Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: dc studios, elseworlds, james gunn
James Gunn: "Everything" Not New DCU is "Elseworlds" (Including Us)
DC Studios' James Gunn addressed the topic of what is and isn't considered "Elseworlds" in a way that everyone should understand - right?
As we inch closer to the two-year anniversary of DC Studios' James Gunn & Peter Safran rolling out "Chapter 1—Gods and Monsters" – the first wave of films and series setting the foundation for a New DCU – there's still an issue out there that seems to be confusing a whole lot of folks even though we thought it was made pretty clear awhile back (and several times since then). Aside from some a little continuity clean-up involving Peacemaker and Blue Beetle, the word from Gunn and Safran has always been that their New DCU begins with the upcoming animated series based on writer J. M. DeMatteis & artist Pat Broderick's Creature Commandos and then rolls into 2025's Superman: Legacy.
But that doesn't mean that DC Studios will only be in the New DCU business, with the duo making it clear that stories will be told based on the DC Comics universe that won't have anything to do with the New DCU. Matt Reeves's "The Batman Epic Crime Saga" universe, which is currently comprised of Robert Pattinson-starring The Batman and Colin Farrell-starring spinoff series The Penguin, is a perfect example. Reeves's universe exists all on its own, but it still functions under the banner of DC Studios (with Reeves also reportedly developing projects for the New DCU).
That's where "Elseworlds" comes in – a banner to cover all DC Universe projects that aren't in the newly established DCU. But just in case folks needed a stripped-down, direct, and to-the-point definition for what "Elseworlds" is, Gunn had you covered earlier today on Threads. When asked on social media if the 2003 Teen Titans show and the 2018 Titans show were considered "Elseworlds," Gunn responded, "Everything is Elseworlds that's not DCU (including you and me I guess)." There you have it. It can't get much clearer than that. Personally, we appreciate Gunn sharing that with us now before we started wondering why our Green Lantern Corp ring hasn't arrived yet.