2024 promises to be a big year for the DCU. While we currently only have Max's Creature Commandos to look forward to, that will still offer a glimpse into what this rebooted franchise will look like and the tone DC Studios is going for as they set out to move beyond a disastrous 2023 for the DCEU.
We've known for a while that James Gunn has assembled a team of writers and creatives to help shape the new DCU and the filmmaker and executive recently shared a photo of at least some of them while reflecting on the past 12 months.
"2023 what a year! A lot of my favorite moments I can’t post because of spoilers," he said on Threads, "but here are a few from getaways to premieres to writers rooms to publicity tours to spreading my dad’s ashes in Ireland. 2023 was a year of hard work and incredible challenges - but so many wonderful moments within all that. Family, friends, dogs, and films forever. Thanks to everyone who made this year so great."
So, who do we have alongside the Superman: Legacy helmer?
From left to right, there's Chantal Nong Vo (Vice President of Production; The Suicide Squad producer), Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight Head Writer), Christina Hodson (Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, The Flash writer), Drew Goddard (Daredevil writer), Christal Henry (Waller co-showrunner), Tom King (DC Comics writer), Galen Vaisman (Vice President of Creative Development; The Flash producer), and Peter Safran (DC Studios' co-CEO).
We're sure more names have been added to this list since the photo was taken, but it still offers a glimpse into the minds shaping this upcoming reboot.
Last year, Gunn shared his take on how he's approaching DC Studios' projects from a creative standpoint:
"Even though this is all a connected universe, it’s really important to me that the individual writers and directors on the projects give their own self-expression to it, just like they do in the comics. Everything doesn’t always look the same. Everything doesn’t always have the same expression. Different artists bring remarkably different looks, feels and tones. This is not the Gunnverse."
"I want each project to have the feelings of the individual artist that’s working on it and to give them a lot of freedom—as long as it works—to create something special because what I’ve found through Marvel, what wasn’t exciting was when movies were tonally the same. What was exciting was when you had something like Guardians come out and everyone was like, 'How is this raccoon going to be dealing with this God of Thunder? That’s going to be weird.'"
"But then when you actually see the mash-up happen, that’s what makes it so fun. So, to see seemingly tonally incongruent things come together is part of the fun of all this."
Stay tuned for more on the DCU as we have it.