The severity of James Gunn’s formative DC Universe is paramount, to say the least. The sense of purpose that has been guiding the DC Studios CEO since November 2022 has been solely focused on using Superman as the foundation for the new and improved universe. Understandably, James Gunn’s DCU needs to find a fixture soon on which the entire universe’s model can be based, but Superman is the only IP that has to convince the audience of the rate of DCU’s success.
![Superman concept art [Credit: DC Studios]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/16053954/Superman-Legacy.jpeg)
However, seeing as how the superhero industry has recently been struggling to find its sense of purpose, it is hardly the time to be selective about how much the comics of the old 20th century can influence the volatile audience of the 21st.
The only solution for DC now is to use the greatest yet most controversial weapon in its arsenal: R and TV-MA-rated content.
James Gunn Needs to Find a Pedestal for Superman in DCU
The modern audience – despite living in a bubble of technological evolution – has grown more curious to witness how depravations of a society can influence the basest desires of mankind. Devoid of the Great Wars, Cold War, and Red Scare that permeated the air of the 20th century, the apathetic world finds itself in a precarious position where mature, bloodied, R-rated shows like The Boys and Invincible become more attractive to one’s senses than forgotten classics of the old world.
![Invincible [Credit: Amazon MGM Studios]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/16053929/Invincible-Credit-Amazon-MGM-Studios-1024x576.jpeg)
To find a place for a superhero in a world such as this is a dangerous undertaking in and of itself. The reigning comic book movie studio aka Marvel has already sucked the industry dry of its soul after 17 years of family-friendly superhero films and TV shows. Superhero fatigue has become a symptom and a real-world problem for the current CBM audience, the majority of which (aged 18 to 24) have flocked to the likes of Invincible to satiate their desires for something more gratuitous than say, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The reservoir for rainbow-colored, comical, and clownish adaptations of comic books has been depleted by Marvel. In its place, James Gunn needs to give his biggest IP, Superman, the distinction of standing out as an R-rated mature superhero who still imparts values of idealism without swaying from the necessity of evolving to face the reality outside.
R-Rated Superman: Past Mistake or Necessary Evolution?
![Henry Cavill as Superman in DCEU [Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/16054049/Henry-Cavills-Superman-in-BvS-1024x731.jpg)
When his predecessor Zack Snyder attempted to establish his own unique flavor of the Man of Steel in DCEU, the results were met with contempt. Marred by darkness and angst and Hans Zimmer’s score, Henry Cavill’s Superman transcended the borders of audience expectation and settled into a different realm altogether. Considered the most controversial depiction of Superman to date, Man of Steel (2013) was a film that found its passion in showing off the flaws and errors of humanity and how one man could suffer yet rise above it all.
The result was: an R-rated Superman film that stayed true to the reality of this world and the current state of its morally bankrupt society. The DCEU version then came to be loved just as much as it was hated, as the audience struggled to accept that the literal ubermensch of humankind could sway from his idealistic, optimistic nature and fall prey to the darker aspects of human emotions.
However, James Gunn needs to find a confluence of the two factors that have fans worshipping the Kryptonian superhero – idealism of the past and adaptability toward the future. And given how DCU is currently building the narrative for at least a decade ahead, the IPs beginning with Superman need to come out of their protective shell and step into the real world.
Superman premieres on July 11, 2025.
