“We have a plan out of 7 to 10 years”: James Gunn and Peter Safran give us their recipe to rebuild DC in the cinema

The creative on the one hand, the financier on the other: James Gunn and the producer Peter Safran are a clean sweep of the past by launching a new shared universe DC Comics, which will really start on July 9 with Superman. But how do you restart the machine in such a short time? The thinking heads of DC Studios tell us everything about their philosophy and their unpublished autonomy.

No longer account

Peter Safran : “Normally, as a producer of superhero films, you spend your time asking the studio for the authorization to use this or that character. You do not control the overall story. When I worked on Aquaman, Shazam or The Suicide SquadI could do almost what I wanted on each film, but it was impossible for me to create coherence between them because it was not my responsibility. If we accepted the management of DC Studios with James, it is because we could finally align everything – films, live or animation series, video games … – on our creative vision. Build while starting from scratch. »»

James Gunn : “Peter takes a lot of blows for me, and he is witnessing a good number of long meetings. He must in particular meet new talents and manage the financial aspect of things. For my part, it is always creativity that prevails. »»

PS : “We are now the architects of the entire Warner Bros. brand. Discovery, and the whole company works hand in hand with us. It is an incredible and unprecedented luxury! Before, it was extremely compartmentalized, each division managed its pre -square and there was no interaction. The fact that everything goes through us is going, I hope, allow us to establish a more satisfactory relationship with the public. »»

Make above all on the scenario

JG : “Quality must take precedence, it is more important than telling a great story spread over several films and series. Everything must start with the scenario: I do not give green light before I have a really excellent script. Which means that we will not come out everything that goes through our heads: Warners Bros. Find some perfect films as it is, but they will not see the light of day as long as I have not given my blessing to the scenario. This is why certain projects validated internally by Warner are not announced: I do not want people to hear about it because they may never exist. »»

PS : “We also want the public to be able to see each film independently. So we will think things so that everyone can enter into the story of The Brave and the Bold (future film with Batman and Robin) without having seen Superman or Supergirl. This should not prevent us from rewarding for their loyalty the hardest fans, by offering them elements that they alone understand. But it should not be done at the expense of the occasional spectator. »»

Remain flexible

JG : “I refuse to sacrifice the present for the future. Everything will always revolve around the story of each film and not having already in mind the one who will follow. It’s fundamental. We have a basic plan around what will take place in this universe, but if something does not work, then we will not hesitate to change our rifle. Several films and series have already taken us by surprise during their development. »»

PS : “Let’s say that we have a general plan out of approximately seven to ten years. It is however moving, because we know that all the scripts that will achieve us will not necessarily be up to our expectations. For Lanternswe wanted a real detective story with Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Not one space opera But something very anchored in reality. And we knew that the best format was that of the series, because it was a question of deepening these characters in the long term. From now on, we are able to discuss between ourselves and to tell ourselves that we want to make a war film in the vein ofTo the west, nothing newand to be inspired by the character of Sergeant Rock to question himself through him about heroism and his meaning [NDLR : il évoque ici le long-métrage que Luca Guadagnino devait réaliser et qui a été mis en pause, voire annulé].

Moreover, in our heads, Supergirl was not necessarily the second film in this universe, but the script was so great and different from Superman that it was necessary to give him priority. Already, the action does not take place on earth, it is a story of revenge in space. : The character of Kara spent the first fourteen years of her life to see her planet die, so she does not have the kindness or humanity that Clark acquired while growing up in a loving family. Flexibility is therefore already in order, but we know where the big story is going, we know the destination. It is the way of getting there that remains open. »»

Respect the consistency of the DC universe

JG : “There is a common thread between films, but I think we have to remain simple, and explain it to the public as you go. In Galaxy 3 guardsChris Pratt sums up the entire intrigue ofAvengers : Infinity War and ofEndgame The time of a scene in an elevator. This is typically what makes you never need to see another MCU film to understand mine. It’s the same here. But at the same time, I also inspire myself a lot of Star Wars or from Game of Thronesfranchises that tell very different stories located in the same universe. »»

PS : “We want to minimize confusion, which was very present before. One of the problems encountered by Marvel was that it was necessary to have seen ten films and twelve series to really understand what was going on in this universe. This is not what we are targeting. We especially do not want to force the public to “do their homework”. »»

JG : “And the DCU is not the MCU. The MCU is getting closer to the real world, with superheroes. The DCU is a different universe, slightly out of step, with fictitious cities like Gotham City or Metropolis. All this is a world with which we are very meticulous. But stories can go in many different directions. The idea is to allow varied artistic personalities to be expressed, while ensuring the coherence of this universe together. »»

Superman, by James Gunn, with David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult… on July 9 at the cinema.