Key Takeaways
- James Gunn says DCU movies should stand on their own rather than exist solely to set up future crossovers.
- While the Superman saga will feature characters from other projects, Gunn wants audiences to enjoy Clayface as “a great, fun horror movie unto itself.”
- Clayface, starring Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, opened Oct. 23 and has grossed $18.2 million worldwide.
James Gunn wants DC fans to stop expecting each film to tie into the next one.
The DC Studios co-head addressed the franchise’s approach to interconnected storytelling on Threads, pushing back on the idea that projects like Clayface need to build toward a bigger crossover to justify their place in the universe.
“DCU is just an alternate universe; we can enter at any location or time and tell THAT story,” Gunn wrote. “I dislike the idea that individual stories aren’t meaningful unless they lead to something else.”
His comments come amid fans’ debates over how Gunn and fellow DC Studios boss Peter Safran are connecting the franchise’s movies and television shows. With projects ranging from Superman to Clayface, some fans have questioned where everything is heading.
Gunn pointed to Star Wars as an example of how different stories can occupy the same universe without every installment serving as a direct setup for another. He also made clear that DC’s individual projects will still have connections.
“The Superman Saga starts with Superman and travels into Man of Tomorrow and onward, and contains many characters we’ve introduced in other stories,” he explained. “But that doesn’t mean those other stories only exist to set up what’s happening there.”
For Gunn, Clayface, which stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, should give audiences enough of a reason to buy a ticket.
“I would love people to be seeing Clayface because it’s a great, fun horror movie unto itself, not because of where else Clayface will show up three movies from now,” he said.
Clayface is DC’s latest project to hit theaters. It came out on Oct. 23 and has, at the time of this writing, grossed $18.2 million worldwide.
