Not too long ago, Kevin Feige stated that the days of Marvel Studios offering six, seven, eight, or even nine-picture contracts were over, but his protege James Gunn could end up tying his talent down for even longer as the next stage of the DCU begins to take shape.
Officially titled as Chapter 1 – Gods & Monsters, Gunn and fellow co-CEO Peter Safran rolled out an ambitious slate of projects that covered official continuity, the rebranded Elseworlds offshoots, live-action and animated TV shows, and a handful of feature films. The plan is for everything to be seamlessly integrated into one overarching mythology, but that could pose some problems.
At the press event where the grand unveiling was made, Jeff Sneider of Above the Line noted that “because of the 8-10 year plan, talent is being asked to sign 10-year contracts that cover both film and television.” While lengthy contracts aren’t exactly out of the ordinary, it does make it more difficult to envision A-list superstars throwing their lot in with DC.
After all, if there’s a big name out there who wants to chase down other projects and enjoy some degree of flexibility, being at the beck and call of DC Studios for an entire decade is inevitably going to cause some scheduling conflicts. Then again, Gunn has a long list of regular collaborators and powerful friends, so maybe he’ll be able to convince them.
Not to use Marvel as a counterpoint, but Robert Downey Jr. signed at least four separate contracts during his tenure as Tony Stark, so you can see why there may be concerns over DC candidates being asked to commit to 10 years right out of the gate.
