Gunn Says DCU Stories Don't Need to Lead Anywhere
James Gunn has told fans that a DC Universe story does not need to set up the next one to be worth watching. He answered online questions about where Superman, Peacemaker, Supergirl, Creature Commandos, Clayface and Lanterns are heading, according to Deadline, which reported the reply on 26 October 2026.
Gunn co-runs DC Studios with Peter Safran, and the two are building the DC Universe, or DCU, as a shared film and TV franchise. In his answer, Gunn described the DCU as an alternate universe. Writers and creators, he said, can step in at any point in its timeline and tell the story they want to tell. He also said he dislikes the idea that a single story means little unless it leads somewhere else.
To make the point, he pointed to Star Wars. Gunn said that franchise has been telling standalone stories for about 50 years, across films, shows, games and books, and nobody treats each one as a footnote to a bigger plan.
On Superman, Gunn said the Superman Saga begins with Superman and then moves into Man of Tomorrow and beyond. Many characters from the wider line-up first appear in other stories, he said, but those other stories do not exist only to prop up the Superman Saga.
Clayface is a useful example. Gunn said he wants audiences to watch it because it is a horror film in its own right. He did not want them to watch it for the clues it might offer about future films. Clayface is the third official film in the DC Universe continuity, after Superman and Supergirl, according to The Hollywood Reporter, published 16 October 2026.
Other titles in the line-up have their own roots. Variety reported in 2024 that Creature Commandos would be canon across the DCU. Lanterns, a show from Gunn and Safran, follows Hal taking John under his wing, as Variety reported in August 2026.
Gunn's remarks come back to a theme he set out when the slate was first unveiled. Speaking in 2023, he said that "one of the things of the DCU is that it's not just a story of heroes and villains," according to The Hollywood Reporter. His reply on Threads, where he posts under @jamesgunn, puts the same idea more bluntly.
For readers who only follow one or two of these films, the practical takeaway is simple. Each title is meant to be watched on its own terms, and the connections are there for anyone who wants to chase them.
