Zack Snyder's DC Extended Universe is one of the biggest "What If?" stories in the history of cinema. The director always took big swings, including casting Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Even back in 2016, it was clear the idea was to have Morgan reprise his role in a future project to adapt the "Flashpoint" storyline, which sees Thomas don the cowl after Barry Allen changes the timeline. Morgan recently confirmed that plan, which would've likely seen him go to war with Flashpoint Joker, played by fellow The Walking Dead actor Lauren Cohan. Of course, none of that came to pass, and the only person Snyder has to blame is himself.
While Snyder was never attached to direct The Flash, his big and bold ideas for the DCEU put lofty expectations on anyone willing to steer the ship. Barry messing with time in BvS and Justice League meant that he had to do it again in his solo movie, and that's not even the best example of the DCEU biting off more than it could chew.
BvS alone featured the Justice League, Steppenwolf, Doomsday, and Superman's death. It threw as much on its plate as it could because Snyder's ultimate goal was to build an entire universe in three movies.
That plan fell apart after the poor reception to BvS, which led Warner Bros. to shuffle around the Justice League production and bring in Joss Whedon. There was no chance of recovery after that, even with Zack Snyder's Justice League waiting in the wings.
The only move Warner Bros. could make was to scrap the whole thing and start again. James Gunn put together his plan for the DC Universe, which kicks off on the big screen on July 11, 2025, with Superman, a movie that appears to know how to handle worldbuilding.
Superman Proves That the DCU Is Taking a Different Approach Than the DCEU
The internet has been comparing Gunn's Superman to BvS since the second trailer for the 2025 movie dropped. The new look deals a lot with the public's perception of the Man of Steel, with the talking heads feeling they should have a say in where the hero goes and what he does.
Unlike BvS, however, Clark Kent drowns out the noise and lets his moral compass do the talking. It teases a different kind of superhero story, one that focuses on showing the world what kind of hero Superman is instead of what other heroes are out there.
That's not to say Gunn isn't digging deep into his DC bag to introduce characters that are sure to play major roles in the franchise's future. However, Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, and the rest of the supporting cast appear to be extensions of Superman's story rather than a tease of a future one.
The DCU will go on long after Superman's theatrical run concludes, with Supergirl and Lanterns already in production and projects like Clayface and The Brave and the Bold in the works. But no matter how the first DCU movie sets the stage for the future, there's little to no chance that Gunn makes life difficult for the creatives he's bringing into the fold.
The more likely outcome is that Gunn will provide loose outlines for his pals by fleshing out characters like Guy Gardner and the Engineer. That way, there's still room for others to mold them into interesting figures worthy of leading their own projects.
Gunn did that time and time again with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. He introduced major figures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe like Gamora and Star-Lord, and when the Avengers movies took them for a spin, they didn't miss a beat because they had enough depth to float a battleship.
While there's an argument to be made that Gunn won't really test himself until he does a DCU team-up movie on the scale of BvS and Justice League, there's no reason to worry. He's always been capable of juggling big personalities while still keeping an eye toward the future.
