James Gunn Reveals Three Actors Who Will Continue Playing Their DC Characters in the DCU

James Gunn revealed which DC actors will be reprising their roles in the new DCU. On Threads, the DC Comics head got asked about what’s canon for the franchise moving forward and the filmmaker had a lot to say. Gunn clarified that Xolo Maridueña will be Blue Beetle in the new configuration. Also returning from the previous movies are John Cena as Peacemaker and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. These choices make a ton of sense seeing as how there are both Peacemaker Season 2 and a Waller series scheduled for HBO Max. 

Ever since James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the heads of DC Films, there have been questions about what is canon from the previous regime. These answers and others since that first announcement have clarified what’s going on there. It feels like a lot of the old DCEU stuff is being shown the door. That fact is going to distress some fans of the previous incarnation of the live-action DC projects. Fan-favorites like Henry Cavill’s Superman and Ben Affleck’s Batman are going to be constantly references whenever Superman: Legacy hits theaters. To say nothing of the long cinematic history of the Dark Knight whenever The Brave and The Bold takes shape.

What Is Canon In The DCU?

With Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom still set to debut this winter, fans have been getting even more restless waiting for the new era of DC movies. With Creature Commandos, things in the DCU begin in earnest. Until that moment, projects like Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Aquaman 2, and The Flash all kind of sit at the end of the previous branch of DCEU storytelling. It will really be a new era of for the DCU as they begin with a strange animated offering and go from there. Check out what Gunn had to say about it on Threads right here.

“Nothing is canon until Creature Commandos next year – a sort of aperitif to the DCU – & then a deeper dive into the universe with Superman: Legacy after that,” Gunn clarified. “It’s a very human drive to want to understand everything all the time, but I think its okay to be confused on what’s happening in the DCU since no one has seen anything from the DCU yet.”

What About The Multiverse?

As with most comic book storytelling right now, there’s a multiverse element of all of this to deal with. The Flash ran through the concept and viewers were left wondering what else could happen in the DCEU after the credits rolled. After all, that Barry Allen is now in a much different place than where he began. Could there be a future for Affleck and Cavill’s heroes among the multiverse somewhere? According to Gunn, nothing is impossible. But, they will quickly point out which entries are a part of the DCU and which ones are not. That should make it a little easier for fans with anxiety.

“The DCU’s a multiverse, but we’re going to be focusing on one universe from that multiverse,” Safran explained. “And if something isn’t DCU, we’re going to make that very clear. So, strictly adult fare like Todd Phillips’ Joker, or kids animation like Teen Titans Go!, we’re going to make it very clear that those are DC Elseworlds, just the same way that they do it in the comic books.”

Do you think anyone else should have carried over to the DCU? Let us know in the comments down below!