It’s another day and DCU fans are busy discussing James Gunn’s latest cryptic post featuring Kingdom Come, the fan-acclaimed comic book by Alex Ross. The DC Studios boss’s teasing interaction on social media has various talents from Hollywood intrigued with the likes of Shazam 2 star Zachary Levi also sharing his excitement for the director’s soon-to-be-revealed 10-year map for the DC Films franchise.
Did he or didn’t he (tease)? That seems to be the question on every DCEU fan’s mind since James Gunn shared the cover art of the Kingdom Come comic book. Since taking up his new position at Warner Bros. Discovery, The filmmaker has continuously teased the possibility of exploring obscure DC characters like Deadman, and Mister Terrific, and even dropped hints that Superman villain Lobo could see the light in a live-action property. Nonetheless, Gunn has insisted no one is in the loop in regard to his plans for the DC bible.
With DCEU insiders’ scoops having no weight at present, the fandom has turned to Gunn’s social media, speculating about his posts – such as the recent Kingdom Come image, shared on the director’s Twitter and Instagram account with the description, “Making plans”.
Shazam 2 star drops F-bomb sharing his excitement for James Gunn’s Kingdom Come tease
The cryptic post has the fanbase divided into one side insisting Gunn’s random posts should not be taken as any indication or hints from his DC Bible plan while the others are discussing a potential one-off big event project and even seeing Henry Cavill’s Superman portray an older version of the superhero. Readers can check it out below.
Making plans. pic.twitter.com/cubPgga066
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 30, 2022
— DC (@DCComics) November 30, 2022
Uffff #Powergirl would be an epic epic addition to the DCU ❤️
— Lis.Wonder 🇨🇺 (@LisWonder1) November 30, 2022
Okay nah there’s no way this mf is thinking about Kingdom Come. https://t.co/0OAXVkpStw
— Jalen (@jayjjalen) November 30, 2022
i love that he just types up a tweet and attaches a DC image by a comics artist he digs, and suddenly it'll fuel a cottage industry of articles like 'is the dceu headed towards Kingdom Come?' 'James Gunn teases Kingdom Come for the future of DCEU'.
this is how i would post too. https://t.co/Scq4UdmtUJ
— Ritesh (@riteshwriter) November 30, 2022
You're actually an idiot if you think this is proof he's doing kingdom come. Why would he reveal that on twitter https://t.co/SKnkmB1rYa
— D🅰️hz🅰️n (@D4hz4hn) November 30, 2022
Holy Shit! If this new DCU is based on Kingdom Come, I may actually start caring about it… https://t.co/ofci6253wD
— Bill "Jett" Ramey (@BATMANONFILM) November 30, 2022
Kingdom Come as a one-off live-action movie?? Sign me all the way up. https://t.co/tHGYB3JU8i
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) November 30, 2022
I rather see Henry Cavill Kingdom Come than Routh Kingdom Come personally.
— AjepArt (@AjepArts) November 30, 2022
I don't think James Gunn is doing Kingdom Come in live-action. He just used that pic of Dc hero's on the table planning lol.
But I do want them to do Kingdom Come in Animation. pic.twitter.com/9rrHVlTCxI
— Obaid🏌️ (@Superman_07_) December 1, 2022
It should be noted, Black Adam producer Hiram Garcia has been candid about his interest to make Kingdom Come films so perhaps with Dwayne Johnson’s Mighty Adam along with the Justice Society to the mix, the dystopian future comic storytelling doesn’t seem far-fetched after all. Still, there has been no indication as of this writing, that WB could explore Elseworld stories, which would require casting an entirely new cast ensemble to portray the Justice League.
Over on Instagram, Shazam! Fury of the Gods actor Levi reacted to the post with an F-bomb stating, “Fuck. Yes.” Meanwhile, other actors and personalities closely associated with Gunn also shared their enthusiasm like Eternals star Kumar Nanjiani, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 actor Zoe Saldana & more. In fact, even DC’s very own, Tiffany Smith also wrote, “Plans for the Kingdom to Come”.
View this post on Instagram
for the uninitiated, the Kingdom Come arc is an Elseworlds story, far into the future where Superman and the Justice League have retired. These superheroes are no longer protecting the world after the public chose another, Magog, an enhanced individual who does not think twice about killing (like Joker for that matter). It eventually pits the veterans against the new generation, in a battle to decide the future of the planet.
In this famed dystopian comic, Superman and the others are well into their old age, especially Batman. A loose adaptation was explored in The CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths arc and featured Brandon Routh‘s Superman donning a suit similar to the version portrayed in Mark Waid and Alex Ross‘s interpretation in the comics.
One thing that remains certain at the moment is Gunn’s intention to explore the upcoming DCU storyline across Film, TV and animation. So it’s entirely possible that if the director teased Kingdom Come, it could be explored as an animated project but likely with an R-rated setting.
