Given the critical and commercial success of the Guardians of the Galaxy MCU trilogy that James Gunn directed, I’m seriously hoping the DC Studios co-CEO repeats one great villain trick when it comes to the DC Universe. DC and Marvel’s cinematic universe journeys have had some different trajectories – a fact best evidenced in more recent years, as the DCEU timeline came to an end, and was succeeded by the new DC Universe. That said, DC and Marvel do have some creative crossover, in part because the their respective current cinematic universes both have had James Gunn feature at their helms.

From 2014 to 2024, James Gunn was director and writer for the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, which flourished in these years, and set a promising precedent for what might be possible for his work on the DC Universe, which is especially important right now since Gunn has also been director and writer for 2025’s Superman, the DCU’s first film. While there’s a lot to be said for the various ways Gunn’s work on the Guardians movies suggest how he could tackle the DCU timeline, I’m perhaps most hopeful that the creator’s approach to one crucial aspect of the trilogy will also carry through into the DC Universe.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Movies Nail Some Underrated Marvel Villains

Much in the same way that the Guardians of the Galaxy movies took a group the general public were less familiar with and made them into a household name, the trilogy also took a series of Marvel’s more obscure antagonists and brought them into the spotlight. While concepts like a sentient planet or a cruel scientist whose work on animals gave them advanced thinking and speaking capabilities were certainly always going to prove interesting when brought to the big screen, it’s easy to see how the specific focus that the likes of Ronan, Ego, and the High Evolutionary get in these releases made them work in the MCU.

The Guardians trilogy features some of the MCU’s arguably most evil villains – with Ego intending to annihilate planets worth of life solely for the sake of creating new versions of himself, and the High Evolutionary essentially trying to carry out sci-fi eugenics, and being extraordinarily cruel to all of his creations, even when they surpᴀss his expectations as Rocket did. However, rather than coming off as one-note figures, the Guardians movies depict each of these antagonists as complex even while showing how abominable their actions are, making their connections to the film’s heroes all the more fascinating.

In this way, the franchise is able to show just how much potential these characters – who mostly seem unlikely to have appeared in the MCU at all had they not cropped up in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies – really have in terms of adaptations. This is particularly notable in the cases of the villains who eventually get redemption arcs as well, with Nebula becoming a fan-favorite by the time of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock now being an exciting addition to the new Guardians team thanks to the movie’s ending.

The DC Universe Could Seriously Benefit From Giving Some Attention To DC’s Underappreciated VIllains

While the DCEU got some solid results from focusing on some of DC’s heavy hitters, it seems the DC Universe could benefit from repeating the approach James Gunn took with the Guardians of the Galaxy films and instead putting the spotlight on some less well-known antagonists in the world of DC’s movies. This doesn’t mean figures like Darkseid or the Joker should be strictly off the table, but rather that focusing on underappreciated villains could allow for some unique feeling stories that mirror the success of the MCU trilogy, and highlight the potential that less frequently adapted characters hold for cinematic universes.

Thankfully, it seems the franchise may already be leaning in that direction – though, of course, iconic figures like Lex Luthor will also be appearing in the early chapters to establish some long-term DCU rivalries. Creature Commandos introduced Wonder Woman villain Circe into the franchise alongside the likes of Clayface and Doctor Phosphorus, as well as a featuring a brief look at Gorilla Grodd – and it seems Peacemaker season 2 will likely follow suit with its own antagonists.

Lex Luthor does look like the central antagonist of Superman right now, but the franchise also seems to be bringing some underused figures in alongside him as antagonists, with the Engineer clearly working with Luthor as shown in the trailers, and the mysterious sH๏τs of a black-suited figure arresting Superman being thought to potentially be Ultraman or another less immediately well-known figure as well. With these calls already making the upcoming movie look all the more interesting, it’s clear leaning into this approach could hold even further benefits for the franchise going forward.

The DCU Has A Huge Range Of Weird & Wonderful Villains To Choose From Going Forward

Currently, it seems the DC Universe is more than willing to adapt many of the larger-than-life corners of DC’s lore – thanks to both the villains who have appeared thus far already, and figures like Krypto, Metamorpho, and a bowl-cut clad Guy Gardner with full Green Lantern powers having already been shown at full strength in previews for the DCU’s Superman. With this in mind, it certainly appears as though the franchise has the potential to adapt a mᴀssive range of other DC villains who have previously seemed impossible to get a glimpse of in a live-action movie until now.

Not only does this open the door for villains with more complicated histories and premises, it also makes it more possible that the franchise will be willing to bring characters who might have otherwise seemed a bit too much for the live-action movie world into the fray. With James Gunn’s previous DC movie having already used some truly obscure characters via the likes of The Detachable Kid – a version of Arm-Fall-Off Boy – and Polka-Dot Man, the sky seems to be the limit going forward, especially since early releases can flesh out the world with a huge influx of major and minor characters.

Though the chances of us having someone like Condiment Man serve as a major DC villain still seem pretty much slim to none to me – for better or for worse – it’s far easier to see how even some of the most unhinged villains could still be folded into the franchise, and how this could benefit the wider universe by showing the scale and scope of its denizens. As such, I’m hopeful about what the future holds for the DC Universe in this regard, especially looking at the track record of one of the two main figureheads overseeing this new on-screen era for DC.