James Gunn Reveals the Surprising Role of Batman’s Company in the DCU (& 3 More)

Corporations play a large role in James Gunn’s Superman. The film’s main villain, Lex Luthor, is the CEO of LuthorCorp, dedicating his immense resources to finding a way to eliminate Superman. Then there’s LordTech, which is run by Maxwell Lord. He funds the Justice Gang, the superhero team consisting of Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, and Hawkgirl. Giving two major corporations a prominent part in the movie wasn’t done by accident. Gunn sees corporations as an integral part of the DC Universe moving forward, including one owned by someone who dresses up as a bat and beats criminals to a pulp.

In a conversation with Rainn Wilson for Interview Magazine, Gunn explained there are “three factions” in the DCU: metahumans, world governments, and corporations. “There’s LuthorCorp, there’s LordTech and Stagg Industries and Wayne Enterprises, which are the four big companies that are vying for another type of domination,” he said. “And they aren’t evil corporations, really. They’re just f—ing amoral corporations.” Gunn elaborated that the corporations are “dependent on the morality of the figurehead.”

What Wayne Enterprises’ Role in the DCU Could Be

If the morality of corporations in the DCU depend on the morality of their CEO, Gunn’s idea could be to create a spectrum of corporations. Despite some of the good LuthorCorp has done, Lex is a villain, and he’ll likely remain that way in subsequent appearances. Wayne Enterprises could be on the opposite end, with Bruce Wayne using his wealth and resources to invest in ways that can improve the world. A company like LordTech may exist in more of a middle ground; yes, Maxwell Lord bankrolls the Justice League, but it’s unknown if he has ulterior motives or what his endgame is. Gunn described Maxwell as “not the greatest guy in the world.” He might be more moral than Lex Luthor, but that’s not saying much.

It sounds like whenever Bruce Wayne starts appearing in DCU movies or live-action shows (Batman has a cameo in the animated Creature Commandos), he’ll be business rivals with the likes of Lex Luthor, Maxwell Lord, and Simon Stagg. Perhaps Luthor being incarcerated after the events of Superman creates some sort of corporate power vacuum, and there’s an arms race as Wayne, Lord, and Stagg attempt to one-up each other. It’ll be interesting to see how that dynamic unfolds. Wayne doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d be interested in “domination,” so maybe he’ll try to use his position of power to stop Lord and Stagg from pursuing immoral activities.

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Unfortunately, it might be awhile before fans see how everything plays out. The DCU’s Bruce Wayne/Batman is likely years away from debuting. Though the feature film The Brave and the Bold is in development, Gunn has said he does not want it to premiere in the same calendar year as Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II (which is set in a separate continuity). When providing an update on DCU projects last month, Gunn stated that there are other projects “that are much further along than The Brave and the Bold.” No casting will take place until the script is complete and Gunn is happy with it.

But that doesn’t mean there can’t be some teases peppered here and there over the next few years. Perhaps Wayne Enterprises and its mission can be referenced in one of the DCU projects coming quickly through the pipeline. There could be an Easter egg in Clayface, as the titular character is commonly associated with the Batman mythos. Maybe Gunn himself will establish a foundation in his Superman follow-up, which could begin production sooner than expected. When a shared universe is involved, each movie or show is an opportunity to flesh out larger connections.