James Gunn's new(ish) DCU has been subject to a fair share of criticism, especially for Supergirl, with some fans even saying that he should step out of the way. To me, that’s silly for a couple of reasons. For one, he’s barely getting started. So far, Gunn’s DCU is made up of two movies (Superman and Supergirl), and two TV shows (Peacemaker and Lanterns), all of which you can watch with an HBO Max subscription. Creature Commandos is the lone animated series thus far, but I’m going to set that aside for now.
That isn’t the only reason to give Gunn some more slack. I just happen to love the way he is approaching each character uniquely, mixing and matching genres that fit the story. I think it’s a perfect approach.
Superhero Movies, Comedy Shows, And More
All four projects in the newly constituted DC Universe have had very different vibes. Superman is pretty much a straight-up superhero movie. That’s how it should be with Superman. He’s the most famous superhero of all time; he should get the superhero treatment. The rest are far from straight-up. Supergirl is an origin story, mixed with some comedy, wrapped in a hero’s journey of a flawed character. Sure, the villain sucked, and the movie isn’t perfect, but I had a lot of fun with it, and I think Milly Alcock is fantastic in the role.
On the TV side of things, Peacemaker is a really funny, explicit comedy that holds nothing back with one of DC’s most ridiculous heroes (and I mean ridiculous in the best way). John Cena is, of course, the exact right actor to play the role, and both seasons of the show are really fun. Lanterns, on the other hand, is a buddy cop show. It’s funny when it needs to be and serious when it needs to be. The good cop/bad cop roles are a little blurred, which keeps us on our toes, but it fits both characters well and fits the vibe of Green Lantern even better.
And The Changes Keep Coming
In what could be the biggest swing of this first phase, the upcoming DC film Clayface is a body horror movie. Again, it’s a great way to introduce a villain into the universe. It might not work, but I’m betting it does. It’s not going to make a billion dollars, but that’s not the goal. The movie, which hits the 2026 movie schedule next month during spooky season, was made for a modest budget (by superhero movie standards), and doesn’t need to make Spider-Man money to be financially successful. I love the approach here.
Next summer, we’ll be getting back into straight superhero stuff with Man of Tomorrow, and beyond that…well… we just don’t know yet. We do know that there is an upcoming DC TV show centered on Jimmy Olsen called The People v. Gorilla Grodd, and it’s being described as a true crime mockumentary. Another genre-bending approach that sounds perfect for the character as played by Skyler Gisondo.
Marvel has always played it pretty straight most of the time in the MCU, and that probably played into the superhero fatigue that we’ve all felt, though Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s insane box office performance this summer has quieted down that talk a bit. Still, Marvel pretty much plays in the same sandbox for each movie, so taking a very different approach, as Gunn is clearly doing, is a breath of fresh air.
