James Gunn Backtracks Again, This Time on Interconnectivity of DCU
James Gunn seemingly can’t get out of his own way as he has once again either backtracked or contradicted himself; this time on the interconnectivity of the DCU.
Red Hood, Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing look out over burning wreckage via Gotham Knights (2022), Warner Bros. Games Montréal
Gunn started saying the following when he announced the first chapter in his DCU slate. “So as many of you know DC has been disconnected in film and television for a long time. And it’s one of our jobs, mine and Peter’s, is to come in and make sure the DCU is connected in film, television, gaming, and animation.”
“That the characters are consistent, played by the same actors, and it works within one story,” He asserted. “And if something is outside of that like Matt Reeves’ Batman or Todd Phillips’ Joker, or Teen Titans GO! that it is clearly labeled as DC Elseworlds, outside of the mainstream DC continuity.”
Gunn revealed, however, that the DCU was actually being planned beyond the four-year mark and possibly even six years.
The user asked “Do you realise top tier AAA games take 6yrs of development. And films take how long? How are you going to join them up in same universe?”
Gunn answered, “First of all, that’s an overstatement of time – it’s closer to four years if you’ve got everything lined up. Secondly, we’re planned out beyond that far already, so we’re good!”
James Gunn on Twitter
A second user, however, asked for a follow-up. “For those of DC fans who don’t play video games, will we still be able to follow the storytelling of the DCU via just the films and shows only? Please let me know James!”
Gunn answered, “Yes.”
James Gunn on Twitter
While this is most certainly the right decision as there’s plenty of evidence that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already struggling to try and connect just its films and TV series together on top of the overall quality problem they have, it is another piece of evidence that Gunn is talking out of both sides of his mouth.
How can a videogame not impact how viewers follow the story in a TV series or film? What’s the point of even saying they are going to be connected if indeed they seemingly aren’t.
Creature Commandos via DC YouTUbe
RELATED: James Gunn Refuses to Make Statements ‘The Flash’ DC Universe Reset
As noted above this isn’t the first time Gunn has had to backtrack or contradicted himself. Gunn originally claimed in his DCU slate announcement, that the upcoming The Flash Film starring Ezra Miller, a criminal, would reset the DCU.
Gunn made the following statement in his Chapter 1 announcement video: “First, we have Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Shazam has always been off kind of in his own part of the DCU so he connects very well. That moves directly into The Flash, a fantastic movie that I really love, that resets the entire DCU universe.”
Ezra Miller plays Barry Allen in The Flash (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Gunn was, however, asked by an Instagram user in an Instagram post to promote the Creature Commandos animated show. “James I’m seriously confused. How is Viola Davis still playing Amanda Waller? Aren’t you rebooting the DCEU 100%? That includes peacemaker, the whole suicide squad and the Snyder Verse. Like you said Robert Pattinson’s Batman & Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is else-worlds story.”
Gunn answered, “Flash resets many things, not all things. Some characters remain the same some do not.”
James Gunn Instagram
The most interesting thing about this is the fact that interconnectivity has been retracted. This lends credence to a rumor that DC’s entire slate of DCUs was announced as part of a plan to revitalize DC in order to make it more appealing to potential buyers.
WDW Pro recently shared the details of this rumor. “Warner Bros. Discovery with both DC and Harry Potter is to soft reboot the franchises in order to make them seem more viable and healthy. However, rebooting them with projects that are highly interconnected and/or episodic in chronological consistency is not desired at this time.”
He explained, “The reason might surprise. Warner Bros. Discovery allegedly expects to be purchased within the next three to five years. Therefore it is not in Warner Bros. Discovery’s interest to craft huge franchise worlds like seen in the MCU because such a thing would make a potential buyer beholden to this new roadmap/story narrative.”
“Instead, Warner Bros. Discovery allegedly feels the more lucrative option is to rejuvenate the franchises with non-connected properties while still unloading bad inventory so that when a company like Apple or Amazon when they purchase them potentially they get the benefits of a refreshed franchise plus the ability to craft their new cinematic universe in whatever way they choose,” WDW Pro
Michael Keaton plays Batman in The Flash (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
What do you make of Gunn’s most recent backtracking on interconnectivity of the DCU?
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