James Gunn may have revealed the first slate of 10 projects as part of his new DCU, but the announcement left more questions than answers. Specifically, what’s up with the big stars who are already proven successful as DC’s most popular heroes? Well, Gunn has shared a bit more about them, but again, the future remains cloudy.
So here’s what we know for sure: Henry Cavill is out as Superman, and Viola Davis is coming back as Amanda Waller. So this isn’t a complete refresh and actors we know can come back. Okay then, so why no mention of Gadot’s Wonder Woman as part of the new Paradise Lost series set on the land of the Amazons?
“We’ve talked to Gal [Gadot]. She’s up for doing stuff. We’re not sure what we’re going to do with that,” explained Gunn.
Interestingly, in another part of the interview captured by io9, Gunn expressed dissatisfaction with the entire DCEU slate and the previous Wonder Woman movies starring Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins…
“The history has been shit. It’s been a real fucked up journey for DC. I think that there was basically no one minding the mint and they were giving out IP to any creatives that, you know, smiled at whoever was in charge. There was never any real power given to the people in charge. And so somebody could always go over their head and do whatever they wanted. And, you know, we had the DCEU, which then became the Joss Whedon Justice League, but it also became the Snyderverse, which became this. And we have Wonder Woman and we have Wonder Woman [1984], which doesn’t even match what happened in Wonder Woman one. And then we have the Arrowverse and even us, coming in with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. And then all of a sudden Batmite is a real guy.
Sounds like Gunn is not a fan.
Okay, so what about Jason Momoa? Is he coming back as Aquaman, or is his time done and these rumors of him playing Lobo true?
“Jason will not play two characters,” said Gunn.
Peter Safran added, “Jason always thought ‘Aquaman’ was a trilogy, in his own mind. But he also loves Lobo. He’s been very clear about that, too. He’s never going to play two characters, but…”
“We’ll figure it out after ‘Aquaman 2,’” concluded Gunn.
Eh? To me it sounds like Gunn and Safran know exactly what they’re going to do with both Momoa and Gadot, but don’t want to spill it now and upset fans.
Gunn and Safran were much clearer about a couple of things, though, like the return of John Cena as Peacemaker, a show that will share some characters with the upcoming Waller series.
Oh, and Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck are definitely out.
“All I can tell you really right now is Henry [Cavill] and Ben [Affleck] are not part of this universe,” Gunn said.
There was also confirmation that The Flash will be the catalyst for the launch of the new DCU…
Gunn said, “I think that we’ve gotten lucky with the next four movies, frankly, because we have Shazam, which leads into Flash, which resets everything, which then goes into Blue Beetle, which is totally disconnected. He can totally be a part of the DCU, [and that] goes into Aquaman, which leads into Superman, our first big project.”
If it’s overwhelming for fans the sheer amount of news spinning out of yesterday’s announcement, imagine what it must be like for Gunn and Safran. Stay tuned. There will probably be more to drop by the end of today.
