This has been an extremely productive week within the improvement of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe, or the DCU. The most important splash was created by the arrival of the Superman trailer, giving us our first actual take a look at actor David Corenswet in motion. As well as, Gunn’s animated challenge Creature Commandos continues to roll alongside, probably catching audiences off guard with a particularly emotional backstory for the weird Weasel (Sean Gunn) in Episode 4. Thus far, the DCU has been dictated by story and character, so whereas we all know that upcoming DC initiatives will concentrate on Supergirl and the Inexperienced Lantern Corps, typically we hear a couple of curveball that has us scratching our collective heads.
Like a Clayface film, written by Physician Sleep and The Haunting of Hill Home mastermind Mike Flanagan.
It had been teased by way of advertising supplies that the longtime Batman villain Clayface would seem in Creature Commandos earlier than that collection concludes in January. I don’t suppose any of us anticipated to listen to about a Clayface film, although. So through the DC occasion in Los Angeles for the Superman trailer, I bought a while with James Gunn completely and requested him about that improvement. And he instructed me:
As I say on a regular basis, all the pieces right here is about, ‘I need to be sure we’ve got the screenplay that works completely.’ That goes above and past the rest. So when Mike Flanagan is available in and he’s like, ‘I bought this concept for Clayface…’ I did not take into consideration, ‘We will do one thing with Clayface.’ However then he instructed me this concept he had, and the thought was so superb. And I am like, ‘Effectively, let’s take a shot. Let’s go write it!’ So he writes it, and he is available in with this superb script. He was so obsessed with it that I am like, ‘That positively might slot in.’ It is simply high quality above all the pieces. Then we’ve got to determine, ‘How does that slot in with all the pieces else?’
That is really so encouraging for the event of the DCU. Earlier makes an attempt at constructing a cinematic universe usually put the cart earlier than the horse, with studio executives saying a 10-year slate of initiatives and focused launch dates, simply to maintain a pin on the calendar for attainable blockbusters. That’s not a wholesome approach to assemble a world.
I additionally totally agree with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s present technique of building a universe with out attempting to robotically join all the dots proper out of the gate. Tales like Creature Commandos, Superman, Lanterns, Peacemaker, and Supergirl can all happen in a world often called the DCU. However they don’t must intersect for narrative causes. This leaves sufficient freedom for a filmmaker or screenwriter to strategy Gunn and say, “Hey, I’ve this loopy concept for a Clayface story.” And if it really works, Gunn can slot it in. It additionally signifies that a beforehand introduced film primarily based on The Authority or Swamp Factor can stay in improvement till the script is true. Choices aren’t being dictated by a launch date. As Gunn says, “High quality above all the pieces else.”
The Clayface film raises a number of fascinating questions. Will the DCU Batman seem within the movie? And can the present Clayface launch date of September 2026 maintain, given the truth that Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Half 2 is anticipated to drop the next month? It appears like ONE of them will blink and shift. However I like the way in which that Gunn already is teasing Clayface, and I belief in Flanagan to ship the products. The DCU continues to develop, and can solely broaden extra in 2025.