In the hands of James Gunn and Peter Safran, the DCU is set to see huge changes, setting the stage for new adventures in a cohesive shared universe.

James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new plans for the DC Universe will bring about huge changes that will separate the DCU brilliantly from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though the two superhero franchises have often been seen to be competitors, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige confirmed his joy at seeing Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn take the spotlight as the new co-CEO and co-Chairman of DC Studios, along with film producer Peter Safran. The pair was announced to be taking over creative control of the studio in November 2022 and immediately started making waves, announcing plans to revitalize the DCU after years of controversy and divisive projects.Gunn and Safran quickly set to work on designing a 10-year plan for new DC movies, some of which Gunn announced would be revealed in January 2023. Projects that were in development, such as a direct sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, a Batman project starring Michael Keaton reprising his role as the Caped Crusader, and a follow-up to 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984, were all canceled, causing a stir in DC’s fan-base. Even so, the potential reset and new direction for the DCU is exciting, which could reignite interest in DC’s roster of superhero characters and expand the franchise in some very different directions to the MCU.RELATED:A 1990s Movie Shows The DCU How To Nail A Batman & Superman Crossover

9DC’s Slate Uses Chapters Instead Of Phases

Marvel Studios has become known to split their slates of projects up into set Phases, and while there was a desire to veer away from this pattern after the end of the Infinity Saga, Phase 4 quickly followed as the first installment in the Multiverse Saga. The new DCU will use a similar pattern, but DC Studios will instead split up their projects into Chapters, each one focusing on an overarching mythos, with Chapter 1 being subtitled Gods & Monsters. Each chapter will span several years and multiple projects, proven in the ten new projects that Gunn has announced, as this is only part of the first Chapter.

8DCU’s First Major Story Will Take 2 Chapters

Marvel Studios kicked off the MCU with the 2008 release of Iron Man, acting as the first film in Phase 1 and the first in the Infinity Saga. This Saga would span three Phases over ten years, culminating in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which would bring to a close the adventures of the Avengers and Thanos. For the new DCU, the first major story will take place over two Chapters instead of three, and these will span between eight and ten years, introducing a slew of new characters to the DCU and developing those that have already been established in one overarching storyline.

7There Won’t Be Any Major Crossover (For Now)

The new slate of the DCU features several separate projects across film, TV, and gaming, all sharing the same universe and feeding into the same storyline, but no major crossovers have yet been announced for the future of the DCU. Instead, Gunn and Safran are choosing to develop characters in solo adventures before eventually bringing them together at some point in the future. This is wildly different from the MCU, which features epic crossover films at the end of most Phases, as well as having characters from other projects appear in seemingly unrelated adventures. For now, though, there won’t be a Justice League-level story in the new DCU.

6DC Has Planned A Shared Universe Across Several Mediums

Gunn revealed that the new slate of DCU projects will be released in the form of film, television series, and video games, which is something that Marvel Studios didn’t initially set out to do, though they have started down this road in Phase 4. In his January 31, 2023 announcement, Gunn confirmed the development of six new films in the DCU, though one of those is a sequel to Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which will become an “Elseworlds” project, and five new TV series that will debut on HBO Max. All these projects (except for The Batman II) will share the overarching storyline of the DCU, much like the MCU.

5R-Rated Projects Aren’t Out Of The Question

The fate of R-rated projects in the MCU has been a burning question since Deadpool was announced to be joining the franchise, with the likes of Daredevil: Born Again also being hinted at being TV-MA. Gunn has stated that, for the future of the DCU, R-rated projects will be produced dependent on the quality of the script and whether this feeds into the overarching story of the new DCU. Gunn has stated that if a project isn’t up to par, the team will be given more time to complete good quality work instead of rushing to produce content en masse.

4The Major Heroes Aren’t Leading The Charge

While the likes of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman will still be prominently featured in the new DCU, with projects such as Superman: Legacy, The Brave and the Bold, and the Paradise Lost TV series delving into their stories, these high-profile names won’t be leading the charge in the soft-rebooted DCU. Instead, lesser-known and smaller superheroes will take precedence, allowing stories to develop over time before coming together in the future. This is similar to the MCU, as the MCU started with some of the smaller characters from Marvel Comics but also put heroes such as Captain America, the Hulk, and the Avengers in the spotlight.

3Main Characters Won’t Get The Typical Origin Stories

The origin stories of the big three heroes in the DCU are well known, so there’s surely no need to repeat them once again. This is something that Gunn surely knows, which is why the origins of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman won’t be featured in Chapter 1. Instead, Superman: Legacy will see Clark Kent balancing his Kryptonian and human sides, The Brave and the Bold will see Bruce Wayne fight alongside his son, Damian Wayne, a.k.a. Robin, and Paradise Lost will be a Game of Thrones-style story on Diana Prince’s home island. The MCU is famous for its origin story formula, so this is a very different approach.

2James Gunn Is Writing A Lot Of The New Slate

Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has become one of the most prominent people in entertainment after spending over a decade-and-a-half designing, curating, and producing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he hasn’t actually had a hands-on approach to writing and directing the projects himself. As a writer and director, though, James Gunn is taking a very different approach, penning the scripts for several projects in the new DCU himself. These include the animated Creature Commandos series and Superman: Legacy, among others, showing how he’s willing to get his hands dirty in bringing the new DCU to the screen.

1Elseworlds Projects Will Continue To Be Developed

Many were questioning whether Reeves’ The Batman and Todd Phillips’ Joker franchise would be folded into the new DCU slate, but Gunn has confirmed that these projects, as well as the animated Teen Titans Go! series, will continue to live as Elseworlds projects in the DCU. This means they’ll still be a part of the DCU but will follow separate storylines from the overarching DCU plot. This is something that Marvel Studios has avoided, only really branching into with the 2021 What If…? series, which explored other realities in the multiverse, though no live-action projects outside the MCU have been produced (and none are planned).

Alongside the aforementioned projects coming up in the future of the DCU, new films such as The Authority, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Swamp Thing will bring more iconic characters into the DCU. Along with them, shows including Waller, Lanterns, and Booster Gold will introduce new characters and develop some established fan favorites even further. After James Gunn and Peter Safran’s announcements on the new slate of the DC Universe, the future is looking very bright.