Joker: Folie à Deux has had a disastrous weekend at the box office and while that does hurt the DC brand, the sequel was made without any involvement from DC Studios whatsoever.
James Gunn did have some input on The Penguin and will take on a similar role for Matt Reeves' The Batman - Part II. However, the filmmaker's vision for the DCU itself is very specific.
He appears to be pulling from several comic book runs and eras, though the Justice League International series from the late 1980s seems to have played a major role in what we'll see from Superman next summer.
Comic Frontier recently spoke with DC Comics artist Kevin Maguire - who worked on Justice League International with Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis - and reflected on visiting the movie's set earlier this year.
"Me and a bunch of other writers and artists were invited to the set of Superman for a day in May. They showed us everything," he revealed. "They showed us the pre-production stuff. They showed us some footage."
"I got to walk around the Fortress of Solitude set and watch them shoot a scene. There's definitely a JLI sort of influence there."
"And it wouldn't surprise me, given, you know, Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad, that if the James Gunn universe were going to put together a Justice League, it probably wouldn't be Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash. It would probably be like the weird, offbeat characters. Like, I don't think it would be like our initial lineup."
"I'm sure we'd throw in, like, I don't know, any oddball character. He likes the oddball characters. So that's us. So that's great," Maguire continued. "I'm glad he's in charge. It's unfortunate Keith isn't around to see it. But it's great to see his work live on."
The artist is likely correct that the DCU will put a new spin on the Justice League, and that's evident from a team which appears to so far include Guy Gardner, Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, and Hawkgirl. We also know Maxwell Lord is funding the group so it could be we see a "corporate" League before the Man of Steel assembles his own team.
Either way, it sounds like Maguire had an incredible time visiting Superman's set and that the Fortress of Solitude will be a physical set.
Superman tells the story of Superman's journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.
Superman is currently set to be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.