Marvel & DC Movies Have The Exact Same Problem (According To James Gunn)

For the last decade and a half, superhero movies have dominated the box office. Currently, we're getting at least four or five superhero movies per year, and that's on top of the occasional television show to provide supplementary material. Still, as the zeitgeist has entered more uneven waters of late, James Gunn, who has previously addressed superhero fatigue, is a man who can understand the conflict from both sides.

Having worked extensively on both Marvel and DC properties and with his own "Superman: Legacy" set to jumpstart the new DCU, Gunn is in a unique position to weigh in on what's happening to the superhero subgenre, and the filmmaker made some inspired comparisons between the two as a result.

Speaking to former Lex Luthor actor Michael Rosenbaum on his "Inside of You" podcast, Gunn talked about the tone of the two universes and how they connect when asked how they differ in tone and style. The director touched on how the DCU is still new; he also seemed to imply that even the MCU is relatively new in terms of cinema. Eventually, when it came to what two universes needed to do to improve, Gunn mentioned: "So [I] think that what both MCU and DCU need to do is have a wider range of tones than they presently do. I think they work, but they could do a better job."

While this might seem like a strange comparison out of context, being that the MCU has essentially been going on for 15 years at this point, it's pretty easy to see what James Gunn is saying here. In talking about tone and its evolution across these two massive cinematic brands, the filmmaker seems to suggest that there's room for all kinds of heroes and stories.

Gunn continued by explaining for his new DCU, he's excited to bring "traditional superheroes" back to the silver screen, pointing at the lack of secret identities in the MCU. He further expressed what about the DCU's beginnings excited him, telling Michael Rosenbaum, "I love that we get to create true worldbuilding in DC." The director stressed the importance of keeping things grounded while embracing the prominent fantasy aspects of the DC Universe. "There is a bit more of a fantasy element to DCU because there are these larger-than-life superheroes."

After the backlash to Marvel's "Secret Invasion" and the lukewarm reception toward "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," as well as the box office beating "The Flash" and "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" took, it does seem fans are craving something different than the standard superhero flick. Neither side of fans wants to give up on some of the most iconic characters of all time, but viewers might be getting tired of the subgenre spinning its wheels as it constantly builds up to the next big thing.