The new DCU bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran answer questions about yesterdays big slate reveal. The pair go into quite a bit of detail in their Q& A with Gizmodo and other’s who were present. For a start Gunn especially does not hold back on some of the issues which plagued the previous DCEU and the pair are determined this will not happen under their tenure. Safran and Gunn have a rough plan for two chapters of this Universe and that could be the next 8-10 years of coordinated and linked TV, Movie and Video Games.

There’s a lot to get to here, so I’ll try to cover the most important points rather than everything. For a full run down of everything said please check the source link above.

First off what is DC Studios now according to Peter Safran.

“DC Studios is just a standalone studio production entity. And it’s unprecedented because it’s the first time ever that all film, all television, live action, animation, and gaming is all centralized under one creative vision. So that was a big deal for [Warner Bros. CEO David] Zaslav, was the idea of creating a standalone entity where there could be a unified creative vision and, you know, everything centralized under James and myself.”

Why Did James Gunn Sign Up?

“I wanted to take care of these characters. And we all know it’s been a f****d-up road for many of them for the past few years, and things haven’t been together—and I really thought, it is a challenge, but I think it’s a possibility to create something really wonderful with these characters. I can’t go into politics. I can’t do anything with science. So the only thing I can do for this planet is to create stories about love. And that’s what I think that we can do over the next eight to 10 years.”

And on what he thoughts about the DCEU as it was?

“The history has been sh*t. It’s been a real f***ed up journey for DC. I think that there was basically no one minding the mint and they were giving out IP to any creatives that, you know, smiled at whoever was in charge. There was never any real power given to the people in charge. So somebody could always go over their head and do whatever they wanted. And, you know, we had the DCEU, which then became the Joss Whedon Justice League, but it also became the Snyderverse, which became this. And we have Wonder Woman and we have Wonder Woman 1984, which doesn’t even match what happened in Wonder Woman one. Then we have the Arrowverse and even us, coming in with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. And then all of a sudden Batmite is a real guy.” 

The Four Films Still To Release

“I think that we’ve gotten lucky with the next four movies, frankly, because we have Shazam, which leads into Flash, which resets everything, which then goes into Blue Beetle, which is totally disconnected. He can totally be a part of the DCU, [and that] goes into Aquaman, which leads into Superman, our first big project.”

“The one thing that we can promise is that everything from … our first project [Creature Commandos] forward will be canon and we’ll be connected. We’re using some actors from the past. We’re not using other actors from the past, but everything from that moment forward will be connected and consistent.”

Multiverse and Elseworlds

Safran talked about how we will know whether a project is DCU or Elseworlds and this will be very clear.

“The DCU is a multiverse, but we’re going to be focusing on one universe from that multiverse. And if something isn’t DCU, we’re going to make that very clear.”

“So strictly adult fare like Todd Phillips’ Joker, or kids animation like Teen Titans Go!, we’re going to make it very clear that those are DC Elseworlds just the same way you can do it in the comics.”

Returning Characters And Actors

Gunn: “We’ve talked to Gal [Gadot]. She’s up for doing stuff. We’re not sure what we’re going to do with that. All I can tell you really right now is Henry [Cavill] and Ben [Affleck] are not part of this universe.” 

Note: At this point, Gunn and Safran did say Affleck had spoken to them about this world and may try and direct something in the future. Also, obviously, that Viola Davis would return as Amanda Waller and John Cena as Peacemaker.

RELATED: New DCU Slate Revealed By James Gunn! Here We Go

As for Momoa?

“Jason will not play two characters.” Said James Gunn

Safran: “Jason always thought Aquaman was a trilogy, in his own mind. But he also loves Lobo. He’s been very clear about that, too. He’s never going to play two characters, but…”

Gunn: “We’ll figure it out after Aquaman 2.”

Gunn: “It’s important to say that Henry Cavill was not fired. Henry was just not hired to be Superman in Superman [:Legacy]. There was never a deal there for another movie.”

The Flash And Whether Ezra Returns?

Asked if the pair had any input to The Flash to set this all up?

Safran: “We had input on it for sure, but there was nothing we had to do in order to set up.”

Gunn: “Can I also say The Flash is f*****g amazing? Like it’s one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen. Andy Muschietti did an amazing job and I’m really excited for everybody to see it.”

As for whether Ezra will return?

Gunn: “Let’s see what happens.”

Safran: “Ezra is fully committed to the recovery right now. And, you know, we talk to them. We’re in constant contact [and] when the time is right, we’ll have the conversation with them and decide what’s best for them personally.” 

How the DCU Differs From MCU

Gunn who has worked in both spoke about the differences between the MCU and the new DCU.

“I think that we have a lot of differences. I think that one of the reasons why I love DC is it really is another universe. It’s an alternate world. In Marvel generally, it’s New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and then every place else in the world is a fictional universe for some reason. Here at DCU we have Metropolis and Gotham and Themyscira and Atlantis, and all of that is sort of another fictional universe. And this is the world that we’re creating.”

“We’re coming into a world where superheroes exist and have existed for some time in one form or another, and that’s the universe. And so we are telling a big, huge central story. Except for, I think, we’re a lot more planned out than Marvel from the beginning, because we’ve gotten a group of writers together to work that story out completely. But we’re also creating a universe that is like Star Wars where there are different times, different places, different things, [and] like Game of Thrones, where characters are a little bit more morally complex.”

Not making This Up As They Go

Safran: “We haven’t announced everything in chapter one. There’s some stuff that comes beyond this. So let’s just say it just it’s too early to talk about that, but it becomes very clear what the story is.”

Gunn: “This is half of it. Everything is crossing over throughout. These characters are all interacting throughout the different stories. It doesn’t mean always, you know; Brave and the Bold may just be Batman and Robin and the characters involved in that. But I know a lot of other times the characters cross over. I know in Creature Commandos one of the main characters shows up in Waller.” 

Gunn: “We’re not making it up as we go along… The 8-10 year plan is two chapters and there’s an ending to our basic story that we tell there, but it’s not the ending of the universe. So, now, will Peter and I be here beyond that time? [Laughs] I’m already tired. It’s been two months. But those first two chapters are worked out, and then it can go on from there.”

The pair answered a few more questions, like tonal shifts, ratings for movies and shows, and how the story is always going to be most important and writers are being hired and working in advance. As said above, you can read the full unedited conversation in the link at the top of this page.

What do you think of what they said as new DCU bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran answer questions about yesterdays big slate reveal? As always, leave any thoughts below.

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