For most people, when they think of DC superheroes, their mind probably jumps to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and superheroes in spandex, not dragons, incestuous royal families, and red wedding trauma. But according to DC Studios co-chair James Gunn, Game of Thrones is the blueprint for his DCU.
Speaking to Brazilian entertainment site Omelete, Gunn dropped a surprise: “Game of Thrones, not just the show but the books, is what we’re using as a reference for the DCU.” He added, “The DCU is not the MCU. The MCU is kind of our world. It has New York, it has this city or that city, with superheroes in the middle. The DCU is a different universe. Slightly different, slightly transformed.”
Fans shouldn’t expect a Marvel-style copy-paste job with more aliens, brighter colors and a Gotham skyline. Gunn isn’t interested in turning the DCU into a comedy franchise with superheroes. He’s thinking long term with mythic arcs, awesome locations, and characters whose stories unfold over years and different worlds. And if you’ve followed Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, that probably sounds very familiar. “I also draw a lot of inspiration from Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and other stories that build different narratives within the same continuity,” Gunn continued. “It’s not about telling just one story.”
Gunn wants individual character arcs that branch out before converging in something big, think Crisis on Infinite Earths, not Avengers Assemble. That’s a pretty radical departure from what DC’s been doing… or at least trying to do. The DCEU under Zack Snyder had plenty of potential, but it often felt like Warner Bros. kept looking over at Marvel’s homework. They rushed to form a Justice League and added awkward forced humour in order to create their own Avengers.
The funny thing is that the best DCEU films were the solo films that didn’t try to copy the MCU and let each of the characters live and breathe in their own worlds. For example, Superman with Krypton tech in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, Aquaman with the underwater Atlantis in James Wan’s Aquaman and Wonder Woman with the ancient world of Themyscira in Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. James Gunn seems to be leaning towards this very same idea and an approach where each of the characters’ stories and motivations matter way more than the big action sequences and CGI battles.
Sure, Gunn is responsible for the success of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel, but he’s clearly distancing himself from their formula. It’s a smart move. No one needs an MCU-lite, especially when the MCU itself is already having its own struggles at the moment.
From the looks of it, Superman (2025) already has some kind of dragon. Still, we’ve got to ask: if Game of Thrones is the template, does that mean the DCU’s Superman is going to end up exiled beyond the Wall? Let’s hope not. Fans are still trying to recover from that ending.
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