DCU Is About Telling "THAT story," Not the Next Story: James Gunn
· BCPosted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: dc studios, james gunn
DCU Is About Telling "THAT story," Not the Next Story: James Gunn
James Gunn explained that the focus is more on telling interesting individual DCU stories rather than setting up the next DC Studios project.
Published Sun, 25 Oct 2026 11:37:10 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary
- James Gunn says the DCU is built to tell compelling standalone stories first, not just set up the next DC Studios project.
- Unlike the MCU’s “homework” problem, the DCU aims for easy entry points where connections enhance stories but aren’t required.
- Lanterns, The Penguin, and Clayface show how DCU projects can spotlight heroes or villains without losing their individual identity.
- Gunn compares the DCU approach to Star Wars, with shared-universe connectivity that supports stories instead of defining them.
One thing that DC Studios has going for it is that it seems – at least, for now – to have learned from the mistakes that Marvel Studios made with the MCU. At this point, it's tough to embrace what's going down in the MCU without having to do quite a bit of "homework." With Avengers: Doomsday right around the corner, we're talking about seven years' worth of films and shows to catch up on – while also giving yourself a refresher on what went down pre-" Endgame." With the DCU, it's less "homework" and more like "optional extra homework." For example, HBO's Lanterns was its own universe (one that needs a second season, by the way) that told its own story. But there were more than enough teases and "easter eggs" along the way that I could follow through on if I wanted to, but I didn't have to in order to appreciate the series. I didn't need it to connect to something or for it to build to the next DCU project for me to appreciate it.
With the recent success of Lanterns and the release of Clayface, the topic of storytelling and whether stories in a larger universe need to have hard connections has been rumbling around social media. Over on Threads, writer/director and DC Studios' co-head James Gunn agreed with an individual who argued that DC Studios' DCU is about telling stories first, and that this approach allows it to present a diverse range of approaches and perspectives. That means that sometimes – as we saw with The Penguin and Clayface – the villains get the spotlight. As Gunn sees it, DC Studios' approach is very similar to what another major franchise has done over the years.
"DCU is just an alternate universe; we can enter at any location or time and tell THAT story. I dislike the idea that individual stories aren't meaningful unless they lead to something else. People not understanding this is strange to me, because Star Wars has essentially been doing this for 50 years across movies, shows, games, and books, admittedly without the tonal variety. Now, this doesn't mean there isn't connectivity," Gunn shared. "The Superman Saga starts with 'Superman' and travels into 'Man of Tomorrow' and onward, and contains many characters we've introduced in other stories. But that doesn't mean those other stories only exist to set up what's happening there. I would love people to be seeing 'Clayface' because it's a great, fun horror movie unto itself, not because of where else Clayface will show up three movies from now.
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