James Gunn Defends Swamp Thing; No Superman, Batman Origin Stories

James Gunn Defends Swamp Thing; No Superman, Batman Origin Stories

Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: Batman, dc studios, dcu, superman


James Gunn explained why DC Studios won’t be doing Superman and Batman origin stories and why Swamp Thing deserves to headline his own film.


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When you’re DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, and you’re trying to rebuild a New DCU after some very disconnected efforts over the years on both the television and film side, you’re never lacking in people who are more than happy to tell you what you should be doing, what you shouldn’t be doing, what you’re getting wrong (and sometimes, getting right), and how their idea is exactly that one thing that will win the day for DC Studios. Earlier today, Gunn responded to someone on social media who called him out for “overlooking origin stories” while also calling out DC Studios for focusing on “niche characters to headline their own movie like Sgt. Rock or Swamp Thing” and not focusing enough on characters they believe are better suited to attract a “general audience.”

Image: DC Studios; WBTV

When DC Studios’ “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters’ was unveiled in 2023, we learned that a Swamp Thing film was planned (with James Mangold attached). Recently, rumblings have gotten louder that director Luca Guadagnino (Queer) and Daniel Craig could be reunited for a Sgt. Rock film. In terms of superhero origin stories, Gunn isn’t looking to tell Batman’s and Superman’s respective backstories again because we’ve been down that road many times before (“I’m not telling Batman and Superman’s origin stories again because everyone knows them”). But in terms of Swamp Thing not being deserving enough for his own film, Gunn wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t put Swamp Thing in the corner. That’s a project in development we’ve actually announced, and he’s an incredibly well-known character with not only some of the greatest comics of all time but a successful film series and his own TV show, something that could be said of only a very small handful of DC characters,” Gunn added.

Image: Threads Screencap

DC Studios’ Superman stars David Corenswet (Hollywood) as Superman/Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane. In addition, the Superman: Legacy cast includes Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Nicholas Hoult (The Great) as Lex Luthor, Wendell Pierce (HBO’s The Wire) as Perry White, Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of the Soldado) as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class) as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion (The Rookie) as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Anthony Carrigan (Barry) as Metamorpho, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica/The Engineer, Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord, Pruitt Taylor Vince (Murder One, Lady in the Lake) as Jonathan Kent/”Pa Kent,” and Neva Howell (Ghosts of the Ozarks) as Martha Kent/”Ma Kent.”

Joining them are Beck Bennett (Saturday Night Live) as Daily Planet sports editor Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) as Daily Planet gossip columnist Cat Grant, and Christopher McDonald as skilled Daily Planet reporter Ron Troupe – with Frank Grillo‘s Rick Flag Sr. (from Creature Commandos and Peacemaker Season 2) set to appear, along with Alan Tudyk in an undisclosed role. Composer John Murphy (28 Days Later, Sunshine, Kick-Ass, The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3) will score the film.


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