Canon is a tough idea if you’re speaking about fashionable superhero universes, that are usually pushed as a lot, if not considerably extra, by enterprise selections and field workplace dictates as any type of cohesive storytelling technique. Marvel has spent years attempting to litigate with itself over what stuff counts—usually negotiating between its film initiatives and its varied TV exhibits, working at completely different ranges of “actual.” Warner Bros.’ DC Comics films have discovered themselves in an excellent messier place, as a number of artistic heads have come and gone on what’s ostensibly speculated to be a whole story, leaving its “universe” as little greater than a critical of glorified cameos from big-name stars like Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck.
DC Films co-head James Gunn has come out on social media this week to cross judgment on the canonicity of present (and future) DC films together with his upcoming plans for a DC Universe, and it’s a verdict that we are able to’t assist however elevate our eyebrows at: None of it’s actual, a minimum of till subsequent yr. “Nothing is canon till Creature Commandos subsequent yr,” Gunn wrote on Threads this week, referring to his upcoming Max present as “A kind of aperitif to the DCU – & then a deeper dive into the universe with Superman: Legacy after that.” Which is a barely unusual factor to listen to from a studio co-head who does, actually, have extra superhero films popping out this yr—together with the upcoming Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. (It doesn’t assist that the final a number of DC films, together with Flash and Blue Beetle, have suffered from a sure diploma of who-cares-ism relating to their place in a wider story.)
But Gunn invitations followers to, nicely, embrace the thriller: “It’s a really human drive to wish to perceive every little thing on a regular basis,” he wrote, “But I feel its okay to be confused on what’s taking place within the DCU since nobody has seen something from the DCU but.” He additionally acknowledged within the submit that “some actors will probably be taking part in characters they’ve performed in different tales & some plot factors is likely to be according to plot factors from the handfuls of movies, exhibits & animated initiatives which have come from DC previously. But nothing is canon till CC and Legacy.” He then concluded with a merman icon, presumably as a nod to Jason Momoa’s persevering with tenure as Aquaman. So that’s all cleared up!
