James Gunn is making waves in the comic book world yet again. This time, he's teased that DC Studios may be working on an adaptation of the 1996 classic "Kingdom Come" storyline.About a month ago, it was announced that Gunn and Peter Safran would be running DC Studios Films. The two are replacing former DC Films CEO Walter Hamada, who left the company amidst a creative shake-up following the Warner Bros. acquisition by Discovery. The creative endeavors the two new CEOs are choosing to pursue have remained a highly guarded secret, and it hasn't been very clear to fans what the DC film universe will be like moving forward.Recently, however, Gunn may have teased a "Kingdom Come" adaptation on his Twitter. In a post simply captioned "Making plans," Gunn (who has promised that the DC Universe will be interconnected moving forward) posted a picture from the storyline. In the image, an older Superman can be seen at the head of a table, making plans with the other heroes of the DC Universe.
"Kingdom Come" is a storyline by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, with its striking art also being done by Ross. Set in the near future of the DC Universe, the miniseries explores a future in which superheroes are no longer the bastions of morality they once were. Now corrupt and more like self-serving gangs, the newer generation has failed to uphold the ideals of justice in their world. Because of this, the Justice League must band together once again in order to make things right.
Having previously hinted he wants to expand the DCU to include characters like Mr. Terrific, Gunn has a pretty good opportunity to both "wipe the slate clean" and also continue to build on the previous films in the franchise. "Kingdom Come" would be a major status quo shake-up for the existing film universe. It's set 10 years into the future, which is not an egregious amount of time but also allows for newer stories to be told without having to address too many of the older storylines (it also allows for any recasting to be done, if necessary).
Henry Cavill's recent return as Superman is also a solid foundation for "Kingdom Come" because Superman is a central figure in the story. There's also less of a need to slowly build up the universe, and more characters could be "introduced" in the interim years. For instance, all of Batman's Robins could be included, from Dick Grayson to his son, Damian Wayne. There'd be no need to set these characters up, or any need to wait a long time: they'd simply be an established part of the DC universe.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter