Recently, DC Studios co-CEO and president James Gunn addressed why his take on major DC characters won’t necessarily include their backstories. From him DC Universe will launch its cinematic side in July 2025 with Supermanstarring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult. Despite presenting a new iteration of the Man of Tomorrow and his world, the film will not be a retelling of his origin.
User @shubhang.fearless wrote to Gunn on Threads, apparently expressing frustration, asking: “James, why are you ignoring origin stories? This makes us connect well with the characters in [an] emotional level.” In response, the head of DC Studios answered: “I’m not going to tell Batman and Superman’s origin stories again because everyone knows them.” Gunn is, of course, correct. Batman’s origin has been depicted several times in big-budget films, as has Superman’s. Furthermore, both heroes had their origins narrated in a television series, with Gotham and Smallvillerespectively. The audience already knows the characters, so it makes sense to jump straight into the action.
Interestingly, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken this approach particularly with Spider-Man. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker was at the beginning of his heroic career when he first appeared in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. Subsequently, the first and second installments of the MCU Spider-Man the film series did not touch on its origin. Even so, Holland’s take on the character is adored by fans, proving that a backstory doesn’t need to be shown when the hero is iconic. and well known.
Both Superman and Batman are on the same status level as Spider-Man. As such, showing a young Clark Kent discovering his powers isn’t essential to a good Superman movie. Gunn’s Superman will also feature a green version of the Man of Steel who is growing into his role as protector of Metropolis, even if we don’t see everything that came before. If the character’s work in the DCU is well written, it won’t matter.
It’s worth noting that Gunn didn’t say that any DCU heroes will have their origin stories on screen. As such, there’s still room for characters to get their powers in the DCU movies and shows. For example, Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart is a younger Green Lantern in Flashlightsso it would make sense to show your story. At this stage, it would be difficult to gauge how the DCU will handle the rookie heroes. Regardless, moving on to the interesting parts of Batman and Superman’s stories is the right move for the UDC.
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