James Gunn Announces Upcoming DC Slate, with New ‘Batman’ and ‘Supergirl’ Movies
Director and new DC film head James Gunn announced the upcoming slate of comic related projects, with some interesting additions.
Gunn took over running DC just a few months ago and made some immediately controversial decisions.
Notably, after initially announcing his return as Superman, Gunn removed Henry Cavill from the future of the role.
READ: HENRY CAVILL OUT AS SUPERMAN IN MAJOR DC SHAKEUP
Tuesday, he made several other surprising announcements when discussing the future of DC films.
In a nod to Marvel, the first phase of the slate will be called “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.”
It includes a a Green Latern project, a Wonder Woman prequel..and one of those initial projects will be a “Batman and Robin” movie. Oh boy.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 23: James Gunn speaks onstage at the Marvel Cinematic Universe Mega-Panel during 2022 Comic-Con International Day 3 at San Diego Convention Center on July 23, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
James Gunn Making Changes
“Batman and Robin” has an extremely, uh, questionable film history. The 1997 film with George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell has become a cult classic for its camp and lack of quality.
Gunn will presumably try to improve on that movie, but Robin has always been more comedic relief than serious role.
There will also be a “Superman Legacy” film, written by Gunn himself. Obviously with a non-Cavill actor portraying the superhero.
Another questionable decision is the addition of a “Supergirl” project.
Just a few months ago, the parent company of Warner Bros. Studios canceled a “Batgirl” movie. Despite that film racking up tens of millions in costs.
The “Supergirl” television series has been generally successful, but Gunn will have to overcome a substantial amount of history to justify that release.
DC Studios has a checkered history, with most films feeling haphazard, disorganized, overly dark or confusingly amateurish.
Hiring Gunn was an attempt to fix those mistakes going forward. While there are a few titles that seem like obvious opportunities, some are more questionable.
Given he started off with an extremely unpopular decision on Cavill, Gunn will have to put his best foot forward to regain trust.
“Batman and Robin” and “Supergirl” don’t exactly seem like a slam dunk success.
One thing’s for certain; there are interesting times ahead in the comic book movie universe.