As James Gunn looks to enact his new plan for the DC Universe, a producer from the SnyderVerse era sees one potential issue with the upcoming reboot.
The DCEU story initially built by Zack Snyder is set to come to an end later this year with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, all before DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran bring their own vision for the franchise to fruition.
But with Gunn having worked on The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker before his reign over the entire franchise takes hold, questions are still in place about what characters and actors will be canon with the new saga.
SnyderVerse Producer Comments on Gunn RebootDC
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, SnyderVerse producer Charles Roven shared his thoughts on DC’s on-screen transition from the universe built by Zack Snyder to James Gunn’s new DC Universe, which may prove problematic given the cast members involved.
When asked how he expects to be involved with the new regime, Roven commented on how it’s unclear how much DC Studios wants “to use or not use any DCEU actors in the same roles” in the new movies and shows.
He sees this being a problem due to the possible ties to the universe built largely by Zack Snyder, with Gunn’s characters in The Suicide Squad starting in that story before potentially moving into his own DC Universe as well.
“Right now, they’re really rebooting everything, and it’s a little bit unclear to me exactly how finite their desire is to use or not use any DCEU actors in the same roles. So I’m not really sure, but at the moment, we’re not really having any discussions. James and I are good friends. My wife and I are very good friends with him and his wife, Jenn [Holland]. And so we see each other socially, but we’re not really talking about any business.”
At the moment, Gunn’s new DCU is set to officially begin its movie canon in 2025 with Superman: Legacy, although there are still some questions to answer before that time.
Chief among them is whether Gunn’s characters from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker will be canon with the new universe.
This is especially the case after Viola Davis and Sean Gunn were confirmed to reprise their respective DCEU roles as Amanda Waller and Weasel in multiple projects, with both coming from Gunn’s old DC movies.
When Will New DC Canon Be Established?
Of course, with so much overlap between characters from Zack Snyder’s universe and James Gunn’s movies, there’s no way to tell who will be part of the new universe until it actually starts.
This also comes after plenty of other canon questions were brought to the forefront following The Flash‘s release, even though it confirmed that Zack Snyder’s take on Justice League was canon to the rest of the DCU.
Most likely, more of these mysteries about the SnyderVerse and the GunnVerse will be answered once Gunn’s universe officially kicks off, which will happen in 2024 with the animated Creature Commandos series.
And with this series bringing back a couple of Peacemaker characters before that show’s second season goes into development, only time will tell exactly which heroes and plot details are the ones fans need to follow moving forward.