pretty quippy, a vibe that just don't jibe with Superman, so I guess I'm ... intrigued?

At first I could have sworn they were playing the music from "Top Gun," which would have been funny.

I’m excited!!
love Krypto being in this <3
Also my god Corenswet is a handsome fellow

I hope we find out how Superman got his powers.

Predicting it now: there will be one touching Christopher Reeve easter egg in this. Like, a hospital called Reeve General or something like that.

I hope we find out how Superman got his powers.

Gunn's been saying how the film basically starts in the middle of an action scene and that we don't have origin story stuff. Thank goodness.

when i saw corenswet in twisters i thought he looked like a tesco value henry cavill and i fucking hated cavill’s superman

gunn’s take on the character seems like a good one, though, and krypto was a very pleasant surprise, so fingers crossed for this

Really liked Jyoti Mishra/White Town's post here:

https://mas.to/@Jyoti/113680736982340185

I am a fan of Zack Snyder's (flawed) take on DC superheroes, but between Snyder and Nolan's films of the last 20 years, it's pleasantly jarring to see a DC film that is not dark and gritty. (Sorry Shazam doesn't count)

Everything Gunn has directed has been solid, including that new cartoon,

Gunn has not directed a new cartoon. I don’t think I made it though a whole episode of PG Porn (and at least one of the Guardians films is bad).

Looks to be crammed with well-designed visual spectacle, but the music is completely unimaginative and paint-by-the-numbers. That's about all I can derive from that trailer.

lol sic burn, you're right, he didn't direct the new cartoon series, he just wrote, produced and created it. My bad.

keeping guy gardner's bowl cut comic-accurate is not the hill i'd die on, but i salute the sacrifice
https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/4apc59wawd4.png

yeah me either. I had no idea abt any of those, like Mr Terrific or Guy Gardner or Hawkgirl etc etc. Overall a pretty successful intro though, would happily see more of them.

Gunn saying DCU is building to a big event that "isn't what anyone thinks", any theories from DC nerds?

Superman reboot?

They're probably revving up for an adaptation of that comic where Superman forces Jimmy Olsen to marry an ape.

DC/Marvel crossover?

Crisis on Infinite Earths?

Superman/Batman buddy comedy

DC - Marvel crossover

where all the supes do is insult the supes from the other universe, insult comic style

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/0/9541/1199802-4132865042_840933bd7e.jpg

Oberon solo flick!

The Rock and Roll Space Bandits, obv.

https://superfriends.fandom.com/wiki/Rock_%26_Roll_Space_Bandits

Skip ahead to about 7:25 in

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8kf1w0

The Super-Sons:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSuper-Sons&psig=AOvVaw1vW0vf6La5GMGJQR_zcNL-&ust=1752762120814000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBYQjRxqFwoTCJj9tfDJwY4DFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/SupermanJR_HCV.jpg

https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/lois-9-0.jpg

Right, ANYWAY

Btw I hate the "metahuman" thing. I get that in makes sense in-universe to have a term but it's too X-Men.

Amalgam Universe

I liked the detail up front that Superman is relatively new to the game, as far as metahumans go. Hence there is no need to explain the presence of Mr Terrific et al., or how advanced Luthor's capabilities are.

I had wondered if that was some WB directive not to use the term to keep the branding distinct from MCU stuff, but apparently the term goes back to the late 80s where DC and Marvel were trying to keep things separate

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metahuman

Tho its interesting that Xmen-ish or some hand wavy science-y or biological logic was now predominant enough that they needed to further elucidate how superpowered being got their super powers, and went with “the meta gene” and other explanations.

Gunn posted a teaser poster for Supergirl with "Look Out. 2026." as the caption.

I saw this movie yesterday and it was fine. For all the claims of Morrison influence, I'd say.. ehhh. There are pieces cribbed here and there, maybe most notably the main crew of the Daily Planet being a near-exact copy of the All-Star Superman version, but I feel like the tone and execution were pretty different.

I wonder if the Supergirl movie will take place at the same time, just in a different space/place, ending with her return to earth as witnessed in this one? Though I guess that would mean no dog, and at this point that dog's gotta be in it.

I think I heard the Supergirl will see her bouncing around other planets? I’d like that - to feel very distinct from the Superman film.

I'm here for a Superdickery film, the other options not so much.

I'm somewhere between "meh" and "godawful shit" on this new one.

Saw it yesterday. It was great.

I saw it last night. The movie itself was okay. The way the plot drew on red-state flash points (Superman depicted as an alien Chad who is monopolizing hot women to outbreed hapless human men?) impressed me.

Richard Brody’s review was very on brand.

Like I said, I thought this movie was good, or better than good as far as these things go. But I have a friend whose son is studying film in college right now, and the son's dream job would be to become someone like James Gunn, and as much as I enjoy Gunn I found that so sad and dispiriting.

