James Gunn’s soft reboot of the DC Extended Universe, the DC Universe, gets underway in 2025 with Superman: Legacy. Gunn will write and direct the movie himself. With David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, and several other established DC characters confirmed, it should kick things off with a bang.
Five movies are confirmed in the DC Universe, with The Authority, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Swamp Thing also on the horizon. That’s a varied and eclectic mix of movies, so making them all the same in tone would be a mistake. James Gunn should take inspiration from a wide array of past superhero movies for the first five titles in his DCU.
Superman Should Inspire Superman: Legacy
Superman: Legacy should take inspiration from the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie. Legacy will be an origin story, and no movie has touched on that aspect of Superman lore better than the 1978 film. 2013’s Man of Steel and, to a lesser extent, 2006’s Superman Returns were too dark.
Superman: Legacy should embrace the inherent silliness that comes with a flying alien who shoots beams from his eyes and wears a cape and red underpants while encouraging great dramatic performances from its young stars. That’s precisely what Reeve’s first movie did. It will ensure it’s better than Man of Steel and the other films about the Last Son of Krypton.
Watchmen Should Inspire The Authority
2009’s Watchmen is one of the most tragically underrated superhero movies ever made. Zack Snyder’s brilliantly faithful adaptation of the 1986-87 limited series of the same name was aesthetically stunning, gritty, complex, and grounded in a way that made viewers imagine it’s precisely how superheroes would be in the real world if they existed.
Although the Authority has more superpowered members and the team is more genuinely concerned with safeguarding humanity, they have the same grounded and gritty feel as the Watchmen. Given they are similarly little-known in the mainstream, The Authority should use Watchmen as inspiration for tone. It’s a recipe that should garner far more success now in a world where superhero films are more popular than ever.
The Dark Knight Rises Should Inspire The Brave and the Bold
There are debates about who the best cinematic Batman is, with most people choosing between Michael Keaton and Christian Bale. However, there’s no debating which movie depicted multiple members of the Bat-Family best, and that’s 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. With Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake as a Robin variant, the film knew how to give Batman help without overstuffing it.
The Brave and the Bold will juggle more members of the Bat-Family than any movie before it, and it should use The Dark Knight Rises as inspiration. Moreover, the general realistic feel of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is what Gunn should go for with Batman and his supporting characters in the DCU.
Guardians of the Galaxy Should Inspire Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
James Gunn has described Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow as “a big science fiction epic film” and a “beautiful, star-spanning tale.” Doesn’t that sound like 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and its two excellent sequels? As with Superman, Supergirl shouldn’t be taken too seriously, given the character’s fantastical nature.
Guardians of the Galaxy showed how to incorporate humor into a cosmic adventure with outlandish characters and still make a tremendous movie. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow should have all the fun, energy, color, and character development that made Gunn’s Guardians trilogy great.
The Toxic Avenger Should Inspire Swamp Thing
As mentioned, the fantastical and often zany nature of some superhero movies means they shouldn’t be taken seriously. That notion applies to Swamp Thing more than most. Its eponymous character is an elemental plant creature resembling a vegetation mound who lives in a swamp. There’s no denying the character is mighty, but the movie has to be tongue-in-cheek. It should take inspiration from 1984’s underrated cult classic, The Toxic Avenger.
A black comedy superhero splatter movie with an unusual outcast protagonist, The Toxic Avenger was dark and funny, balancing that flawlessly. Its self-awareness and silliness are what made it, and that’s what Swamp Thing should aspire to. There should be plenty of emotion and violence, but Swamp Thing shouldn’t try to be anything more than a wacky superhero romp.
