DC Studios Has 1 Way to Win Over Marvel Fans After Supergirl's Flop

Supergirl, the second theatrical release in James Gunn's DC Studios-produced DCU reboot, arrived in theaters with high expectations only to flop at the box office. The Milly Alcock-led film failed to convince general audiences to turn out, grossing just $126.3 million worldwide against a $170 million budget, well below the estimated $315 million break-even point. However, James Gunn could remedy the damage Supergirl inflicted on the DCU's reputation by courting MCU fans, an audience base he knows well, with his next project. 

Gunn is in the director's chair for DC Studios' Man of Tomorrow, the Superman sequel that hits theaters on July 9, 2027. The film is filled with elements that would heavily appeal to Marvel's audience. Supergirl lost Warner Bros. money, and it's crucial that DC Studios releases films that turn a profit. The MCU is the biggest superhero franchise in history, which means it commands the largest fanbase. Winning over even a fraction of that audience would do wonders for the sequel. Spider-Man: Brand New Day's historic box office success further proved how effective Marvel's machinery is, and Gunn has the perfect opportunity to tap in.

Details revealed about Man of Tomorrow indicate it's an ensemble epic reminiscent of the Avengers films and Captain America: Civil War. The film introduces a world-ending threat in Lars Eidinger's Brainiac, forcing Superman into an uneasy alliance with his biggest enemy, Lex Luthor. The team-up doesn't end there; Green Lanterns Guy Gardner and John Stewart join the hero roster, fighting alongside the Justice Gang, of which Guy is a member. There's even alien firepower as Adria Arjona makes her DCU debut playing Maxima, the conqueror queen of Almerac. Superman will also have family in the fight, as his cousin Kara Zor-El joins the battle. 

Civil War is the only Captain America film to cross $1 billion at the box office. Its predecessors, The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier, were well-received but fell short of those numbers because the third installment featured far more crossovers, bringing in the bulk of the Avengers roster and introducing Tom Holland's Spider-Man to the MCU. That recipe for success is something Gunn's ensemble approach could emulate. His crossover-heavy sequel could be the key to remedying Supergirl's box office stumble.

Man of Tomorrow's Crossover Has One Major Appeal

Man of Tomorrow arrives a few months after Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel fans will flock to theaters for the latter, but they might be compelled to see Gunn's follow-up too, thanks to one particular thing the DC Studios sequel does better. The Superman sequel has been set up more effectively than Marvel's event because its core characters were developed across multiple projects. Superman introduced the Justice Gang, the DCU's first on-screen Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, and Lex Luthor, as well as Kara Zor-El in a post-credits cameo.

The Supergirl installment went on to flesh out her backstory and establish how she factors into the ensemble. Season 2 of Peacemaker also picked up on threads from Superman and featured a scene where Lex is visited in prison by Rick Flag, who offers him a deal in exchange for a way to trace John Cena's Christopher Smith. The series finale unveiled the prison planet Salvation, where Peacemaker was left stranded. Gunn has stated that those events are "going to be an incredibly important thing," meaning the sequel and future DCU projects will be influenced by it.

Avengers: Doomsday, on the other hand, has had little preparation. Although the rival studio typically lays groundwork toward its biggest crossovers, and it did establish the multiverse elements this entry will center on, many characters and other elements haven't enjoyed that same foundation. The project was originally meant to be Avengers: Kang Dynasty, but Jonathan Majors' sexual assault debacle forced the studio's hand, leading to his firing and the shelving of that film. Doomsday was a last-minute replacement, which is why there hasn't been as much buildup as Disney would have wanted. 

This partly led to the crossover looking less carefully planned with its cast compared to Gunn's ensemble. The X-Men roster feels random, only featuring Ian McKellen's Magneto, Patrick Stewart's Professor X, James Marsden's Cyclops, Rebecca Romijn's Mystique, Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer's Beast, and Channing Tatum's Gambit. The likes of Storm, Jean Grey, Rogue, and Wolverine, four huge names from the Fox era, are all missing.

Man of Tomorrow's lineup, on the other hand, feels more intentional, with heroes receiving full arcs before this release. John Stewart, for example, will enjoy an eight-episode series telling his story. Rick Flag also had a complete season arc in Creature Commandos before appearing in Superman and Peacemaker. Of course, Doomsday still holds certain advantages over the DC Studios project, since the Marvel franchise has operated for nearly two decades and audiences are heavily attached to the players appearing there. It also arrives on the heels of Brand New Day, a release inching close to $2 billion at the box office. Still, the positive elements here are enough to convince Marvel's audience to give this universe a chance.