DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has addressed why they opted against retelling Batman and Superman‘s origin stories on the big screen. The filmmaker also defended DC Studios’ decision to give Swamp Thing a new movie.
James Gunn’s DC Universe is almost here
Almost two years after Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled the initial film and television slate for the DC Universe, the hotly-anticipated franchise is less than two weeks away from launching. Set to encompass everything from live-action movies to adult animated television series, Gunn is clearly hoping that the DCU will have something for everyone.
But on Threads, Gunn recently responded to one fan who was less than thrilled. They took issue with DC Studios forgoing origin stories in favor of movies where the superheroes were already established and well into their careers fighting crime. The fan also criticized DC’s decision to give lesser-known characters like Sgt. Rock and Swamp Thing their own movies before more popular heroes like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and The Flash.
“I’m not telling Batman and Superman’s origin stories again because everyone knows them,” argued Gunn. “And don’t put Swamp Thing in the corner. That’s a project in development we’ve actually announced, and he’s an incredibly well known character with not only some of the greatest comics of all time but a successful film series and his own TV show, something that could be said of only a very small handful of DC characters.”
After another fan argued in favor of origin stories, stating that general audiences are not as familiar with superheroes’ backstories as well as “comicbook nerds” are, Gunn stepped in to reiterate that it was only Batman and Superman whose origins would not be shown in their DCU movies. “Again, it’s just two DC characters: Batman and Superman,” he wrote.
Both Batman and Superman’s origins were depicted on screen in the DC Extended Universe, the predecessor to the DCU, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Man of Steel, respectively. As for Swamp Thing, the character’s origin is a bit more complicated than that of Batman and Superman, so it’s likely that the upcoming movie, which will be written and directed by James Mangold, will delve at least partially into the character’s backstory.
Superman, Swamp Thing, and the Batman movie The Brave and the Bold were all part of the initial DCU slate announcement, while Sgt. Rock was first confirmed to be in development earlier this week. Actor Daniel Craig is reportedly in talks to portray Sgt. Rock in the movie, with Luca Guadagnino — who directed Craig in Queer — tapped to direct. No deals are signed yet, but the plan is for Sgt. Rock to be Guadagnino’s next movie.
At the time of writing, Superman is the only aforementioned DCU character whose movie is already in post-production. It will hit theaters on July 11, 2025, as the first DCU movie.
