LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'The Flash' movie starring Ezra Miller is about to introduce major changes that will align with James Gunn's vision of the DC universe. The DC films, previously helmed by Zack Snyder, was not successful in getting the box office returns that the mega-budgets warranted. Audiences turned away from the grim Snyderverse to the more light-hearted MCU fare. Thus, James Gunn's success in directing 'The Suicide Squad', 'Peacemaker', not to mention 'The Guardians of the Galaxy' films, was given the reigns of the DCEU. And he has decided to start the story of this universe from scratch.
Since 'The Flash' deals with the concept of multiverse and time travel, it provides Gunn with a suitable narrative for essentially 'resetting' the universe's timeline and starting from 'zero o'clock'. The upcoming lineup for the DC universe needs a fresh start and 'The Flash' offers that option.
What is now 'canon'?
The lack of consistency in the current DC universe has caused Gunn to make this decision because he feels that even though the studio has gotten lucky with its three movies, starting from 'Shazam' to 'The Flash' and 'Blue Beetle', there are still major continuity errors that can only be fixed by introducing new elements. Gunn's eventual intention is to establish a major connection between all the movies that will be released under his leadership.
Gunn said, "So, how can we take these things together and make them make sense and have them unified and have it one real universe?... I think that we've gotten lucky with the next four movies, frankly, because we have Shazam, which leads into Flash, which resets everything which then goes into Blue Beetle, which is totally disconnected…"
Collider reported Gunn saying, "But the one thing that we can promise is that everything from…our first project forward, will be canon, and will be connected. We're using some actors from the past, we're not using other actors from the past. But everything from that moment forward will be connected and consistent.”
The future of DC
Since 'The Flash' would be adapting 'The Flashpoint Paradox' storyline, it would be convenient to make some changes, introduce some new faces and if needed keep the old ones as well. Gunn is already working on writing 'Superman: Legacy', which will be an important part of the new universe.
While Gunn prepares to write 'Superman: Legacy', he has already introduced the first chapter of the new universe as 'Gods and Monsters' with an official announcement. With 'The Flash' resetting the entire universe, it would be interesting to witness the future of DC in Gunn's hands.
'The Flash' releases on June 16, 2023.
