James Gunn is all set to swoop in and wipe the slate of the DC cinematic universe clean, using the incoming The Flash movie to reset the entire timeline and pave the way for his shiny new DCU, which properly begins in 2025 with his Superman: Legacy reboot. It’s hilarious, then, that it turns out he’s accidentally set to erase himself from DC continuity at the same time thanks to a sneaky, newly discovered Easter egg.
As pointed out by Twitter user @HeroesUnbound, a set photo taken in the set for Young Barry Allen’s bedroom in Andy Muschietti’s Scarlet Speedster movie confirms that the hero has a poster for 2004’s Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed on his wall. While a handy detail to confirm the time-frame for the flashbacks to Barry’s childhood, this has the additional effect of confirming that Gunn exists in the current DC canon. Gunn of course wrote both Monsters Unleashed and 2002’s Scooby-Doo.
Just in case you thought this was something a vain Gunn insisted was inserted into the movie himself, the DC Studios co-CEO seems just as shocked by this as the rest of us. “I’m canon?” was his stunned response to the revelation.
Gunn shouldn’t be all that surprised that he exists on the DCEU’s Earth as his cameo as himself in Harley Quinn confirmed that he is part of the DC multiverse. As for whether the set dressers knew what they were doing when they tacked this Scooby-Doo poster to the wall, it does seem likely to be an in-joke as, even if filming took place prior to his hiring as studio chief, Gunn’s ties to DC go back to landing The Suicide Squad directing gig in 2018.
No doubt the fact that it makes him DC canon will only increase Gunn’s total gushing love for The Flash. And if appealing to the man’s vanity with this Easter egg was part of Muschietti’s plan to secure his long-term DC future, well, it seems to be working. The Flash races into theaters from June 16.
