Creature Commandos offered fans a glimpse of the new DCU, and for the most part, it wasn't that different - tonally, at least - from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. The main thing those films and TV shows have in common is that they were all helmed by James Gunn.
Does that mean Superman will boast the same look and feel? While there are recurring themes through the filmmaker's Marvel and DC work, Guardians of the Galaxy isn't The Suicide Squad, and this reboot is bound to feel vastly different give who the lead character is.
Entertainment Weekly recently spoke to Gunn and asked how Superman sets the tone for DC Studios' DCU. The movie will be followed by Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and then vastly different stories like Clayface and Sgt. Rock.
"I think it's only setting the tone so far as that this is 100 percent a James Gunn movie," he explained, "and what I want with the future films is for them to be the same - not James Gunn movies, but when I talked to Craig Gillespie who's doing Supergirl, I said, 'I don't want all of these movies to be the same.'"
"What I love about DC Comics is that you can read a story like The Dark Knight, which is tonally very different because of its artist and writer than Superman for All Seasons, than All-Star Superman, than [Batman:] The Long Halloween. They're all these beautiful stories within the same world, but completely different. And that's what I think is exciting."
"I think that I learned from my time at Marvel," Gunn continued, "When Guardians of the Galaxy came out, people were like, 'Well, how is this raccoon going to interact with this God of Thunder who's been set up in a totally different type of movie?' And that was the thing that people liked the most about [Avengers:] Infinity War."
"So it's about really letting the artists create these unique visions that allow us to get to know these characters in different ways."
"I look forward to the time when these characters - one of them does show up pretty soon...two of them actually - so anyway, when they get to see them in a totally different light," he teased, "in a totally different genre and a film that isn't the big spectacle, action-adventure, maybe something more dramatic, maybe something more comedic, whatever, and see those characters in a slightly different light portrayed by the same actors."
The DC Studios co-CEO seems to have a great handle on Superman as a character. Plus, when he's citing comics like All-Star Superman as a main source of inspiration, this movie is unlikely to be as eccentric and weird as his previous comic book movies.
Despite a few reports about negative internal test screenings for Superman, the narrative has changed in recent weeks. Several insiders have shared the glowing feedback they've heard from those lucky enough to have seen an early cut, meaning the DCU is likely off to a good start.
As for what comes next, it's going to be very interesting seeing how these movies and TV shows link up, particularly if Gunn is pushing for them all to be different from one another.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.