James Gunnis looking at his next film afterSupermanand won’t reveal what it is yet because other studios might copy it for themselves. He is the co-president of DC Studios and oversees the overarching development of the DCU, being very hands-on by writing and directingSuperman. Even though many titles were announced in January 2023, Gunn’s next film will be a previously unannounced title, one that he was worried other studios might attempt to copy, like when Marvel Studios madeCaptain America: Civil Warafter Warner Bros. announced Batman v.Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Speaking withEntertainment Weekly, Gunn teased his next DCU film followingSuperman. Gunn has previously said it won’t be a traditionalSupermansequel, but has been vague about what exactly the concept is. Gunn revealed it is not one of the previously announced titles for the “Gods and Monsters” slate. In fact, it is a top-secret film that has been planned since that initial slate but was kept off the schedule out of concerns that another rival studio might copy it. Gunn said:
“My favorite thing has not been announced at all. One of the scripts people kind of know about. My script people don’t know about. The other script people don’t know about. So it’s mostly stuff people don’t know about…. A couple of those things [announced in January 2023] are in pretty good shape in terms of coming up, but there was one thing that I knew about from the very beginning, that when I pitched to David Zaslav what the DCU would be, I pitched to him, but we did not announce in that first meeting because I felt like it was too easy to rip off by another company. And so that’s one of the main things.”
James Gunn Confirms ‘Superman’ Changes After First Test Screenings
“We’ve done real screenings. Definitely learning stuff all the time.”
What Is James Gunn’s Top Secret DCU Movie?
Fans likely won’t know what James Gunn’s next DCU film is until afterSupermanopens in theaters, but there are plenty of potential titles it could be. The popular fan theory is that it is an adaptation of 1996’sKingdom Come, which sees Superman coming out of retirement to battle a new cynical batch of younger heroes and restore a classic sense of superheroism. Gunn has already pulled inspiration from theKingdom ComeSuperman S-shield for his DCU Superman logo. He could spin it to have a younger Superman reminding older, cynical heroes why they fight. It would certainly fit Gunn’s description of his next DCU film, which is not a traditionalSupermanfollow-up, as this would put Superman front and center in a larger DC story.
One potential title could beThe Terrifics, a team of DC superheroes meant to mirror Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Two of the four members of The Terrifics, Mister Terrific and Metamorpho, are set to appear inSuperman. However, if the fear were that a competitor like Marvel could easily copy them, then the Terrifics wouldn’t fit that bill since the team itself is a homage to The Fantastic Four, andMarvel Studios had been working on the superhero team’s MCU filmsince before Gunn was hired to oversee the DCU.
There are even more DC titles it could be. Gunn is a big fan of Tom King’s work and has adaptedSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow(now titledSupergirl) andMister Miracle. It could also be an adaptation of the 2020 Adam Strange-centric miniseriesStrange Adventures. There isMystic U, DC’s spin on a Hogwarts-like school of magic users that includes Zatanna, which could be a parallel toMarvel’sStrange Academy, a planned Disney+ series now seemingly on hold. It could even be an element likeDinosaur Island, a concept that would mirrorJurassic Park, but one that Universal Pictures has not been taking full advantage of. Superheroes fighting dinosaurs sounds like a billion-dollar movie idea that no one has taken advantage of, shockingly. There are many exciting titles that James Gunn could be playing for this growing DCU, and it is exciting to watch it grow with each new entry.
Source:Entertainment Weekly
