James Gunn was recently interviewed by his Super star Rainn Wilson in the aptly named Interview Magazine and the DC Studios co-chair touched on a number of interesting topics, including what makes the DCU different from other cinematic universes.
In talking about what separates the DCU from the MCU, James Gunn stated, "It’s a different map. It’s a world in which some form of superheroes, which we call Metahumans, have existed for at least 300 years and they’ve been a part of our life."
He added, "But I think that we’re reaching a point in the DCU where there’s three factions. There’s the Metahumans, the governments, and then the corporations. And the corporations are equally important. There’s Luthor Corp, there’s Lord Tech and Stagg Industries and Wayne Enterprises, which are the four big companies that are vying for another type of domination."
Gunn went on to explain, "And they aren’t evil corporations, really. They’re just [frick]ing amoral corporations."
Even Luthor Corp. isn't evil, despite the fact that Lex Luthor is its figurehead. "The corporations in themselves aren’t evil. Corporations are amoral... Lex Luthor’s a pretty bad guy, although his corporation has done some great things. Luthor has created a battery, which has made the running of the world a much more efficient process. He has cars that run more efficiently, that are better for clean air. He’s done some really great things for the world, which is the reason for his obsession with Superman. He was considered the greatest guy in the world a few years ago, even though there were Metahumans, and then this guy with dimples and a glint in his eye in a silly costume came in and made him feel like shit, so he’s been sort of obsessed with him ever since and has gone evil..."
What’s your take on the DCU splitting itself into three powerhouse factions?
On one side, you’ve got the superheroes and supervillains, always clashing in high-stakes battles. On the other, world governments are pulling strings behind the scenes, while billion-dollar corporations make their own moves in the shadows. With Lord Tech now funding the Justice Gang, we’re already seeing some surprising overlap between these groups.
If corporations can bankroll a team of heroes, what’s stopping the government from doing the same? That kind of setup feels a lot like The Authority, a project James Gunn himself has admitted has been one of the trickier pieces to fit into his DCU puzzle.