DC Studios CEO James Gunn Announces New Projects: ‘Storytelling Is Always King’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn recently revealed his plans for the next 10 years for superhero movies based on DC comics.
“Storytelling is always king. That’s all that matters to us,” he shared. “So as many of you know, DC has been disconnected in film and television for a long time. And it’s one of our jobs, mine and Peter’s [Safran, co-CEO of DC Studios], to come in and make sure the DCU is connected in film, television, gaming, and animation that the characters are consistent, played by the same actors and it works within one story.”
Gunn explained that upcoming projects will be labeled as either part of the DCEU or DC Elseworlds. The Elseworlds projects include movies and shows that take place outside of the mainstream continuity timeline of other DC projects.
So, what can DC fans expect from the studio for the next 10 years?
Upcoming movies include SUPERMAN: LEGACY, SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW, THE SWAMP THING, and THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, a Batman and Robin project.
DC TV shows in the works include projects focused on SUICIDE SQUAD character Amanda Waller (WALLER and CREATURE COMMANDOS), BOOSTER GOLD, and PARADISE LOST, which focuses on Wonder Woman’s home of Themyscira.
Fans also have plenty of DC movies to look forward to in 2023, like THE FLASH, SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS, and AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM.
“One of the things that’s very important for me in all of these movies and TV series is that the director’s vision and the vision of the writers and all of the creators is unique,” Gunn concluded.
Movieguide® previously reported on the change-ups going on at DC Studios:
There are a lot of changes going on at DC Studios these days, from the end of actors’ runs as superheroes, to potential sequel plans.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are the co-chairmen of DC Studios and are getting ready to unveil their plans for the next 10 years at the organization.
The pair have kept things underwraps ahead of their presentation to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, but a few details have slipped out.
Henry Cavill will no longer be playing Superman, as he announced in a recent Instagram post.
Other heroes might be getting axed, too. A third WONDER WOMAN movie has been taken off the table, and it’s been widely reported that the upcoming AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM will be the end of the Aquaman franchise, although there is no confirmation of this yet.
The movie is set to come out in 2023, along with SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS, THE FLASH, and BLUE BEETLE.
These movies were made under different leadership, and many are wondering if the movies and their heroes will fit with Gunn and Safran’s vision for the DC universe.
“Peter [Safran] and I chose to helm DC Studios knowing we were coming into a fractious environment, both in the stories being told and in the audience itself and there would be an unavoidable transitional period as we moved into telling a cohesive story across film, TV, animation and gaming,” Gunn wrote in a lengthy statement about their new positions at DC. “But, in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities and the opportunity to build upon what has worked in DC so far and to help rectify what has not.”
He continued, “We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY and in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives.
“As for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters and the stories the time and attention they deserve, and we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask and answer,” Gunn concluded.
While it’s unknown what direction Gunn and Safran are hoping to take the DC universe in, many are hoping they will continue making movies with redemptive values.
Movies like MAN OF STEEL, WONDER WOMAN, and SHAZAM! all performed well at the box office, largely due to the moral values promoted in them. Let’s hope Gunn and Safran continue on this path as they restructure the DC universe.
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