The new DC universe is going to be huge and that could be the problem

A new DC era begins: After an exceedingly chaotic decade in which numerous projects were announced but never completed, one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood is finally here planned from start to finish become. Director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran have taken creative control of DC and are laying out a roadmap that will span the next eight to 10 years.

The model is still that Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Although Gunn emphasized in the announcement of the first new DC projects on Tuesday afternoon that DC and Marvel are fundamentally different in many ways, this follows DC Universe (DCU) follows a similar pattern: Superheroes are introduced one at a time and sooner or later cross paths in an overarching story.

The new DC universe goes a decisive step further than the MCU

According to Gunn, the end of this great story is already certain. The plan he came up with with Safran comprises two chapters. The first section bears the additional title Gods and Monsters and so far covers five feature films and five series. Established names like Supergirl and Batman make it into the selection, as well as more offbeat DC characters like the impostor Booster Gold and the eerie Swamp Thing.

The DCU 2025 is kicked off by Superman: Legacy – without Henry Cavill. Two films and two series are to be released per year, which seems quite manageable in a direct MCU comparison. But that’s not all: On one point, Gunn is pursuing a much more ambitious goal than the Marvel competition: the DCU vision not only covers films and series, but should also expand to video games.

Gunn substantiates this with a question of detail: It doesn’t matter whether a character appears in a live-action film, an animated series or a video game – she will always by the same person played or spoken. There are no multiple casts in the DCU. This is intended to increase continuity across different media. This claim does not exist with the MCU. Video games in particular are doing their own thing.

James Gunn aims to create the ultimate DCU experience – across movies, series and video games

Sony’s Spider-Man games, for example, are extremely popular and have built up their own fan base completely detached from any Marvel film. Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers was far less successful: the characters move away consciously from the familiar faces of MCU stars. The result: After only three years, all support for the game will be discontinued in 2023.

The DCU wants to prevent this problem and get all parties on board to provide the ultimate experience. A fan fear: The DCU hasn’t even revealed what it really is and if it works, there is already a heap of “content” looming that has to be consumed in order to be part of the big story. Most exciting, however, are the points of criticism from the games industry itself.

A few hours after the first DCU announcements, a thread from one of the designers of the new Suicide Squad game made the rounds. This is about qualifications and resources. For example, it is questionable whether the actors, who are perfectly cast in front of the camera, also have what it takes to be convincing behind the microphone, not to mention contractual and logistical hurdles.

Is the next Batman actor really spending weeks in the studio doing lines for the animated spin-off series and video game extension? Ben Affleck looked exhausted just from his live-action duties as DCEU Batman. Even if (animated) films, series and video games are very similar in their audiovisual form, there are differences in the development processes significant differences.

Gunn annoys professionals with his announcement, but also arouses curiosity. Because he doesn’t make it easy for himself with his DCU. Not even the Star Wars franchise has made it, movies, series and games to unite in one story. And that’s despite the fact that with Disney’s purchase, the sprawling canon of the star saga has been rigorously pared down to allow for tightly connected stories.

James Gunn knows all about the DC bugs and wants to prove there is another way

Gunn apparently takes the “close together” very seriously in the DCU. The director harshly criticizes the chaos of the old DC regime. Gizmodo quotes the director as follows:

DC has had a really shitty journey. I think that basically there was no one who [um die Figuren und Geschichten] has taken care of. They just gave the IP to creatives who smiled at the people who were in charge at the time. The one in charge never given real power. So someone could always decide over your head and do what they wanted.

Gunn is aware that he himself was part of the chaos.

We have the DCEU, which became Joss Whedon’s Justice League, but was also the Snyderverse at the same time. We have Wonder Woman and we have Wonder Woman [1984], which doesn’t even match what happened in the first part. And then we have the Arrowverse, not to mention mewho comes around the corner with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.

Not only anger and frustration emerge from this statement. Gunn knows he has a unique opportunity with the DCU. The Launch of a cinematic universe is usually not carried out by the creative people, but by producers and studio bosses. After two decades in which Gunn has accompanied superhero cinema as a filmmaker, he can set the course himself for the first time and learn from old mistakes.

The DCU plan is ambitious, especially when we consider that a majority of the characters featured are completely unknown to mainstream audiences. Nevertheless Gunn deserves a leap of faith. He turned the bitter Suicide Squad defeat into the great The Suicide Squad. If he can do it on a small scale, why not on a large scale?

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