Why JJ Abrams’ Superman Still Happening Is A Really Good Sign For James Gunn’s DCU

James Gunn recently confirmed that the Superman Elseworlds film that J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates are working on is still in production despite the DCU reboot. This is great news, not only because it means an interesting project isn’t canceled, but because it opens up a lot of fun possibilities for the future of Superman in DC movies. Elseworlds movies in general represent an interesting possibility that is unique to DC.

Though Superman is one of DC’s most important heroes, he has often taken a backseat to Batman in popular culture. It seems as though James Gunn is determined to make the Man of Steel an important part of the film brand. Elseworlds movies also open up more possibilities for DC’s film slate, which will help them avoid issues the company has run into in the past. If DC wants, they can even decide to include these characters in the main continuity down the line if it makes sense.

Superman Deserves As Much Focus As Batman In DC’s Upcoming Slate

Heading into the DCU, Batman already has his own Elseworlds franchise, The Batman, and even his villains have their own projects, like Joker Folie à Deux. Keeping Abrams and Coates’ Superman film alongside Superman: Legacy will help give Superman equal attention. This will stop Batman from monopolizing DC’s releases, and prevent the tone of his movies from leaking into other projects.

This was an issue that was seen when Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy became such a success. DC followed it up with Man of Steel, a Superman project that tried to mimic the dark and grounded tone of the previous Batman films, even though it wasn’t a good fit for the character. By allowing Superman to get the same attention as Batman, DC will also hopefully be allowing the Man of Steel to retain his own identity.

DC Elseworlds Movies Will Solve A Major DCEU Problem

The continuation of DC’s Elseworlds movies is not just exciting in the case of J.J. Abram’s Superman movie, but it will also help the DCU stay on the right path. Man of Steel wasn’t a huge problem on its own, but when it was retroactively turned into the beginning of the DCEU, it had a lasting impact on the tone of the entire franchise. By allowing projects with strong identities to exist while not having them influence the main DCU continuity, DC can still explore unique takes on characters without messing with their universe’s canon.

Allowing for Elseworlds movies can also give DC the edge over Marvel. Directors like Edgar Wright have dropped out of their Marvel projects because of the conflict between their artistic vision and the strict guidelines of the MCU. DC could attract directors with strong visions for their characters and simply allow them to make an Elseworlds movie if it isn’t going to fit into the DCU. This opens the possibility for the company to make interesting projects that can attract audiences who don’t want to follow an entire cinematic universe.

Elseworlds doesn’t just open new avenues for storytelling outside the DCU, but it could also create big opportunities within the universe. Marvel may have beaten DC to multiverse crossovers on film, but DC has a long history of multiverse stories in the comics. Successful Elseworlds projects could help set up crossover events between the main DCU continuity and other popular films. This would help generate excitement for all of DC’s projects across the board. It would also allow DC to decide which projects to introduce into the main continuity and which were too unpopular to look at extending on further.

Multiverse movies have had quite a success for the MCU, particularly Spider-Man: No Way Home. Though DC tried to do something similar with The Flash, it ended up falling flat. One issue might be that its major crossover character, Michael Keaton’s Batman, was from a movie in the ’80s. By crossing over with contemporary Elseworlds movies, DC would be able to create a similar sense of excitement without alienating younger viewers who don’t share the same nostalgia for older properties. No matter what DC decides to do with their Elseworlds movies, their continued existence is a major win for the DCU.

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