Story continues<\/button><\/p>\nWhatever Gunn and Safran elect to do will have to contend with the DC storytelling universe inaugurated by filmmaker Zack Snyder, starting with 2013’s \u201cMan of Steel.\u201d Several films within that universe are still set to debut in 2023, including \u201cShazam! Fury of the Gods,\u201d \u201cThe Flash,\u201d \u201cBlue Beetle\u201d and \u201cAquaman and the Lost Kingdom,\u201d but they were developed and produced by previous studio leadership. Gunn and Safran have a mandate to craft, in Gunn’s words, \u201cthe next 10 years of story,\u201d so the DC Universe can match the gargantuan success of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it remains an open question what, if any, elements from the Snyderverse would survive. (Todd Phillips’ sequel to \u201cThe Joker\u201d and Matt Reeves’ plans to follow 2022’s \u201cThe Batman\u201d with a new movie and at least one series for HBO Max would not be affected, as they exist within their own exclusive storytelling bubbles.)<\/p>\n
More than almost any filmmaker in the genre space, Gunn has maintained a regular dialogue with his fans, responding to questions about his DC and Marvel projects on Twitter (or debunking false rumors or out-of-control speculation), so he is uniquely aware of just how contentious and controversial the DC fandom has become \u2014 and how fraught departing from the Snyderverse would be for its most passionate and strident fans.<\/p>\n
Gunn addressed that tension head on in his Twitter statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY and in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAs for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters and the stories the time and attention they deserve, and we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask and answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
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