DC fans are still recovering from last month’s exciting news that James Gunn and Peter Safran were named the heads of the newly minted DC Studios. Since then there have been many teases from Gunn about what his DCU would look like, a vision that includes an interconnected universe of films, TV shows, and games. However, The Suicide Squad director just cleared up what he’s not in charge of — the comics side of DC.
In a Twitter thread, Gunn was replying to fans’ questions about what his DCU would look like. This is when he was asked by one Twitter user if DC Studios would have a hand in the comics side of DC Publishing. Gunn replied saying, “Very open communication. As everyone knows I’m a huge comic book fan & I hope everything we do will lead to more people reading @DCComics (& vice versa). But Peter & I are not in charge of the comics – just all filmed DC entertainment.” This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise as Gunn and Safran are filmmakers not comic book writers, but it’s nevertheless good to get more clarification on their new roles as this has been such a big year of changes for the DC brand as a whole.
The DC shows and films in the past have always inadvertently influenced the comics in one way or another. For example, John Diggle and Harley Quinn debuted on Arrow and Batman: The Animated Series respectively before jumping over to the comics years later. Expect the same treatment for new characters that are popular in the new DCU. Also, it’s probably a safe bet that tie-in comics for DC films are going to continue. Films like Wonder Woman 1984, The Batman, Black Adam, and the upcoming The Flash have all received comic book treatments of some kind. It has been a great way for DC film fans to have a gateway into the comics that inspired all these mega-blockbusters.
As Gunn alluded to, the ultimate goal is to get avid comic book readers watching the films and the DC film fans reading the works that inspired the epic stories on screen. Gunn’s job is to make the best possible product in his mediums of film and TV so that people want to invest in comics. Because without those comics, there would be no films. It will be exciting to see the partnership that DC Studios has with DC Comics going forward. Given that Gunn loves the comics as much as the fans, it’s looking to be a healthy one. While we wait to see Gunn and Safran’s vision for the DCU, you can catch up on all things DC on HBO Max now. This includes Gunn’s masterpieces The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. You can also read Gunn’s full thread clarifying his role at DC Studios down below.