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Back in January 2023, James Gunn, the co-head of DC Studios and the writer/director behind Superman, announced a hefty first slate of movies and shows for the franchise, all packaged together as a Phase 1 of the new DC universe, dubbed “Gods and Monsters.” One title not mentioned? Justice League.
During an exclusive interview for Entertainment Weekly‘s Superman cover story, Gunn says the idea of a larger superhero team-up is on his mind. “Of course, of course,” he tells EW. “But there is no Justice League in this world…not yet.”
When asked if his Justice League plans tie into his larger vision for the Gods and Monsters phase, he says, playfully, “Sure.”
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
In the world of Superman, there’s definitely the presence of a Justice Gang, which is a trio of superheroes backed by Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) of tech company LordTech. The team is comprised of the winged, mace-wielding warrior Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders (Isabela Merced); a brash bowl cut-sporting Green Lantern named Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion); and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), whose genius-level intellect led to the creation of his T-spheres, mechanical floating orbs that respond to his vocal commands for a variety of effects.
Unlike, say, a Justice League, the Justice Gang is “good” but “not saintly,” Gunn says.
EW also broached the Justice League subject with David Corenswet, who plays Hollywood’s new Man of Steel, in a separate conversation, citing Gunn’s responses. “I mean, that sounds awesome,” he responds. “I don’t take it upon myself to think ahead in that kind of way, just because one would hate to get one’s hopes up about anything in particular and then have it go in another direction. What I like to do is stay blissfully ignorant, and then when James tells me what’s going to happen, I get to have a wonderful surprise. So if Justice League is in the back of his mind, that sounds great to me. I’ll put it at the back of my mind and we’ll see what happens.”
Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros.
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Superman, flying into theaters July 11, is set in a world where humanity has been aware of the existence of super-powered metahumans for 300 years. Corenswet’s Clark Kent/Kal-El has been dating Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) for about three months, and she is fully aware of his true identity as the first son of Krypton. And Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), the tech billionaire behind LuthorCorp, is hellbent on doing away with the alien strongman.
“I wanted to tell the story about someone who was truly good in a world that doesn’t value goodness, in a world that makes fun of basic kindness and basic human values,” Gunn describes. “The fact that he can fly and lift buildings and shoot laser beams out of his eyes was really secondary to who he was as a person and what he stood for.”
The events of Superman, as well as Peacemaker season 2 (premiering this fall on HBO Max), are “both pretty important in terms of getting to the bigger story,” Gunn teases. He also confirms the presence of a post-credits scene and hints at a follow-up film. “Is it a straight-up Superman sequel? I would not say necessarily,” he clarifies.
