The DCEU was always a little hit-and-miss when it came to critical and commercial performance. However, the brand was damaged almost beyond repair when 2022's Black Adam kicked off a run of box office disappointments which, outside of Blue Beetle, drew mostly mixed to outright negative reviews.
At the start of 2023, James Gunn was announced as the new co-CEO of DC Studios alongside veteran producer Peter Safran. They immediately started working on a new slate of "DCU" projects set to be released across film and television while the DCEU fizzled out in theaters.
While Creature Commandos is currently streaming on Max, all eyes will be on Superman next year. If fans and moviegoers alike have rejected the DC brand as a whole, then it could be nigh on impossible for the reboot to make the desired impact (particularly when it's sandwiched between The Fantastic: Four First Steps and Jurassic World Rebirth).
Talking to io9, Gunn admitted that making Superman had proven to be something of an overwhelming experience. "I’m miserable," he said. "Really I’m miserable. But hopefully it’s for the greater good."
According to the site, while there's a plan in place for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Peacemaker season 2, and Lanterns, if Superman bombs...well, that could be it for the DCU.
"A lot [is riding on Superman]" Gunn acknowledged. "I mean, We’re not going to just keep making movies."
This is a little troubling but probably to be expected. While it's hard to imagine a Superman movie not doing well, if the likes of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League have soured people on the character, who knows if he can still be considered a box office draw.
In a separate interview with ScreenRant, Gunn also weighed in on the importance of casting David Corenswet as Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
"The truth is, I think I took cues from their casting process when I cast Chris [Pratt] in the Star-Lord role. So I've been taking tips from those casting processes all along. I've always believed that the casting is the most important and that as long as the actor is the best possible actor for that role, that's more important than it is for a name. Especially in today's market, which is you see movie stars are not the same as they used to be in terms of you can't open up, like what it was 15 years ago, open up a Melissa McCarthy movie. Instantly, you're going to make this much money. Open up an Adam Sandler movie, instantly you're going to make this much money. It's not like that anymore. So I just wanted to go for who was the best Superman."
"A lot of people auditioned, and the weird thing is I was so crazily nervous about getting Superman ready, on very first day of the tapes coming in, I had seen [David] Corenswet in Pearl. So I said, “Get him on, get him on.” I said, get him on the tape. And then the very first day came in David's tape and Rachel's tape, and I saw both of those and I went, “Oh my God, we're going to be okay.” Because both of these people are amazing. There were other really good actors for both of those roles, but at the end of the day, it was both of them as individuals."
"Then we did something that I didn't do with Guardians, which is I cast the two leads together and they all came in and we had this 15-minute-long scene that they have to act together and talk and discuss and just communicate. And I mixed and matched all the different couples and it was something magic when the two of them came up. I got to say, it's one of my greatest moments in filmmaking."
So, it wasn't all bad for Gunn then!
Superman, DC Studios' first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.