Prior to the release of “The Flash”, DC Studios co-chief James Gunn confirmed that everything from his upcoming “Superman: Legacy” film onwards will “be canon and will be connected… everything from that moment will be connected and consistent”.
However there has also been some confusion as well as some actors and their characters appear to be returning, others are not. It was thought Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker” would survive the transition, leaving the door open for characters like Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller to return.
The fact that a second season of “Peacemaker” and a “Waller” series is on the way added credence to that belief. Things took a turn earlier this week though when it was revealed Nathan Fillion would be playing a version of Green Lantern in the new “Superman” film after having made a cameo as The Detachable Kid in “The Suicide Squad”.
Thus the double casting was seen as a continuity problem, even as Marvel has done similar double castings without issue (Alfre Woodard as different characters in “Captain America: Civil War” and “Luke Cage”).
Gunn has now taken to Threads to clear things up, reiterating quite clearly that: “DC Studios movies (and canon) start with [Superman:] Legacy”. That means that even with some actors returning to roles, the events of prior DC works don’t count in the new continuity.
This fits with DC co-chief Peter Safran’s comments to Vanity Fair this week that DC Studios was aiming to make its new franchise of films and TV shows as easy to understand as possible – thus everything is being reset:
“The good news is, if you’ve seen nothing that we’ve done before, you can watch Superman Legacy, you can watch Creature Commandos, you can watch Peacemaker season two, and you can watch Blue Beetle. All of that. We are trying to minimize audience confusion and maximize their enjoyment.”
It’s not unlike Judi Dench’s taking her M role across two different Bond-eras, or what Marvel is doing with J.K Simmons and its two “Daredevil” stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio – effectively bringing an actor back to an iconic role but offering a new, slightly different take.
The comments seem to confirm that both the “Waller” series, which will see Viola Davis return to the role, and the second season of “Peacemaker” will similarly be resets and thus don’t require watching of prior films or seasons.
Separately Gunn also confirmed Xolo Mariduena’s Blue Beetle character is a part of the DCU as he and “a handful of other characters will continue on in the DCU”. That handful likely refers to “Peacemaker” alum like John Cena and Freddie Stroma with Gunn alluding on Threads the other day to more plans for Stroma’s Vigilante character.
Source: Reddit, Screen Rant
