James Gunn's DC Universe Will Avoid Marvel's Biggest Problem With A Simple Rule

Superman has always been a character that's represented ideals such as hope, altruism, and the indomitable human spirit, but this year, he's standing tall against a scourge endemic to many a recent comic book movie: Homework. As Warner Bros. seeks to reboot its flagship franchise with a whole new DC Universe unfolding under the careful eye of studio co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, no movie feels more crucial right out of the gate than Gunn's upcoming "Superman." Part of that comes down to simply making good and successful movies, which would be a refreshing change of pace from the string of critical and box office disappointments leftover from the previous regime. But equally as important is the need to avoid the mistakes of DC's biggest and most formidable competitor, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

To that end, we can apparently wave goodbye to the notion of having to treat every single movie and show as homework just to understand what comes next. The MCU infamously leaned a little too hard on that whole #ItsAllConnected mantra and ended up alienating significant amounts of its own audience, many of whom didn't necessarily bother watching Disney+ shows like "Ms. Marvel" and "WandaVision" in order to remain up to date on "The Marvels," for instance. According to Gunn, however, we won't have to worry about that with his rebooted DC Universe.

In a new cover story over at Entertainment Weekly, the "Superman" writer/director and franchise architect reassures fans that the viewing experience from one project to the next should be a pain-free one. As he explains, "I am really trying to be careful that anybody can dip in and see the story that is up next and not feel like they're missing information." It's one thing to say that, of course, and quite another to successfully put that into practice. Given how much is riding on the financial performance of "Superman," however, the creative team has even more incentive to live up to this particular promise.

I guess you could say that Krypto the Superdog ate our superhero homework. (Sorry, sorry, I'm trying to delete it.) For years, studios have been chasing the dream of an entire shared universe that manages to balance interconnectivity with audience-friendly storytelling. In effect, it's what Marvel accomplished with the Phase One films leading up to 2012's "The Avengers" — standalone features that are satisfying and complete in their own right, but aren't necessarily must-watch experiences in order to understand the grand crossover. Of course, that approach largely fell by the wayside by the time we rushed headlong into "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame," but Marvel head Kevin Feige now seems aware of getting back to how things used to be, at least.

Don't count on James Gunn and DC Studios repeating those mistakes. Ideally, this should mean that moviegoers will be able to watch next year's "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" with Milly Alcock in the title role and not have to rely on information established in this year's "Superman." That might be tricky since Supergirl is reported to debut in the Gunn-directed film in a minor role before her solo movie, but we're curious to see how Gunn handles the serialized nature of it all. Does that mean the DC Universe doesn't have its eyes on a grand team-up extravaganza down the line, however? Perish the thought! Gunn goes on to explain how he's keeping his eyes on a certain Justice League-related prize:

"The most important thing is the specific stories, but there is also a much bigger story that we're telling that will take a little bit longer to tell. That's sort of where my next couple of things are going to be."

The director plays coy on exactly how this will come together, claiming that, "But there is no Justice League in this world ... not yet." Obviously, the events of "Superman" and its jam-packed ensemble of superheroes may have something to say about that. We'll just have to wait and see when "Superman" flies into theaters July 11, 2025.