Did a DC comic book legend just spill the beans all over James Gunn? Also, David Ayer would want a lot more Batman for a Suicide Squad director’s cut and one of The Boys is overdue for a chance to play Batman.
Did this DC writer just speak too soon or is James Gunn in the director’s chair for ‘Superman: Legacy’?
Is the cat all the way out of the bag? It’s already known that DC Studios CEO James Gunn will be the man writing the screenplay for the new DCU relaunch of the Superman franchise, Superman: Legacy, but Gunn has refused to confirm any speculation that he’ll be the man sitting in the director’s chair when filming begins on what is sure to be the flagship movie of the company’s new shared universe reboot. But longtime Batman writer Tom King may have inadvertently confirmed what everybody already supposes to be fact.
King, an Eisner-award-winning comics writer who has been announced by Gunn himself as one the architects of the new DCU, the shared universe Gunn and Peter Safran intend to replace the former DCEU or “Snyderverse”, identified Gunn as not only the writer, but also director of the upcoming Superman project in an interview with ComicPop. “[Gunn is] the writer and director of the Superman movie and he’s sort of the creative force behind all of this,” King announced, presumably being too gushy over his boss to realize he was pulling a classic Tom Holland move.
King is, in addition to being one of DC’s most popular writers, also an ex-CIA agent, so you’d think he would be better at keeping a secret. Still, even pros occasionally have a slip of the tongue. It seems like the safe money is indeed upon Gunn to helm Legacy.
The ‘Ayer-cut’ of Suicide Squad would have changed the narrative of the film
If there’s one thing fans of the old DCEU aka Snyderverse want other than DC to sell the whole franchise to Netflix, it’s for the studio to “release the Ayer’s cut,” the much-longed-for director’s cut of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad the 2016 film featuring the original big screen team of supervillains turned government operatives. The hashtag #ReleaseTheAyerCut has trended many times on social media since 2020 with the full support of Ayer. And it looks like if the movie was ever released according to Ayer’s standards the narrative would include one major narrative-altering change.
According to actor Will Rowlands, a #ReleaseTheAyerCut partisan who has actually seen Ayer’s version of the movie, Ben Affleck’s Batman would have been much more central to the film, and even have altered the plot. Rowlands revealed that the action of Batman v. Superman and Batman’s promise to raise a team of meta-humans would eventually lead to an encounter with the Squad where they would offer their help to track down the future members of the Justice League Batman would turn “down the squad as they wouldn’t be good enough.”
Ironically, it seems as if DC/WBD has all the footage they need already to make the film happen. Sadly, it doesn’t make it any more likely that the project as Ayer intended will ever legally see the light of day.
Should Jensen Ackles get a third bite at the Batman apple?
The Boys star Jensen Ackles nearly played Batman in the upcoming Gotham Knights television series, but was prevented from doing so due to insurmountable scheduling conflicts. It remains to be seen whether Ackles dodged a bullet in not getting cast — Bruce Wayne dies in the first episode and reviews of the CW property on Rotten Tomatoes haven’t exactly been complimentary. However, just being considered for the caped crusader’s cowl may put Ackles into the mind of DC studios when casting for a much higher profile Bat-role.
Ackles has actually managed to play the Dark Knight once already, voicing the character in the 2021 animated film Batman: The Long Halloween Deluxe Edition. Between that and his recent near miss many fans are taking to social media outlets to let the upper management at DC Studios know that he deserves another chance at the role, namely in the upcoming character reboot The Brave and the Bold.
At 45, Ackles may not seem like a go-to choice but the Batman in BATB is reputed to be an older and wiser version of the long-running character. And fans are certainly making the valid point that his role as Soldier Boy on Prime Video’s The Boys has shown that he has what it takes to take on a super-powered badass role. Perhaps his third chance will be the charm.
