It’s been just over two years since James Gunn, director of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy, and producer Peter Safran took over as the heads of DC Studios. Tasked by Warner Bros. with rebooting the DC Universe under one unified umbrella, things are finally coming together, with Gunn’s “Superman” set to hit theaters this summer. As the property enters full steam ahead mode, Gunn and Safran have reflected on what went wrong with the universe they inherited.
During a special press event attended by /Film’s Bill Bria, Gunn and Safran addressed many questions about the new DC Universe. At one point, talk turned to what was commonly referred to as the DC Extended Universe, aka the Snyderverse, which kicked off with Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” in 2013 and ended with 2023’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” Safran explained that, from the perspective, the failure of the previous DC universe (or multiverse, rather) was the result of things being too splintered:
“When we first took the reins a little over two years ago, the DC brand was being defined by different creative teams at the company and each was pursuing their own distinct vision of the characters and their stories, leaving very little room for coordination, collaboration, or crossover. And the result was not one DCU, but many. And ultimately this fracture proved very challenging to consumers and it chipped away at the very identity of our brand.”
To Safran’s point, Snyder’s films existed firmly in the same universe, with “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League” telling a cohesive story, albeit a divisive one. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. and DC experienced great success with the $1 billion hit that was 2019’s “Joker,” which was a standalone tale. That began splintering the DC universe and creating a bit of brand confusion.
Can the new DC Universe avoid the same mistakes the DCEU made?
It certainly didn’t help that “Justice League” was a colossal failure in 2017, leading Snyder’s fans to spend years campaigning for the release of his definitive cut, which WB eventually did in 2021. That only led to further confusion and further splintering of the fanbase. Even DC’s successes, such as 2022’s “The Batman,” didn’t help in some ways, with Robert Pattinson being yet another Batman in a new universe disconnected from the DCEU. This is to say nothing of the Arrowverse on The CW. Basically, the DC brand was splintering in several directions.
“This in part is what brought us to DC Studios,” Safran added. “Bringing a sense of unity, consistency, cohesion to this universe not only makes sense to us as storytellers, but it really has to be the future of the entire DC brand. People want to see these iconic characters interacting. They want to experience this timeless IP as one. And to us, bringing DC together under a single creative vision has always been the key.”
Can DC Studios avoid repeating the mistakes of the DCEU with its new DC Universe? It already has plans to keep everything connected, but it also hopes to make it so each project can stand alone. Speaking to that, Gunn said the following:
“We want to continue to have these stories connected but not completely dependent on each other. Although we are telling a larger story that’ll last a little bit of time. And all those actors will, all the primary actors again, will be playing the characters from television to animation and so forth.”
That all sounds great, if Safran and Gunn can pull it off. There’s already a little confusion regarding the new DCU continuity, given that characters from Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” and its spinoff series “Peacemaker” are part of the reboot. The hope is that it all makes sense as these projects begin to make their way out into the world. Granted, Matt Reeves’ “The Batman Part II” does complicate matters a bit, as Gunn and Safran fully intend to cast a new Batman, but we’ll have to see how it all shakes out.
“Superman” flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.