James Gunn’s Newest DCU Comments Can Prevent The MCU Challenge That Sabotaged Blade From Being Repeated For DC

James Gunn’s approach to the DCU‘s project announcements suggests the new DC Universe will avoid Blade‘s infamous delays. James Gunn announced the DCU’s launch with the confirmation of more than ten projects in the DCU’s “Gods and Monsters” chapter, beginning with the 2024 animated show Creature Commandos and the 2025 live-action movie Superman. The DCU’s interconnectivity kicks off as early as these two projects, as Creature Commandos will introduce Amanda Waller and Rick Flag Sr. before their return in Waller and Peacemaker season 2, and Superman will introduce famous characters such as Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, and the Authority’s The Engineer.

On November 25, 2024, DC Studios head James Gunn confirmed to a fan on Threads that the DCU’s slate won’t be announced like the MCU’s. Gunn said, “It won’t be exactly like Marvel because nothing is greenlit before we have a finished script.” As of 2024, this seems to be accurate, as projects such as Lanterns and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow have already begun casting, and projects like Waller, Booster Gold, and Teen Titans are in their early development process despite their very few updates shared so far.

DCU Project Delays Won’t Be As Public As MCU Movies Like Blade

The MCU’s Blade movie is now more synonymous with its continuous delays than it is with its reboot nature or its potential influence on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Blade was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, only three months after Avengers: Endgame‘s release and a year and a half before the Multiverse Saga’s first installment. Since 2019, Blade has been delayed and rewritten multiple times, and it has gone through multiple writers and directors. As a result, Blade‘s behind-the-scenes problems have become the movie’s main talking point.

James Gunn’s approach to DCU project announcements avoids Blade‘s delay problems. While some DCU movies and shows are bound to be delayed every once in a while, their behind-the-scenes obstacles won’t be made public. DC Studios can change, delay, and cancel entire projects without alerting audiences. Viewers will be able to form their own opinion regardless of whether a DCU project’s production proves to be particularly problematic behind the scenes.

How The DC Universe’s Release Approach Is Already Looking Very Different To The MCU

DC Studios Already Has A Clear 10-Year Plan For The DCU

It would be unfair to compare the DCU’s “Gods and Monsters” plans to the MCU’s Phase 1 plans as a one-to-one equivalence, as both franchises face very different challenges during their early days. Nevertheless, the DCU’s slate seems to be built on much more solid ground than the MCU’s, as James Gunn confirmed that each DCU project will both be part of an overarching storyline and stand on its own as a self-contained title. Hence, if any DCU project is delayed, canceled, or received poorly by audiences, the franchise can still move forward without requiring any major change.

Unlike the MCU’s Phase 1, the DCU‘s “Gods and Monsters” chapter won’t release a series of solo movies that culminates in a team-up event. Instead, the DCU’s first chapter will cover a wide variety of famous and lesser-known characters, and it will extend to television and animation from day one. Given that metahumans and vigilantes are already well known from the start, each “Gods and Monsters” title will also feature all kinds of characters from all over the franchise, who will carry over narrative elements from other movies and shows.

Upcoming MCU Movies