(Washington Insider Magazine)— With the onslaught of James Gunn’s DCU readily on the way, beginning with Superman: Legacy, fans are both excited and nervous for what is to come for the DC character. 

James Gunn has already played an integral part in the MCU with his Guardians of the Galaxy movies earning box office fortunes for the company. However, if Gunn’s DCU wants to replicate the same success and longevity as the MCU it will need to follow a few steps.

Start Strong but Small

When audiences are first introduced to the MCU, Tony Stark comes streaming down the assembly line with his Iron Man uniform coming into full gear. The character came out of the gate with such power and coolness that was so unparalleled for its time. 

Iron Man came out when superhero movies were not as frequent as they are today. It was a standard superhero movie where the hero becomes the hero and fights the big baddie in the end of the movie. It didn’t overstay its welcome and it didn’t have too many characters spoiling the broth.

The issue with the forthcoming James Gunn film is that it’s not only a Superman film but will also feature Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and Metamorpho. Having a few comic book heroes might be manageable but with so many characters in Gunn’s forthcoming film, it seems a little difficult to manage all of the characters in one sitting, which would make one wonder how the film will be executed when it is released.

Take one step at a time with the DCU

One thing that the DCEU got very wrong was having too much too soon for fans. After a few movies, people were already inundated with a plethora of easter eggs to future super heroes. This, of course, was an interesting little easter egg that aimed to build a great universe but looking back, it did way too much way too soon.

Building a team and making each character palatable and relatable takes a lot of time and thought, which is why setting a solid ground for each character is very important in a connected universe. The MCU began with each hero and gave them a proper origin story for audiences to properly get to know each of them. The DCEU origin stories seemed too fragmented to follow along. Man of Steel worked, but things went awry afterwards. 

Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice was more like a buddy-cop movie that shared Superman and Batman on screen rather than having Batman in his own origin story. Wonder Woman was probably the best origin story for any character and The Flash didn’t get his own film until ten years after the DCEU began and then it ended.

Gunn needs to build the team slowly and over time so that the crescendo can be worthy of the fan’s attention and acclaim. Giving people too much in one sitting will only see audiences frustrated in the long run when they look at the big picture of the DCU. It’s hard to tell where Gunn will be taking these characters but one can hope for nothing but good things.