It’s been years since James Gunn and Peter Safran first announced their plans for the future of the DC Universe. In that time, plans have changed slightly, and work is ongoing, but, with one exception, we have yet to see exactly how things are going to play out. That changes July 11 with the release of Superman. Not only is the film our first introduction to this brand-new, reimagined version of Superman, it’s our first look at what Gunn and Safran’s DC Universe looks like on the big screen.
Speaking with James Gunn in Los Angeles recently, io9 asked the writer-director what he thinks Superman as a movie says about the DC Universe he is building as a whole. “I think all the characters are incredibly important to us,” Gunn said. “I think that this is a whole universe that is different from our universe. This is not Earth, and then superheroes have been thrust into it. This is a world in which we see giant imps in the background over the city, and it’s not the most unusual thing you’ve ever seen before.”
It being a version of our planet with a long, storied history of superheroes before we even drop in is certainly different from other iterations of the DC Universe as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Gunn continues. “I also think that it also leaves a lot of room for surprises,” he said. “I think that one of the things that I was excited about doing with DC is creating a reflection of some of the great graphic novels in DC, which are very tonally different from each other, which have different artists and different writers. Things are subtly different from graphic novel to graphic novel.”
Gunn then pointed at the projects that DC currently has in the immediate pipeline to illustrate that. “To be able to allow people like Craig Gillespie to come in and create this Supergirl as a space fantasy. That’s totally different from this movie. Or Damon Lindelof to be working with Chris Mundy on Lanterns. That’s a grounded story that’s completely different. Or the grounded, messed-up-ness of Peacemaker season two, to start. And, you know, Clayface is body horror! So I wanted to make sure that we have room for very tonally different [projects]…They’re all very different from each other. But I think that makes it more fun.”
Basically, the fact that anything is possible in Superman is a tease at what we can expect in the DC Universe in the next few years. Are you ready? Let us know below. Superman opens July 11.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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