What DC Comics Movies Could James Gunn Direct?

A new report has broken down the possibilities for writer/director James Gunn‘s next career move after Disney fired him from the director’s chair of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. In the midst of that report was the revelation that Warner Bros. is among the studios looking at Gunn as a potential hire — which has naturally started a major buzz with DC movie fans!

So, if Gunn were to make the jump to Warner Bros. and its DC Universe film franchise, which DC Comics property would he best at adapting? Gunn has previously revealed that there are any number of DC titles he’d be a fan of working with. Scroll below for a list of DC franchises that have either been on Gunn’s mind, or would be a good fit for his unique vision.

The Spectre

The Spectre is the Spirit of Justice that rules the DC Universe — a force of divinity bonded to the soul of a long-dead policeman, Jim Corrigan. The character’s dark duality (a brutal 1930s cop and modern supernatural “Wrath of God” entity) seems like a perfect fit for someone like Gunn. The 1930s flashbacks could give Gunn a great detective Noir framework for his eccentric, offbeat throwback style, while his horror leanings would make the Spirit of Vengeance portions a frightening example of superhero lore. 

Metal Men

Metal Men were a group of strange robotic heroes, who embodied the qualities of the metals they’re named after. Their origin has been changed several times; however, whether it’s the version about robots created to be rescuers (but were actually meant to be assassins), or the one about the team of scientists (and a pizza guy) whose consciousness gets imprinted onto said robots, the result is a weird and eccentric team of superheroes that practically scream to have someone like Gunn handle their story. 

Batgirl

Batgirl has been a project that has been in development for some time, with Joss Whedon hopping on (and then off) the project in the last year. However, while Barbara Gordon has been the Batgirl most often associated with the film, Gunn has expressed interest in taking on the other Batgirl, Cassandra Cain. As the daughter of famed assassin Lady Shiva, Cassie had a pretty rough childhood, made to be an elite (and mute) martial arts assassin. Gunn could certainly do wonders with a protagonist that doesn’t even speak for half the film, but runs around in one of the scarier Bat-person costumes around. 

Doom Patrol

Doom Patrol’s label as “The World’s Strangest Heroes” is pretty much a calling-card for this to be a Gunn movie. A gathering of heroes whose powers often leave them alienated and/or horribly traumatized in some way, is just the sort of oddball family drama that made Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films a hit. While it’s true that a Doom Patrol TV series is soon coming to the DC Universe streaming service, Gunn would probably be the best chance (maybe only?) that Doom Patrol would have of making it to the big screen. 

Red Hood and the Outlaws

The relaunch of Red Hood and the Outlaws has been better than the strange concept that began the series with DC’s New 52 reboot. The new version of the team features a twisted version of DC’s “Trinity,” with a twisted anti-hero Batman (Red Hood / Jason Todd), a twisted anti-hero Superman (Bizarro) and a twisted anti-hero Wonder Woman (Artemis). If you’ve ever seen Gunn’s twisted anti-hero indie movie Super, you understand why he would be a great choice to hold up a dark comedy mirror to DC’s cinematic universe. 

Challengers of the Unknown

Challengers of the Unknown is an obscure DC property about a family of adventurer scientists who investigate sci-fi and supernatural phenomenon, eventually establishing themselves as inter-dimensional “border guards.” The recent Teen Titans Go! To the Movies made a running gag out of how obscure the Challengers really are — perfect clay for Gunn to mold his next Guardians by rebooting the series in his own image. 

Deadman

Boston Brand’s story of being a stuntman who dies and becomes a spirit able to possess the body of others pretty much qualifies this project as Gunn’s version of Ghost. No doubt Gunn would have a lot of fun with the Deadman concept, offering us disturbingly weird and/or funny possession hijinks. DC heroes making cameos as Deadman’s puppets would just be icing on the cake. 

Plastic Man

This one needs little explanation: Plastic Man is the most zany, wild, crazy and potentially disturbing heroes in the DC stable — which would make him perfect for Gunn. Like Deadman, the character’s high-concept power set would be fertile ground for Gunn to play with, resulting in a dark comedy experience that few superhero films could achieve. Under Gunn’s wing (and with inspiration from Gail Simone’s current miniseries), this could easily become DC’s answer to Deadpool. 

Lobo

In the last year, word has circulated that DC is looking to once again attempt making a movie about cosmic bounty hunter anti-hero Lobo — possibly with someone like Michael Bay at the helm. 

However, the current version of the Lobo script was said to be much too expensive. Luckily, there’s a director who knows how to make a movie about alien ne’er-do-wells trying make a buck. And given his indie roots, he can definitely do it for less than $200M. 

Justice League Dark

If Deadman and Swamp Thing are each characters that fit intoGunn’s wheelhouse, then a team combining them with other supernatural misfits like John Constantine, The Demaon and Zatana certainly is too. After several failed recent attempts to get Justice League Dark off the ground as a live-action film, DC and WB are currently looking for a new director for the project. Gunn has unexpectedly been freed up from a major superhero team film, so this could be a fortuitous coincidence that becomes a great dark horse hit for DC/WB. 

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What DC character or project would you like to see Gunn take on? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! 

Upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on Dec. 21; Shazam on April 5, 2019; and Wonder Woman 2 on Nov. 1, 2019.