Latest DC News: James Gunn defends his promotion of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ as Ben Affleck and RackaRacka hard pass on the DCU

As usual, James Gunn is dominating DC headlines. Between the imminent release of his final MCU project and the plethora of DCU films yet to be hashed out, the director can’t seem to catch a break. Fans are ragging on him for finishing out his tenure as a Marvel showrunner, while also berating him for not managing to bag some excellent directors for the DCU. When the fandom isn’t harassing Gunn over directing, they are picking for any little hint around the return of some of their favorite actors. Between Jason Momoa, Xolo Maridueña, and Sasha Calle, there are plenty of actors involved in upcoming projects that fans are dying to see make the transition from the DCEU to Gunn’s DCU.

Fans hope that upcoming films fill in the confusing gap between the DCEU and the DCU

DC Comics has a rough history when it comes to adaptations, especially when paired against the much more popular MCU. Attempts to bring massively popular characters like Wonder Woman and Cyborg to the big screen have seen their successes, but the cinematic handling of DC properties has largely, and disappointingly, fallen flat. With the DCEU transitioning to the DCU in the very capable hands of James Gunn, a spark of hope long missing in the fan base has begun to grow. For the most part, the transition is promising to be for the best, save for the unfortunate exclusion of some of the actors that made the DCEU a quality cinematic universe.

Many staples of the DCEU, like Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill, won’t make the transition to Gunn’s DCU, but what about upcoming additions like Blue Beetle and the Flash? A small handful of flicks are still set to debut throughout 2023, and at least some of them have a place in both the DCEU and the DCU. The increasingly confusing status of upcoming projects like Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has some fans lost, as they try to determine what DC’s future actually looks like.

The future of these franchises likely hangs on how all the aforementioned properties perform at the box office, making ticket sales all the more vital if fans want to see the characters return. For Aquaman actor Jason Momoa, it seems a no-brainer to keep him on as the King of Atlantis, but with the poor reception of 2023’s releases so far, rumors that the actor will be recast as Superman enemy Lobo may be closer to true than false.

There’s more bad news for the upcoming DCU

While fans are stuck in limbo over their favorite character’s potential return to the DCU, several directors have full-on demolished any hope of their continued involvement in James Gunn’s projects going ahead. Ben Affleck has been incredibly candid about his potential as a director for the upcoming Batman reboot, saying that though he doesn’t have anything against James Gunn, he has no desire to join in with Warner Bros.’ plans for the future.

Affleck isn’t the only one to snub the company. The Philippou brothers, directors behind the popular A24 horror release Talk to Me, turned down the company’s proposition to direct an unnamed project. While the Australian YouTubers were incredibly gracious and voiced their enthusiasm for what Gunn might produce, their declination leaves Gunn with only two project leads, James Mangold — writer and director for Swamp Thing — and himself. The DCU isn’t sent to take off until 2025, so Gunn has plenty of time to find more talent to throw behind his projects, but fans are already growing uneasy about the supposed lack of interest the DCU is generating among creatives.

James Gunn straddles the line between two cinematic universes

With the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just around the corner, James Gunn has been doing the rounds promoting his beloved franchise. While most people understand the necessity of self-promotion (and the contractual obligations) some Gunn detractors have taken to Twitter to criticize the director for following through on his final MCU project. Stalwart as ever, Gunn has made sure his naysayers understand that, though he is now co-CEO of DC, he spent the better part of ten years crafting the Guardians storyline. Maybe instead of feeding the trolls, Gunn could take some time to consider the inclusion of longtime DC super, Green Arrow.