news culture After Henry Cavill, this movie starring an African American Superman could finally see the light of day!
While he’s in the spotlight for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3, it shouldn’t be forgotten that James Gunn is also the boss of Marvel’s rival, DC Comics. And when the 56-year-old director is working on a new Superman movie, it doesn’t shut the door on another project starring the Man of Steel.
Superman: Legacy, the DC revival
The DC Comics universe is turned on its head with the arrival of Peter Safran and James Gunn at the helm of DC Studios. If there are still a few films from the “old era” to be broadcast, such as The Flash or Aquaman (2): The Lost Kingdom, the two men have already planned some content for their reboot. In a plan entitled “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters” we will discover both series (Lanterns, Paradise Lost or Booster Gold) and films
To take care of such a task, it is James Gunn who takes care of the implementation himself. In the past, the gentleman is well known to comic fans as he is the origin of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy at Marvel, but also of The Suicide Squad or the Peacemaker series at DC Comics. But for this project based around the character of Superman, the 56-year-old director decided to take inspiration from a cult comic of the character: Superman All-Star. Rather than focusing on action, this adventure sees a dying Superman intent on completing twelve quests to help humanity and leave a legacy before he dies. If the feature film is crucial for DC Comics, the latter doesn’t eclipse other Superman projects mentioned in the past. And it’s James Gunn saying so himself.
Heading for an Elseworld movie like Joker?
As part of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which he is directing, some media outlets have been able to question James Gunn as head of DC Studios. So, The website gizmodo asked him what would happen to the Superman film project by Ta-Nehisi Coates, known for writing Black Panther comics and produced by JJ Abrams (Star Wars, Star Trek…) since Superman Legacy is in the pipeline. Without detours he answers here:
These two things have nothing to do with each other. It’s an exciting film. I know that Chantal Nong (Executive Vice President, DC Studios at Warner Bros. Discovery), who is leading this project, is very excited about it. So if it’s going to happen and the script is great I haven’t read it yet and if the timing is right it could absolutely happen. It does not have anything to do with it. It would be an Elseworlds story like Joker. – James Gunn, patron of DC Comics
So, James Gunn therefore does not close the mold to the realization of this film, which would have the particularity of staging an African-American Superman, a premiere without a big screen. At least that’s how the rumors described it in 2021 when the project was announced. The latter even suggest that the plot could take place at the beginning of the 20th century, which would give events a very different turn.
But what should be taken from this statement by James Gunn is this Many DC projects can be categorized as “Elseworlds”, meaning they take place in their own universe which is not necessarily connected to the rest of the DCU. In the past this has been quite successful at Warner if we look at the success of Joker and The Batman which fall into this category. As we wait to find out if this Superman project comes to fruition, we’re particularly excited to discover James Gunn’s vision of the character.
