James Gunn has been tasked with rebooting the DCEU as the DCU and, as one of DC Studios' co-CEOs alongside Peter Safran, expectations are high that he can put this shared world on the right track.
Due to the "DC Studios" and "DCU" branding, it's admittedly tricky not to think about Marvel Studios and the MCU. Whether that's intentional or not, Gunn will be expected to meet the same level of quality as that company, even after what's proven to be a hit-and-miss Multiverse Saga.
Taking to Smallville alum Michael Rosenbaum on his Inside of You podcast, Gunn laid out some of the ways he plans to differentiate the DCU from the MCU.
"If you look at the MCU, there are very few traditional superheroes," the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director explains. "There was never a guy with a secret identity until Spider-Man. Their [Captain America] was turned into a soldier even though he wears a mask. Iron Man outed himself at the end of the first Iron Man because they don't want to deal with the whole secret identity stuff."
"There is a bit more of a fantasy element to DCU because there are these larger-than-life superheroes," Gunn added. "For me, there's Superman and Clark Kent. They're two different characters, and you have to find a way to deal with them that's as grounded as possible within this world of DC."
Don't fret too much about the filmmaker using the word "grounded" there because he'd go on to explain that the fantastical, alternate history of the DC Universe is one of the biggest draws for him.
"It is Gotham City and Metropolis and Star City and Bludhaven, and all these different places in this other reality, and it makes it a little bit like Westeros in some ways. I love it in that way. I love that we get to create true world-building in DC. It isn't just 'we're throwing some superheroes on Earth.' I think right now, that's one of the key differences."
While Gunn is in the process of casting Superman: Legacy, he also has an entire slate of projects to oversee meaning he could find himself spread pretty thin over the next few years.
Building a shared world is no easy process, so fingers cross Warner Bros. doesn't rush DC Studios into attempting to replicate the MCU as we saw how that went with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
Are you excited to visit the new DCU?