DC’s new cinematic universe has jumped in headfirst where the Marvel Cinematic Universe once stepped too cautiously. While the MCU timeline helped reshape superhero cinema, it did so with a level of restraint. Now, as James Gunn begins to roll out his vision for the DCU reboot, it’s clear that the franchise is taking a very different and bolder approach.

James Gunn and Peter Safran have rebooted the DCEU timeline, establishing a new interconnected universe already filled with DC’s iconic pantheon of characters. Rather than favoring grounded worldbuilding and slow-burn expansion, as previous superhero franchises had, the DCU has already presented a fully-formed universe. Even some of DC’s strangest characters have already been established.

The MCU Didn’t Fully Embrace The Weirder & Wider Side Of Its Lore For Many Years

For much of its first decade, the MCU played things relatively safely. The early Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor movies rooted themselves in real-world logic, even when touching on fantasy or sci-fi. While Marvel had a treasure trove of cosmic, mystical, and downright bizarre characters, it took years before these weirder figures and deeper lore even got a mention.

Marvel only truly began embracing its stranger side with Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. It leaned further with shows like WandaVision and Agatha All Along, but even then, many deeper cuts remained unexplored. The MCU’s commitment to general audience familiarity often sidelined its more surreal or lesser-known characters until Phase 4, and even then, with noticeable hesitation.

The DC Universe Has Immediately Leaned Into This Side Of Its Comic History

By contrast, James Gunn’s DCU isn’t wasting any time. The Creature Commandos animated series introduced not just a squad of monster-like antiheroes, but key DC magical characters like Circe. It showed a clear willingness to dive into supernatural and horror elements.

Superman (2025) wasn’t content with just Clark Kent and Lex Luthor – adding Krypto the Superdog and Metamorpho, a shape-shifting deep-cut from DC’s weirder archives. Meanwhile, the Clayface (2026) solo film (centered on a literal shape-shifting mud monster) shows that the new DCU is unafraid to lead with bizarre, genre-bending characters. Rather than building toward the strange, the DCU is starting there.

The DCU is setting itself apart as a comic book universe ready to explore every colorful and chaotic corner from day one. Rather than slowly teasing its more obscure or cosmic elements, DC is diving deep into its stranger and more eclectic lore right from the start. The confirmed upcoming DCU projects only cement this.

The DCU has confirmed a Swap Thing horror movie and a Green Lantern crime procedural. The DCU is unapologetically embracing the wild corners of its universe. That fearless dive into weirder mythology might just become the DCU’s greatest strength – and one of the things the MCU took the longest to fully explore.