We’re not proponents of superhero fatigue, but a criticism James Gunn has about the DCU and MCU releases does hold water. He believes the best superhero movies have a certain something that makes the form indefatigable, and the worst often share some traits as well.
“I think that what’s happened is, people have gotten really lazy with their superhero stories,” Gunn explained on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. “And they have gotten to the place where, ‘Oh, it’s a superhero, let’s make a movie about it.’ And they go, ‘Oh, let’s make a sequel, because the first one did pretty well’.”
He believes something’s getting missed about how the best MCU characters and best DC characters wind up that way among fans. And it’s quite simple, really – tell stories based on feeling rather than just wanting another installment.
“They aren’t thinking about, ‘Why is this story special? What makes this story stand apart from other stories? What is the story at the heart of it all? Why is this character important? What makes this story different that it fills a need for people in theaters to go see? Or on television?’,” he says.
Really, when you look at the Marvel movies and DC movies, he has a point. A lot of the highlights, from Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Black Panther to Aquaman, have distinct qualities. They’re great thriller movies or adventure movies first, before being thought of as mere vehicles for IP.
Since the DCU has been so scattered, Gunn’s perspective here makes us even more confident that him and Peter Safran will right the franchise. But first we have the Blue Beetle release date and Aquaman 2 release date. If you’d like to see what’s happen at Marvel, we have guides to Marvel’s Phase 5, The Marvels release date, and the Captain America 4 release date. Otherwise, we have new movies and best movies lists as well.