Anyone else get severe time sickness when you watched James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios announce the new slate of movies, series and games on Tuesday 31 January 2023?
If you need a reminder, here you go:
Look, I as much as any DC fan, am absolutely in favour of the DCU connecting all over the various mediums so kudos to Gunn and his co-CEO Peter Safran for that. What I cannot wrap my head around is the blatantly stupid decisions and choices being made about which problematic stars get to stay (yes, Ezra Miller, even the Flashpoint cannot save you now!) and which mega stars are being cut loose.
Henry Cavill is not my favourite Superman and honestly, Zack Snyder took himself WAY too seriously with his movies but there was a potential in the Cavil and Batffleck combo that could have been explored more with the right writers and crew. Hell, the man gave up his damn fine lead role on The Witcher for the DC deal he was promised and Gunn and Safran went “nah, thanks but no thanks!”. This has the smell of those dumb asses and Game of Thrones Season 8 all over again.

Speaking of which β¦ really, Gunn? Describing a drama series set in Wonder Woman‘s birthplace, Themyscira, as a GOT-style show makes it sounds like you are trying too hard to convince viewers and fans that this is going to work. Instead of just letting Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot finish off their Wonder Woman threequel and then waiting a few years to do a series spin-off, the boys are now bulldozing their way into making their own show. Ugh.
Don’t get me started on the fact that, despite Dumb and Dumber hailing Wonder Woman as one of their “diamond characters”, she is being sidelined into a series while Superman and Batman are being rebooted especially for the new DC slate. As if we don’t already have a plethora of Batman projects and actors out there. Let Matt Reeves do his thing with Robert Pattison and bring Ben Affleck back, you cowards!

I get it – Gunn saw what Marvel and Kevin Feige did with making the MCU, Netflix series, ABC shows and Fox films one big universe and decided to follow the same formula. BUT Feige at least had the common sense to respect the various fandoms and honour their history with the various characters by bringing them together under the convenient multiverse concept. Gunn and Safran are decimating entire characters, universes and plotlines.
This is a shame because Greg Berlanti and his team were really great at bringing back former DC actors as either other characters or crossing the mulitverses in fun crossover episodes. Two of my favourite scenes were these in the Arrowverse:
I won’t deny that Gunn’s Peacemaker is a great series but I hardly think that is going to help him and his partner with this overhaul of the DC content. In the Arrowverse, it has been strongly hinted at that John Diggle (David Ramsey) is the next Green Lantern John Stewart so will he the star of the new Lanterns series? Unlikely, now that Gunn and Safran have parted ways with Berlanti who was heading up the first proposed Lanterns series.
We are all still reeling from the fact that the completed Batgirl movie was scrapped. We’ve lost out on the opportunity to have the first Batgirl of colour played by Leslie Grace and to see Michael Keaton return as his OG Batman character. Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl series has ended (and honestly, not a moment too soon since it was the weakest of the Arrowverse shows) but Gunn and Safran think giving Kara Danvers a traumatic childhood makeover and exploring how it affects her in a miniseries, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, is going to appeal to younger audiences.

Let us not forget that Gunn is the reason Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is a disappointment and pales in comparison to the rest of its counterparts. It’s so bad that some of its leads are now speaking out against it.
Gunn’s own history of being being fired by Disney for his past paedophilia and molestation tweets aside, the decision to go ahead with Miller’s Flash movie is a strange one. Like the Royal Family, the DC Studios is happy to keep promoting an alleged child molester but won’t support a black woman in a leading role. Classy, real classy.
The proof of this madcap slate will be in the proof of the pudding β¦ or viewing, as the case may be.
Ok, I’ll get off of my soapbox now. What are your thoughts on the new DC slate? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!