The DCEU has had a rough time the last few years with features like Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Blue Beetle struggling at the box office and receiving either a mixed or negative critical reception. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be the final DCEU film set for release in December before James Gunn begins his own DC Universe.
Gunn is on a mission to develop the DC Universe as a more structured and exciting franchise of DC superhero films and TV shows that can rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, there is skepticism that Gunn's DCU reboot will be more of the same since it'll include some of the same superheroes and cast members used in previous features from the DCEU.
The DCU was supposed to be a hard reset for DC
James Gunn's DCU projects are expected to reset the DC Universe after years of shifts, turns, negative criticism, creative differences, and delays. After the conclusion of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, the DC Extended Universe started with Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (a darker take on the Superman origin story). After that, darker superhero films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were released to negative reviews from critics for trying to be bleak and intense, reminiscent of Nolan's Batman films (although those DCEU movies did have some positive fanfare).
Despite a few massive box office and critical successes such as Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam!, Joss Whedon was brought in to complete the Justice League feature (which was heavily disliked and led to a director's cut, Zack Snyder's Justice League, thanks to fandom). Snyder's vision to bring several DC heroes together for his version of Justice League was praised by many spectators. However, when James Gunn and producer Peter Safran were given control of DC Studios, their intention is to provide more cohesive storytelling in DC projects and to set up a ten-year plan.
Tenuous connections to the DCEU are causing confusion
While Gunn intends to take the DC Universe in a different direction, there will be some similarities and connections to the DCEU, leaving fans confused and questioning why the DCEU is being rebooted if certain elements will remain. For instance, Batman and Superman will be part of the DCU, but won't be played by Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill, respectively. This is despite Dwayne Johnson's efforts to bring Cavill back after his Superman cameo in Black Adam, while Robert Pattinson is currently portraying the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves' The Batman (which is outside the DCEU) after Affleck bowed out of a solo Batman feature and ended his run as the Bat in the DCEU after The Flash.
Gunn and his DCU writers currently have two chapters planned for the next decade, with the first chapter being called "Gods and Monsters." The first five films will be Superman: Legacy, The Authority, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Swamp Thing. Unlike Man of Steel, Superman: Legacy won't be an origin story but will still focus on a young Superman and Lois Lane along with the themes of justice and American values. While the Authority, Swamp Thing, and members of the Batman family will be fresher characters on the big screen, familiars like Superman, Supergirl, and Batman will still play major roles in the franchise and be interconnected with the other characters (similar to what the DCEU tried to do).
Five TV series are also planned, including Creature Commandos, Waller, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, and Booster Gold. Viola Davis will reprise her role as Amanda Waller for Creature Commandos and Waller (after playing the role in the Suicide Squad films, the Peacemaker TV series, and Black Adam). Creature Commandos has a team-up like The Suicide Squad in terms of creatures and monsters working with black ops soldiers, and Waller has Amanda and her team members from Peacemaker. Lanterns will focus on Green Lantern (which Snyder intended to tackle), while Paradise Lost will be a political drama revisiting the all-female island of Themyscira (Wonder Woman's birthplace), and Booster Gold is a comedy centered on an ex-football star turned high-tech heroic time-traveling superhero (which sounds like a combination of Cyborg and Flash).
Using the same cast members defeats the purpose
There are particular questions about certain actors and characters from the DCEU that will potentially return and join the DCU, but there are several possibilities. Xolo Maridueña's Blue Beetle, John Cena's Peacemaker, and Viola Davis' Amanda Waller are surely joining the DCU (especially since Gunn directed Cena and Davis in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker). While different actors will play Batman and Superman, it's unclear if Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller's Flash, Zachary Levi's Shazam, and other familiars will return and enter the DCU. Spectators may be content to see these actors again due to their popularity and/or how well they've portrayed their characters, but the big question is how these superheroes would fit into the DCU under new filmmakers and storylines.
Jason Momoa's Aquaman is another big question mark (and quite fitting since his sequel will close out the DCEU). Momoa may want to play Aquaman again, but if he decides to portray another character like Lobo, his time as Aquaman will be over since one actor cannot tackle multiple roles in the DCU. Many would argue that Momoa was just getting started as Aquaman after playing him in his solo films and Justice League, but it would be intriguing to see him portray Lobo or another superhero in the DCU. The same could be said of Gadot, Miller, Levi, and other stars in terms of reprising their roles or moving on to play other superheroes in the DCU.
James Gunn's DCU has the opportunity to revamp the quality of DC films by introducing new superheroes, villains, and comic book storylines. However, there's a lot of concern when it comes to repeating elements from the DCEU and bringing back some of the same characters and actors without context. Despite this, Gunn is a filmmaker who understands the superhero genre due to his work in the MCU with Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as DC projects The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, with the ability to combine inventive action with comedy and memorable characters. Gunn and his team will need all these qualities for the DCU to succeed, even if DC fans may expect failure.