Legendary DC Comics writer Chuck Dixon, who created Batman villain Bane alongside Graham Nolan and rejuvenated Firefly, shared his thoughts on James Gunn’s upcoming DCU slate.
Dixon shared his thoughts during episode 130 of Ask Chuck Dixon on his YouTube channel where he was asked by Eric Morin, “James Gunn has announced his slate of movies and TV shows. What do you think about what’s coming up?”
Dixon replied, “Well, it kind of looks like a mixed bag, to me. I got to wonder if Gunn’s proposed list is for real, is it a wish list, are these things actually going to be put on a schedule? It seems like an ambitious list. Seems like a lot of stuff. It seems like he’s gonna be writing a lot of it. I mean, if he writes all the things he says he’s going to write he’s not going to be leaving the house anytime soon.”
“But I got to wonder, is this just a pie in the sky, is this just a wish list,” he reiterated
Dixon continued, “Some of the things seem extremely underwhelming. Some of the things seem to exist only to check boxes. Quite frankly, I don’t care. I know you don’t want to hear that, but I don’t care. I’ve never seen a DC movie, DC-based movie that I’ve liked ever. And I don’t think I’ll ever see one.”
“And now that they’ve moved far, far away from the source material I really just have no interest,” he said.
Dixon then pivoted to wondering why James Gunn was picked to be the DC Studios CEO, “The choice of Gunn to basically be the basket they put all their eggs in, I don’t understand it given his track record.”
Dixon then opined, “While I find a lot of his stuff entertaining, over time you kind of see the notes coming. I’m kind of familiar with his repertoire. I don’t see how it’s going to translate to DC, and I don’t understand why in an industry like entertainment where everything is about conservation of risk you would hand over everything to one guy.”
“Now, I understand there’s other films that in production that he won’t be involved with, but the idea is, as I see it, is that once all of those films are finished and released everything coming out of DC in movies and television is going to be Gunn. All Gunn all the time. I just don’t see how you can take a slate like that and have any hits. There’s no diversity of thought or approach. Everything is going to be seen through the lens of one guy,” he stated.
“For some reason I don’t think James Gunn is a Louis B. Mayer,” Dixon posited. “I don’t think he knows what the audience wants.”
Dixon then pointed out how much of Gunn’s slate appears to be based on newer comics rather than core DC stories, “The other thing I find perplexing is that so much of this new material is going to be based on relatively new comics. Comics that appeared within the last decade or so. These are not core, basic DC properties or DC stories.”
Despite Dixon’s criticisms, James Gunn has defended his DCU slate and emphasized that each project has the individual expression of the writers and directors. Only time will tell whether the DCU slate will meet the audience’s expectations or not.
As for Dixon, he continues to produce new comics and novels, including ongoing series such as “Something Big,” “My Sister Suprema,” and a Rambo prequel book titled “Rambo: First Kill.” With Graham Nolan, he plans to publish a new hardcover of their Joe Frankenstein stories and create new ones. Dixon’s contribution to the comic book industry is remarkable, and his views on the DCU slate have sparked debates among the fans, leaving them to wonder about what the future holds for the DC Universe.
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