James Gunn jumped ship from Marvel to DC to helm The Suicide Squad, which has finally just released. Though the Task Force X sequel stands apart from the 2016 original, it paves the way for much more from Gunn in the franchise in the future. We know he’s got the Peacemaker spinoff series, starring John Cena, to come next year and, in a new interview, the filmmaker reveals he’s heavily involved in Warner Bros.’s plans to revitalize the DCEU.
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn was asked if the DCEU term was still used internally to describe the franchise, even though it’s become increasingly disconnected of late. The director revealed that it is, but that he mostly got involved in these discussions after TSS was complete. He teased that Peacemaker will link up with other DCEU properties and that the studio is looking to join everything up “more than ever.”
“I got a lot more of it after the movie was made, frankly, because they’re really just trying to make everything fit together much better. And I know a lot of it because of working on Peacemaker and doing that, which is definitely connected to The Suicide Squad and it ends up being connected to other DC properties. So yeah, I think that, more than ever, there’s sort of an eye to connect stuff a little bit more.”
He did stress, however, that WB is still moving forward with standalone films like Joker, which don’t take place in DCEU continuity. “But also, they’re willing to take those properties like Joker and make them stand-alone DC properties. So I think that’s a good balance,” Gunn explained.
When questioned over what’s next for him following Peacemaker, Gunn remarked that he’s in talks for “a lot of different things” that are “happening at the same time.” Though he’s not offering any details about these other films and TV series he’s attached to at this point, Gunn said that he and WB are currently working out which ideas are strong enough to become a reality.
“You’ve got the Peacemaker show, obviously, and then there are other projects. So we’ll see what happens. We’re always talking about different things, too, so there’s a lot of dreaming going on and dreaming is one of the most fun parts of moviemaking. We’re dreaming about the different possibilities, and we’re trying to find the right dream that can actually weave itself into reality in the proper way.”
Fans are fully expecting 2022’s The Flash to reboot DCEU canon, thanks to Barry Allen’s multiversal meddling, which could sow the seeds for a renewed sense of interconnectivity to this universe. And by the sounds of it, James Gunn is going to be one of the key creatives involved with their plans to expand. Catch his DC debut The Suicide Squad in cinemas and on HBO Max now.
