James Gunn Promises DCU Slate Will Continue In Video Games
James Gunn has jumped ship from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while he still has Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 over at the House of Mouse, he's taking over the Worlds of DC at Warner Bros. Studios.
Rebranding the Worlds of DC, DC Extended Universe, or whatever you want to call it, Gunn is the Kevin Feige of WB's DC output, having unveiled his grand plans for Chapter 1. More than just movies and shows, he's putting video games in his crosshairs.
Are Video Games Part Of James Gunn's DCU?
Click to enlargeGunn had previously said "yes" when asked whether video games would be part of his DCU vision, but now, he's expanded a little more on what that means.
/Film reports that Gunn and DC Studios co-head Peter Safran want a more cohesive slate that merges all live-action, animated, and video game projects.
"Gaming is a big part of what we're doing, and everything we do at DC comes through us," said Safran. "Gaming is just part of it, but it's an area that we love, and we think could be really expanded upon."
There will apparently be an "emphasis on storytelling and the universe, as opposed to individual movies or television," which is good news for those who are still dreaming of an open-world Superman game.
Gunn clarified what the pair means, adding, "What's very different about it, for us, for DC, it's not like we're going to have 'Superman' come out, and then have the 'Superman' game come out.
"It's more like, we have 'Superman' come out then, two years later, we have 'Supergirl' coming out. So, what's the story in between there? Is there a Krypto game that we can play, that comes in between, that's still set in the world with these characters."
As well as saying this will make games their own thing, Gunn promises to give them the "prominence that they deserve." Still, this seemingly solid plan has a few problems.
The Problem With Gaming In Gunn's DCU
The upcoming Creature Commandos animated series will contain Weasel from Gunn's The Suicide Squad movie, with the plan to have everything connected via the same actors. This will apparently extend to video games.
The news hasn't gone down well with Naughty Dog Senior Character Artist Del Walker. In a scathing rant, Walker pointed out that whoever ends up playing Batman or Booster Gold in the DCU would then have to voice them in the video games.
He used the example of Tara Strong becoming synonymous with voicing Harley Quinn in video games. Under Gunn's logic, she could be out of a job and replaced by Margot Robbie for ALL versions of Dr Quinzel.
"These writers and voice actors do 100 versions of everything," said Walker. "They are in the booth doing 600 lines of dialogue just to end up with 20 of the best in the game. You think you're going to get Robert Pattinson to outwork a VA actor? And for a budget that makes sense?"
This would also seemingly put an end to Rocksteady's Arkhamverse, with the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League not set in the same canon as the Viola Davis-led version of Task Force X.
Although having movies and shows fall under the same umbrella works wonders for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even Disney hasn't tried to pull video games into this continuity. Gunn is a madman or a genius, but either way, he's got his critics.