Spider Man with Superman? Batman fights the Hulk? What may seem unthinkable to fans of Marvel and DC movies is no longer a novelty in the two publishers’ comics. Since the 1970s, the actual competitors have teamed up again and again for special stories in which characters from different camps meet. And that is probably inevitable in the cinema in the long run – or so new statements by filmmaker and comics expert James Gunn suggest.
Gunn, who made three Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel and recently took over as head of DC Studios, explained that a Marvel and DC theatrical crossover has become more likely with his new feature. In fact, he even revealed that there had already been discussions about it and they were already a lot of fun. Nevertheless, fans should not hope that such a gigantic project will come about any time soon.
DC and Marvel don’t cross paths until the distant future
According to James Gunn, the historic crossover is still many years away (if it happens at all) – and that also makes sense. The MCU has just started Phase 5 and is already roughly slated to finish Phase 6, which will result in two new “Avengers” movies in 2025 and 2026. And Gunn himself is currently preparing a new DC movie. film and series universe, which will only have to be set up from 2024/2025 with the first projects from the first chapter.
After that, such an event would be a logical step. Because after more and more in-house characters were thrown together in the film universes (thanks to Multiverse, partly also in different variants and from previous films) and they had to deal with increasingly blatant villains (after Thanos for example, Kang now makes the life of the Avengers difficult) there aren’t many ways to top it all again. A clash of the Avengers and the Justice League on the big screen would probably be a welcome solution to wrap it up and lure fans of both camps to the cinemas.
Difficult but not impossible
The hardest part about a joint venture between Marvel and DC is that the Disney and Warner Bros. studios behind the comic brands would have to agree on a common approach and, above all, evaluation. That such cross-studio collaboration is not impossible has been proven in the past, for example, by the “Spider-Man” films with Tom Holland, for which Sony (which still owns the film rights to the character) and Disney collaborated.
And as Gunn himself suggested, his position as a liaison between Marvel and DC (as someone who has been and continues to be deeply involved with both companies) should open even more doors for such an endeavor. But first, James Gunn presents us with completely separate projects from the two comic universes. His latest MCU adventure, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3, hits theaters May 3, 2023. And on July 10, 2025, a new movie about the titular DC figurehead, Superman: Legacy, will be written and directed by Gunn.