With fans still reeling from the unveiling of James Gunn’s DC Universe (DCU), the DC Studios co-CEO revealed that he is looking at another franchise for inspiration, that being Star Wars.
To close out January, Gunn took the moviegoing world by storm, announcing the first ten movies and TV series from his reenvisioned DCU.
This first wave of projects is titled ‘Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters’, and will include new takes on Superman, the Bat Family, and the horror-tinged Swamp Thing.
Now, while the former Marvel director is taking this ‘Chapter’ narrative structure from his time in the MCU (a la Marvel Studios’ Phases), he seems to not just be leaning on the world of superheroes and comic books to inspire his super-powered franchise.
James Gunn Looks to Star Wars for the DCU
James Gunn
According to DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, Star Wars will be a major inspiration for his new DC Universe (DCU).
During DC’s Chapter 1 announcement Q&A event, via Gizmodo, Gunn said that he and the DC team is “creating a universe that is like Star Wars”
“But we’re also creating a universe that is like Star Wars where there are different times, different places, different things, [and] like Game of Thrones, where characters are a little bit more morally complex.”
With this, Gunn is looking at Star Wars’ ability to jump around in the timeline, telling different stories from different narrative eras, instead of the generally linear narrative structure of the MCU.
This is not the first time Gunn has brought up the Galaxy Far, Far Away. In 2022, the DC executive once tweeted that he loves the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One, remarking that “it’s the most underrated Star Wars anything:”
“I don’t know why ‘Rogue One’ is trending, but I’m glad it is, as it’s the most underrated Star Wars anything.”
He even chimed in on the level of hate some Star Wars actors get, Tweeting at haters – in a now-deleted Tweet – that “if your self-esteem depends on how good you think the current Star Wars is” they should “GO TO THERAPY:”
“Star Wars (or any movie) may be important to you, but it doesn’t belong to you. If your self-esteem depends on how good you think the current Star Wars is, or your childhood is ruined because you don’t like something in a movie, GO TO THERAPY.”
Jumping Around the DC Timeline with James Gunn
This is incredibly exciting to hear coming from James Gunn. While little is still known about the DC executive’s franchise plans, it is nuggets like this Star Wars quote that begin to fill in the picture just a bit.
Gunn seems fascinated with other narrative freedom of the Star Wars universe, with creators able to jump from era to era at will. This means the DC brain trust does not need to feel tied down about constantly moving forward with its overarching narrative.
While the MCU has jumped back in time before (i.e. Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain Marvel), the Marvel Studios narrative still remains fairly linear.
This jumping around proposed by Gunn could mean that while the franchise does move forward, it will take the approach of hopping across the timeline, with prequels like Paradise Lost showing the origins of an iconic DC location.
This could eventually mean that while a project like The Brave and The Bold tells a tale of an already established Bat Family, a couple of years down the line, Gunn and co. could turn the clock back and show the origins of this version of Batman, leap way ahead and tell a Batman Beyond story way in the future.
This move could make the franchise narratively flexible, and while ambitious could make the DCU stand out from its competitors in and out of the genre.
