A Justice League movie seems like the ideal climax for the DCU‘s Gods and Monsters chapter, but there’s a better idea for a climactic team-up movie directed by James Gunn himself. James Gunn is launching the DCU with Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker, all of which he wrote. By directing Superman, Gunn also makes sure the Man of Steel is the franchise’s main foundation.
Gunn has made it clear that the DCU won’t rely on a single overarching storyline, won’t depend on a single producer’s vision, and won’t lead to a single climactic crossover. That said, James Gunn is working on other DCU projects after Superman, including one movie he’s putting special focus on. James Gunn’s next DCU movie hasn’t been officially announced, but the DC Studios CEO seems quite excited about it.
The DCEU’s Canceled New Gods Movie Seems Like The Perfect Climax For The DCU’s Gods And Monsters
New Gods Sounds Like A Movie James Gunn Would Direct Regardless Of Its DCU Connections
DC’s New Gods are a group of higher beings as powerful as they are chaotic. Jack Kirby’s New Gods mythos pits the heavenly New Genesis against the hellish Apokolips. All New Gods are basically immortal, but their uncontrolled ambition leads them to be at each other’s throats constantly. In other words, they are “gods and monsters,” and they epitomize the main theme of the DCU’s first chapter.
Director Ava DuVernay was working on a New Gods movie around 2018, but the project was canceled in 2021 by Warner Bros. DuVernay’s New Gods film would have featured a packed cast of characters from the Fourth World, including Darkseid, Mister Miracle, Big Barda, and Granny Goodness. Perhaps due to the DCEU’s decreasing performance and Zack Snyder’s insistence on releasing his cut of Justice League, the New Gods movie was scrapped.
Since the DCU isn’t necessarily heading towards an ultimate crossover battle in the style of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, a movie like New Gods could serve as the final installment in the DCU’s Gods and Monsters slate. The New Gods’ DCU movie could pave the way for a new wave of projects with a different theme. Besides, introducing Darkseid in an ensemble cast would also help the villain stand out from both the DCEU’s portrayal and the MCU’s Thanos.
James Gunn Is The Ideal Director For A DCU New Gods Movie
James Gunn Has Already Perfected The Formula For A New Gods Adaptation
The New Gods display every quality that has made James Gunn’s comic book projects so popular. Just like the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Suicide Squad, and the Creature Commandos, the New Gods are an eclectic group of characters with questionable morals. They are visually outlandish and have a wide variety of strange abilities, and they are larger-than-life figures with very human emotions and behaviors.
Gunn has a particular talent for villains and anti-heroes that are both relatable and complex, with absurd appearances and powers that don’t detract from the storytelling
James Gunn has showcased his perfect handling of ensemble casts in the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, the DCEU’s The Suicide Squad, and the DCU’s Creature Commandos. Gunn has a particular talent for villains and anti-heroes that are both relatable and complex, with absurd appearances and powers that don’t detract from the storytelling. With Gunn now serving as DC Studios’ CEO, there’s no better or more logical choice to direct a New Gods movie than Gunn himself.
How James Gunn’s New Gods Movie Could Be Different From Guardians Of The Galaxy
James Gunn’s New Gods Could Be A Mix Of Guardians Of The Galaxy & Superman
The New Gods are thousands of times more powerful than the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Suicide Squad, and the Creature Commandos. Their unparalleled power and their immortality would add a different twist to James Gunn’s ensemble movie approach. Besides, there are few DC characters with lore as complex as the New Gods. It could be a challenge, but a New Gods movie would diverge greatly from James Gunn’s previous superhero projects.
James Gunn has only started to explore the concept of godlike heroes in depth with Superman. For New Gods, Gunn could mix the Guardians and the Squad’s eccentric tone with Superman‘s larger-than-life power balance to explore the Fourth World. In order to stand apart from Marvel’s Eternals, the DCU‘s New Gods would only need to keep its focus on the cosmos, which Gunn has already done in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
