Many longtime fans of the DCU – especially those who lean towards the SnyderVerse – are already concerned at the prospect of James Gunn loading up the franchise with his roster of regular collaborators, so it’s no shock to discover they haven’t been instantly won over by the prospect of Joe and Anthony Russo crossing the comic book divide.
While the filmmaking duo have delivered a quartet of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best-ever installments through Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Endgame, they’ve been caught at the center of a curious debate. Are they top-tier directors in their own right, or were they just perfectly-suited to working within the confines of the MCU?
The fact Tom Holland’s Cherry and Netflix’s The Gray Man were both roundly trashed by critics for being overstuffed, self-indulgent, and unnecessarily excessive offers an interesting counterpoint, and now that the Russos have confirmed they’d be interested in boarding the DCU, they’ve found an immediate supporter in the co-CEO himself.
As it turns out, the Guardians of the Galaxy architect might be the only one enthused by the prospect of having Joe and Anthony up sticks and dive headlong into the world of comic book adaptations once again, because there are a lot of staunch DC supporters out there who don’t want them anywhere near any property, never mind Batman in particular.
The enthusiasm to greet James Mangold’s confirmation as writer and director of Swamp Thing shows that ex-Marvel directors are more than welcome to set up shop at DC, but it’s beginning to look like the Russo brothers aren’t going to get the benefit of the doubt.
