Complete Disaster: James Gunn DCU Off To A Rough Start

Although the James Gunn DCU has barely started, cracks are already rearing their ugly head. With the Newly established DC studios, plenty of changes are on the horizon. This means that most previous cast members will not return to their respective superhero roles. As one can imagine, this has been a topic of contention for plenty of DCU fans.

Under the brand-new DC Universe, an all-new slate will be introduced. This slate will be called God and Monsters and will run for ten years. This brand-new era under James Gunn will kick off in 2025 with an all-new Man Of Steel. From there, plenty more movies and series will be released under phase one. Although not officially confirmed yet, the conclusion of God and Monsters will likely be an all-new Justice League movie. However, before we can start with the new slate, the current era must first end.

The End Of The Old DCU

To conclude the old DCU, a lot of stories need to end. Currently, Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is in Theaters. While produced under the old leadership, Shazam is one of the Superheroes we will be saying goodbye to in its current form. While nothing is confirmed yet, Zachary Levi will likely not return for another Shazam movie. With Dwayne Johnson also released from his duties as Black Adam, this whole universe will not be addressed within the first slate under James Gunn.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods is currently playing in theaters. Although fans enjoyed the movie, sadly, it disappointed at the box office. Shazam opened to a dismal $30 Million, which, by today’s standard, is not as much as many might think. With a budget of $120 Million, the movie will have to make three times that to break even. Considering that neither the first movie nor Black Adam could break that $400 Million barrier, it is likely that Shazam! Fury Of The Gods won’t either.

Aquaman

Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is set to end within the same universe. Aquaman is set to release on 25 December 2023. It will have quite a star-studded cast. As stated, Jason Momoa will portray the titled character for the last time. Alongside him will be his co-star Amber Heard, who will be Mera, and Nicole Kidman, who will be Atlanna. While the first movie did make quite the splash, the second movie is riddled with a bit more controversy.

First, we need to address the bed-pooping elephant in the room. The choice not to fire Amber Heard has been met with much fan pushback. After the trial with Johnny Depp, many felt like she should have been the one to lose her job instead of him. Additionally, the movie could be doing better during screen tests. The screen test did so poorly that Momoa is allegedly happy to leave the role due to this.

The DCU Reboot With Flash

Then, there is one more movie under the old leadership set. On 16 June 2023, Ezra Miller will make their way to the big screen as Flash. While precisely what will happen in this movie is unclear, most believe it is where the James Gunn Universe will begin. While James Gunn’s Superman is not set to release until 2025, it is expected that Flash will erase the old Snyderverse.

Once this happens, Ezra Miller is also believed to be the only Snyderverse actor to hold on to their job. While no total commitment has been made yet, leadership at DC seems keen to keep Miller. With many current controversies under their name, many fans did expect the studio to fire them. However, if rumors are to be believed, that will not happen.

At Least One Familiar Face Returning

While we are saying goodbye to so many old faces, at least they will return to their old role. James Gunn might be keen to get rid of the Snyderverse, but he is not ready yet to say goodbye to his creations. As most know, Gunn is not new to the DCU. He was previously in charge of two projects. He is the director of the rebooted Suicide Squad and Peace Maker.

James Gunn recently confirmed that Margot Robbie will be returning to the DCU as Harley Quinn. While it is still unclear precisely within what capacity she will return, it will likely involve the Suicide Squad once again. With Amanda Waller set to get her show, we could see Robbie appear in that. Gunn previously stated that Movies and Series would speak directly to one another. With that in mind, the upcoming HBO Max show, Waller is a very likely home for Harley Quinn.

That said, it is also worth pointing out that this supervillain or anti-villain can fit in anywhere. The upcoming The Brave and The Bold Batman and Robin movie could also feature the clown princess. While Quinn does have her very own film, it is unlikely that she will get another. Gunn would have announced it under his DC slate if that were the case.

James Gunn DCU Without Henry Cavill

A big point of contention for James Gunn is also Henry Cavill. There was much uncertainty about the Man of Steel for a while until it was formally announced that a complete rewrite was in the works. With this announcement, Henry Cavill departed from the DCU. Within his departure, Cavill provided fans with insight into his future. He stated that he and Gunn talked about him still being part of the DCU but within a different role.

At the time, many did not know what that meant. However, it is now being reported that James Gunn did hold to his original statement and is asking for the return of Henry Cavill. It should be noted, though, that this return will not involve Superman. Reports have been making the rounds that Cavill was asked to return to the DCU but rejected James Gunn’s offer due to a hectic schedule. We know that Cavill is busy with Warhammer, although it remains to be seen if this contributed to his decision not to return. Some contradicting rumors are making the rounds that many stars do not want to return due to how Gunn handled the reboot.

Ben Affleck Will Not Be Returning To The James Gunn DCU

In addition to Henry Cavill, you also have Ben Afflick, who will be wrapping up his duties as the Dark Knight. Afflick recently spoke about his time as Batman, and it does not seem he enjoyed it very much. In an interview, he stated that he turned to drinking and other dark thoughts while working on Justice League. Ben noted that they were close to wrapping Justice League when Zack Snyder had to leave due to the death of his daughter. With 60 days of filming left, Joss Whedon took over, and somehow, the movie still failed.

Afflick stated that it was such a bad experience that he did not want to work for the DCU moving forward. He said that although James Gunn did ask for him to be involved, he could not be part of DC anymore. According to Ben, current leadership wants him to play a director’s role, which he turned down. There are plenty of reports that current state leadership still favors Ben Afflick as Batman. Thus, it does not surprise me that they asked him to direct. Ben Afflick was previously scheduled to direct a standalone Batman movie. Sadly, that did not pan out.

Conclusion

There is plenty to look forward to moving forward under the new James Gunn DCU. It is important to remember that it will take time for this universe to take shape. Building something from the ground up is always challenging. DC studios are new, and they never previously existed. Unlike Marvel, who had the luxury of being somewhat independent of Disney under their studio, DC never had that. Until now, there were always just Warner Bros that released DC Films. For the first time, there is now a DC studio with a separate CEO. With this in mind, only time will honestly tell how all of this will play out.