DC’s James Gunn Jokes About Which Characters He Would Trade to Marvel

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn responded to another batch of questions from fans on Threads, this time joking about which DC character he’d trade for a Marvel Comics character. The question stemmed from Gunn lightly mocking a Threads user who seemingly created an account solely to ask Gunn to comment on whether DC is going to sell Batman to Marvel Comics (it’s unclear where this frankly absurd notion stems from, be it an online forum or something concocted on the spot by said user). To clarify his response, Gunn added, “It’s a strong no. I thought it was a silly question.”

Then another fan asked if a trade between Marvel and DC could be negotiated. Batman is off the table, but Gunn presented another deal he could get behind. “I wouldn’t trade Batman! I might give them Codpiece for Fantomex or something,” Gunn posted.

Gunn is quite obviously joking here. Studio character trades may have occurred between Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox back in the day (which Gunn knows firsthand). However, those deals were for characters owned by Marvel Comics, not swaps across comic book universes.

But even as a joke, it’s funny to see Gunn offer Codpiece up as negotiable, even laughing about how “Responses below are getting awful sentimental about Codpiece.” Sure, Codpiece is a strange character, as are all of the Doom Patrol’s villains. However, considering how successful Gunn has been with similarly odd characters like The Detachable Kid and Weasel, one might think Codpiece was right up his alley. Then again, Gunn did list Fantomex among his five favorite X-Men characters. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made.

Will fans ever see a Marvel and DC crossover?

While trading between Marvel and DC has never been a thing, crossovers used to be somewhat regular in the comics. However, that ended in the 21st century, with JLA/Avengers seemingly closing that door in 2004. This may have to do with these comic book publishers that had previously been left to their own devices coming under increased oversight by their corporate owners as superhero movies began to dominate the box office.

Gunn has stated that he thinks a cinematic Marvel and DC crossover could happen, but not for a long while. “I think that it would look like something that would be happening in about ten years,” Gunn said. “Not today, because we have a whole bunch of other DC movies we need to tell. But yeah, I think it could be cool.

“I’m certain that’s more likely now that I’m in charge [at DC]. Who knows?  That’s many years away, though … I think we have to establish what we’re doing [at DC] first. I would be lying to say that we haven’t discussed it. But all discussions have been very, very light and fun.”

Gunn is currently working on Superman: Legacy, the film that will establish the new Superman within the context of the new DC Universe. Superman: Legacy is scheduled to open in theaters on July 11, 2025.