The shared cinematic universe of DC characters, currently called the DC Universe, has had a bit of trouble. There have been multiple attempts to create a shared universe. The Green Lantern movies was supposed to start one but the movie bombed. Man of Steel created one under the guidance of Zack Snyder. While it had a few high points, it fizzled out.
The most recent is the DCU under James Gunn and Peter Safran. This includes the movies Superman, Supergirl, and Clayface and the television series Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and Lanterns. There have been various levels of success here.
Now it has been announced that Peter Safran and James Gunn have stepped down as co-CEOs and that they will be more involved in creative pursuits. There is some question as to how voluntary this step down was.
This leaves a number of questions:
- Will the remaining DCU projects that have been filmed be released?
- Will the DC universe be once more rebooted?
- Will they “restore the Snyderverse”?
It looks like they will be but we remember the lack of the enthusiasm over the last movies in the previous shared universe once Snyder’s vision was cancelled.
I sincerely hope they do not reboot the DCU. While one of main complaints is Gunn’s focus on obscure characters and not on the main characters (other than Superman). This also means that a course correction can take place without changing much of what has already been released. I don’t think the public has much appetite for another reboot.
Finally, regarding the Snyderverse: NOPE. While I enjoyed watching the Snydercut of the Justice League, I think that gave Snyder fans an inflated view of their influence. Every time there has been some hiccup in Gunn’s plan, they have heralded the return of the Snyderverse. It is not going to happen.
I am a huge DC fan but I cannot tolerate much of the DC cinematic fandom. The war between fans of Snyder and Gunn is tiresome.
I do not like most of what Zack Snyder puts out, although Man of Steel was good. I like James Gunn better but I’m not a fanboy. Superman was good but Gunn gets pretty focused on profanity and sexual content.
I think the foundation of what James Gunn has created is good and solid. David Corensweet is a fantastic Superman and I’m excited to see more of Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart.
I am not overly upset about Gunn’s departure. The pushing of the boundaries to show how edgy one can get is not helpful. Focusing on the quality of the story and using the best of DC’s characters is what people want.
In an ideal world, DC will move forward with what Gunn has built and adjust the direction to be more in line with what people are looking for. This is not the end of DC on the big screen and I am hoping that this is a sign of better things to come.
