James Gunn Has Another DC Movie In The Works
James Gunn has a mysterious new DC film in the works, which we speculate is Man of Steel 2.
James Gunn is working on another, mysterious new movie for the DC Universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Suicide Squad director is increasingly being relied upon by Warner Bros. Discovery for its comic book adaptations and has at least one, if not two projects in his sights. While it is a definite at this point that James Gunn will be helming a second season of the breakout HBO Max series Peacemaker, it is also highly likely that he is being wooed to make Man of Steel 2 with Henry Cavill.
Warner Bros. Discovery is in a very transitionary state, to say the least, and it would make sense for the company to want to retain high-profile filmmakers like James Gunn. Since the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. that created the company and installed controversial CEO David Zaslav, the fate of the DC Universe has grown increasingly uncertain. Numerous announced projects (most notoriously the completed but unreleased Batgirl film) have been permanently shelved, while others have been apparently canceled before production even began.
It seems like Warner Bros. Discovery is really only interested in the most high-profile, theatrical DC Universe projects, as evidenced by its unwavering support of the Flash movie, even as star Ezra Miller becomes more controversial by the day. As such, making sure that known creative quantities like James Gunn and The Batman director Matt Reeves, who have a solid record of producing critically well-received and profitable theatrical films, is probably very necessary for the company.
While there has been no official announcement, it also seems that Warner Bros. Discovery is suddenly eager to get back into the Henry Cavill game. After a long period of keeping Superman, DC’s most iconic hero, on the sidelines, Dwayne Johnson has apparently convinced the company to bring Cavill back to the forefront. While James Gunn and Superman may not seem like the most obvious combination, the pairing has more merits than one would think.
For one thing, as we recently reported, Henry Cavill is apparently eager to move Superman away from the dour, serious portrayal of the Zack Snyder-led DC Universe films and in a more lighthearted direction. James Gunn is famed for the humor he brings to his projects, which has been vital to the success of films like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. It is slightly less noted that for all of their humor and goofiness, James Gunn’s projects tend to have a deeply emotional, earnest core, which may be much more what Henry Cavill is looking for in a Superman movie.
Man of Steel 2 has reportedly been in development since 2016, but was de-prioritized at some point, likely due to the chaos left behind after the departure of director Zack Snyder from Warner Bros. Discovery. As perhaps the most prominent and critically acclaimed director currently working in the DC Universe, there is a lot of reason to think that James Gunn might take on the task of transforming the Last Son of Krypton into a more hopeful and fun figure.
