James Gunn Says Secret Identities and Fictional Cities Will Help Set His DCU Apart From Marvel

The first iteration of DC’s shared universe of superhero movies draws to a close this week with the release of The Flash. Starring Ezra Miller, whose take on Barry Allen was introduced in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the movie will be a mutliverse-hopping epic that will see the character team up with Supergirl (Sasha Calle) and two different realities’ versions of Batman (Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton). It will also kickstart a new era of DC movies, overseen by co-CEOs of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran, who are planning a new take on the universe that will incorporate stories from movies, TV, animation, and video games into one massive tapestry.

Gunn, who brought both Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise to life and the DCEU’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, straddled the line, having lived and had some success in both worlds. Now that he’s the co-CEO of DC Studios, he spoke with Inside of You host Michael Rosenbaum about how he will differentiate the next generation of DC movies and TV shows from what’s going on at Marvel.

“If you look at the MCU, there are very few traditional superheroes,” Gunn said. “There was never a guy with a secret identity until Spider-Man in the MCU. Their Cap was turned into a soldier even though he wears a mask. Iron Man outed himself at the end of the first Iron Man because they don’t want to deal with the whole secret identity stuff. But there is a bit more of a fantasy element to DCU, because there are these larger-than-life superheroes and for me, there’s Superman and Clark Kent. They’re two different characters, and you have to find a way to deal with them that’s as grounded as possible within this world of DC. One of the things that I love about DC, that excites me about DC, is that in a way it’s another alternate history. It is Gotham City and Metropolis and Star City and Bludhaven, and all these different places in this other reality, and it makes it a little bit like Westeros in some ways. I love it in that way. I love that we get to create true worldbuilding in DC, it isn’t just ‘we’re throwing some superheroes on Earth.’ I think right now, that’s one of the key differences.” 

Gunn’s first projects will be Creature Commandos and Superman: Legacy, but he has producer credit on The Flash, out Friday, as well as this summer’s Blue Beetle.