At college I still loved Kevin Smith movies. It’s ok/required to have bad taste when you’re young! I mean, at least it’s not Zak Snyder.

and so many guys love Kubrick

my son is also studying film in college and this was the first big-budget superhero movie we've seen in a theater in a pretty long time; we basically abandoned Marvel films after the last Guardians movie. His tastes have predictably shifted (Gummo is now his favorite film), but he did like this, as did I. I was slightly disappointed in some respects, I wish the movie slowed down a bit more.

Saw it yesterday, the wife and I with three kids (9, 10, 14). We all liked it quite a bit. I was trying to figure out what made it NOT a Marvel movie, besides the property ownership.

1). It had a grownup relationship in which I believed these people would be in a relationship and they would be happily fucking.

2). Even though there were a lot of secondary characters, it rarely felt like they were there for the point of media expansion. I’m not expecting a Hawkwoman movie and the character’s presence didn’t seem obligatory.

3). Less quippy maybe? It felt more emotionally grounded.

It did feel a little strained at times, I could feel the efforts of this in a way that I didn’t in GOTG. But that’s ok, it’s setting up a lot while being a pretty good movie.

What i’m really excited about is Supergirl. I’m not a huge fan of All Star Superman, it felt like it was trying to do too much which is a little what the movie felt like at times. But the Supergirl comic they’re going off of is excellent. It will be interesting to see how they do space shenanigans without it looking like GOTG.

“I wish the movie slowed down a bit more.”

I enjoyed this a lot, but the pace did leap out at me, and I’d like to rewatch the 1978 original again soon, just for a sense of contrast. (And, yes, I know Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction among other films have had a part in changing how quickly we expect a movie to move.)

just rewatched the 1978; it starts with 10-15 mins of old ugly men talking slowly. a superhero film with that pacing would never get made now.

The things they took from us

xpost We can just see that on TV.

I watched the Reeves Superman with my kids when they were around 8. The first one didn’t make it to the end. Margot Kidder and Reeves make the movie. It’s pretty slow and hokey. The Lois Lane poem is pretty fun.

Thought it was hilarious that the only character whose attractiveness gets commented on is the guy who plays Gideon on Righteous Gemstones

There's a probably-embellished clip from their press tour where he explains that his agent asked him if he'd be interested in auditioning for the movie, and he explains he really got into preparing for the audition -- with the misapprehension that he was auditioning for the role of Superman, not a role in Superman.

Which makes me think he's the perfect casting choice for Jimmy Olsen

Did I just totally miss Maxwell Lord in this movie?

He's at the very end briefly -- says something about how all political sides can agree Luthor's a dick or something like that -- and he's the backer of the Justice Gang, mentioned as such earlier.

Played by Sean Gunn — doesn’t look like Lord, so easy to not connect the earlier refs.

Did not expect a Stormwatch/Authority tie in!

I certainly didn't expect Milo from the Pusher films to have a big part in the new Supes!
Movie itself was fun enough.

he doesn't look like _Lord_ but he gave off impeccable Maxwell Lord vibes

anyway i loved this film. it's not just that it gets superman _right_, it's that it actually makes superman a better character

i don't think it _supersedes_ '78 superman, like, at some point this might be THE Superman movie the way '78 Superman is, but not now. i think '78 superman does some stuff that '25 superman doesn't.

i like that superman is just _good_ and luthor is just _evil_ and at the same time it shows its work, like, if you're someone like me who's skeptical of reducing the world to good and evil, it's a movie where one can see, on a profound level, through both superman and luthor's actions _why_ superman is good and luthor is evil.

plus all of the other characters... god, guy gardner is so amazing, and he makes such a great foil to both superman and luthor, being someone who is a fucking immature asshole but is also, at the end of the day, a _good guy_.

anyway superman '78 has some Problems, particularly in its treatment of women, and gunn does a great job replicating a lot of the scenarios from that film while playing them just... better. the end of superman '78 was always fucking stupid, whether it's the first or second superman - it's the kind of bullshit dirty pool you'd see in a bad mort weisinger-era story. i did also cry when pa kent gave his speech.

we'll see how it holds up but it's basically a masters thesis on ethics

One of the things I liked was that Luther’s team was so merrily enthusiastic about beating Superman.

Superman 78 had good effects but the main draw was really Reeves and Kidder. They made it work and the new one is a good enough approximation of that chemistry while being a better movie. Reeves will always be my Superman.

The What Went Wrong podcast just had an episode about Supes 78 that was fascinating. I knew there were shenanigans between Donner and the Salkinds and it really lays that out well.

Well it’s all happening

https://gizmodo.com/james-gunns-next-dc-movie-man-of-tomorrow-arrives-in-2027-2000652896

Peacemaker is brilliant. The first two episodes of season two were five star. Don't usually watch these type of things live but have a free preview.

Hell yeah, I want Luthor in the big green and purple power armor suit