Written by Edwin Francisco
Is it now possible for a Marvel vs DC movie under James Gunn?
James Gunn is in a unique position as a co-CEO of DC Studios, under Warner Bros. Discovery. He’s the only director and writer who has worked on both Marvel Studios and DC Films. Gunn did Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy films; they turned virtually unknown characters into household names. Now the franchise is closing to release its third film and there is a streaming Christmas special in a week.
With DC Films, Gunn made The Suicide Squad and HBO Max’s Peacemaker. Even though The Suicide Squad was a financial failure, critics still received it better. And about the spin-off streaming series, that was a home run for James Gunn. It was one of the most successful shows on the streaming network.
While he worked on both Marvel and DC, he did talk with respective studio chiefs Kevin Feige and Toby Emmerich in regards to making a crossover. While this interested them, the legal issues and the direction of both companies were just very different at the time. But with Gunn now the head of DC Studios, a crossover is now one step closer to that being more than just a possibility.
Marvel Vs DC Movie Becomes More Possible With James Gunn
Now, let’s speculate how they can do this for real. If they want a Marvel vs. DC film as quick as possible, they could go small scale for now. One thing, the legal issues will be very small. One hero from Marvel and one from DC, with a few other characters from each company. Remember the first Marvel and DC superhero crossover comic? Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century in 1978.
Okay, let’s do a modern take. Imagine Ben Affleck’s Batman meeting Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. How do they meet up? Batman is in the fictional city of Gotham, while Daredevil is in a real location: Hell’s Kitchen, New York. Comic-book fans know they exist in a different universe. But both franchises have opened the multiverse. Marvel has been using this a lot lately, so, it’s not impossible for Daredevil or Batman to crossover accidentally for some reason. Let’s blame Donny Blaze for opening up portals so randomly.
But wouldn’t it blow minds? For two heroes from different worlds meet and fight each other. Later realizing that they both have a common enemy working against them. Can you see Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin working with Jared Leto’s Joker?
Insane, right?
Now let’s get a bit bigger. What if Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel fights with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman? Can you visualize that kind of fight?
Or Justice League vs. the Avengers. They can even adapt the comic written by Kurk Busiek and illustrated by the late George Pérez. What’s more is that both Marvel Comics and DC Comics alternately published the books. If they make this a film, legal issues aside, this would be incredible if it could happen. What if, Feige and Gunn would executive produce both movies? And Gunn directs the first film under Warner Bros. Discovery and the Russo Brothers directs the second film.
Marvel Vs DC Movie Becomes More Possible With James Gunn
Image: DC/Marvel
Granted, for now this is wishful thinking. It would shock the world. Then again, so did Gunn’s hiring.
If Marvel and DC will push through with this, it would be sometime after the MCUs Phase Six. In other words, Marvel Studios will have finished Avengers: Secret Wars. Feige plans way ahead, so we’re sure that it’s impossible to make a film any time before that.
And four years for Gunn laying the groundwork for DC studios is really fast. So, if there is a chance to make this a reality, it would be after Gunn’s four-year contract. But if WBD CEO David Zaslav is happy with Gunn’s performance rebuilding DC, they may just renew Gunn’s contract. Note that Alan Horn is advising Zaslav. Horn has worked with Disney for nine years.
There can be a lot of hurdles making a Marvel vs. DC crossover movie. But it is not impossible. Remember when we thought that Sony won’t ever let go of Spider-Man? Well, they didn’t, but Sony did let Marvel have full control over Spider-Man in his MCU reboot. Marvel Studios was also able to get three generations of Spider-Man to get together in one film. That alone is incredible. And it became reality.
Gunn is in the position to make the Marvel vs. DC crossover actually happen. There is no doubt that the fans want it. I have no doubt that fans following the news have been talking about the possible crossover. And what did The Rock say when one is with a franchise? Listen to the fans.