DC Studios James Gunn Addresses Possibility of Elseworlds Projects

Every day it seems there are new developments about the future of the DC Universe as we find out more about DC Studios’ plans and now, James Gunn is offering fans another, exciting bit of information of what could be in store. On Tuesday, Gunn replied to a fan on Twitter who asked the filmmaker and co-CEO of DC Studios if he was open to producing any Elseworlds DC projects not set in the DCU and made it clear that not only is he open to it, but Gunn wrote back “That is actively happening.”

Broadly speaking, Elseworlds stories are simply stories that feature DC characters that are set in alternate realities that are outside of the established, overarching continuity of the rest of the DC Universe and while it’s a concept fans of comics are familiar with, it’s also not a foreign idea to the world of DC’s films. 2019’s Joker is itself an Elseworld’s type movie in that it takes place outside of the then-DCEU and even before the changes at DC and Warner Bros., the idea of more Elseworlds films was something that was being considered.

Gunn himself even told ComicBook.com back in 2021 that he had considered making his The Suicide Squad its own thing entirely separate from 2016’s Suicide Squad, something that would have made it an Elseworlds type film.

“Well, listen, it isn’t very different with the Guardians movies,” Gunn said. “I mean, I’ve made two Guardians movies that were completely outside of the rest of the stories at the time. I never really had to adhere to anything except where I created the Infinity Stones, so that was it. It isn’t that different, but the truth is that David Ayer did a remarkable job, both working with and casting a few of these actors. I love the character of Harley Quinn. I do not think that there is an actor alive that can do a better job than Margot Robbie. Did I consider it? Yeah, I definitely considered just doing a Joker [type movie] with it, but I liked the idea of using some of these fantastic talents that were in the first movie and moving ahead with them. I love Joel [Kinnaman]. I love Viola [Davis]. I mean, who’s better than that? And Jai [Courtney]. I love all of those actors, so I wanted to work with them.”

What do you think? Are you excited for the possibility of Elseworlds stories on the DC Studios slate? What Elseworlds stories would you want to see? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!