James Gunn Confirms Three Actors In DC Universe; Filmmaker-Studio Boss “Very Happy With The Outcome” Of WGA Strike, But Was “Real Wrench In The Process”

DC co-Boss James Gunn took to Instagram’s Threads to field fan questions, and in the process confirmed that Xolo Maridueña will continue to play Blue Beetle, Oscar winner Viola Davis will still be Amanda Waller and John Cena will remain Peacemaker.

Much of this isn’t shocking, as Gunn has already specified on social that Maridueña will continue to play Blue Beetle in the DC universe, this despite the fact that the Latino superhero movie performed so-so at the box office, earning over $70M domestic, and $125M WW. In addition, we already knew that a season 2 of Peacemaker on Max was in the works.

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Gunn made the statement about the actors’ attachments in a question about how the Blue Beetle movie factors into the future DCU.

Gunn also specified that his new DCU Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters begins with the animated series Creature Commandos. His response was to a fan’s query about whether the new DCU begins with Gunn’s Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025.

Creature Commandos sees Davis back as Waller, but, natch in a voiceover capacity. The voiceover cast also includes Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Maria Bakalova, Indira Varma, Zoe Chao, Alan Tudyk, Sean Gunn and Steve Agee. The seven-episode show focuses on the creation of a black ops team out of prisoners (a precursor to the Suicide Squad in DC mythology).

“Nothing is cannon until Creature Commandos next year – a sort of aperitif to the DCU – & then a deeper dive into the universe with Superman: Legacy after that. It’s a very human drive to want to understand everything all the time, but I think it’s okay to be confused on what’s happening in the DCU since no one has seen anything from the DCU yet,” Gunn answered.

“And, yes, some actors will be playing characters they’ve played in other stories & some plot points might be consistent with plot points from dozens of films, shows & animated projects that have come from DC in the past. But nothing is canon until CC and Legacy.”

Before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Gunn cast Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and David Corenswet as the Man of Steel in his written Superman: Legacy, which the DC co-boss is helming.

Gunn was also asked on Threads, how he was impacted by the WGA strike, given that the filmmaker doubles as a scribe and studio executive. “That seems like a complex situation,” wrote the fan.

Gunn answered, “I couldn’t write but I could direct – meaning working on designs, storyboards, etc.”

“Will we be hearing anything new about upcoming DC projects in the near future now that writer strike is over?” asked another fan.

Gunn responded, “I don’t even know where we are with everything, as I haven’t been able to talk with our writers while this has been happening. Although I’m very happy with the outcome, the strike was a real wrench in the process for sure, so I’ll have to see where we are on everything for the next couple weeks. But yeah I’d imagine more news out in the not-too-distant future.”