Credit: Chris Pizello/Invision/AP/ShutterstockBack in 2009, DCU Maestro James Gunn pitched that Marvel should give a more mature makeover to one of their popular children’s comic series.
While he’s now more well-known for his blockbuster superhero films, James Gunn’s film background started in more mature affairs, making films for the famous B-movie studio Troma.
Gunn’s first job as a writer and associate director was for Tromeo and Juliet (1997), a very loose adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
This B-movie influence can clearly be seen in films like The Suicide Squad (2021), Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1-3 (2014, 2017, 2023), and the Peacemaker (2022-present) series.
It turns out that this wasn’t the first time Gunn wanted to take this tone with a Marvel property.
‘The Power Pack’ Would Be All Washed Up
In 2009, James Gunn pitched an adult comic series that would take Marvel’s most innocent team of superheroes, The Power Pack, age them into adulthood, and make them completely washed up.
Originally, the Power Pack was a series about four siblings that obtained their powers from a dying alien to protect the world. The comics were aimed at younger children and had the Power Pack team up with famous Marvel heroes like The Fantastic Four, the X-men, and Thor.
Naturally, Marvel rejected the idea. However, the concept regained life again for Marvel’s 75th Anniversary when artists Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Sienkiewicz created concept cover art of the same idea.
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While this may have seemed like a bad idea at the time, this doesn’t seem so farfetched given the track record of shows like The Boys (2019-present), The Umbrella Academy (2019-present), and Invincible (2021-present).
James Gunn even proved that a superhero show with a more adult tone could work with the aforementioned Peacemaker.
It’s not the worst concept out there, and with James Gunn at the helm of the DC Universe, we could see more DCU projects like this.
This Isn’t the First Time James Gunn Wanted To Do This
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Taking a children’s property and making it more mature seems to be a theme in director James Gunn’s work. One of the earliest films he worked on, Scooby-Doo (2002), was intended to receive a PG-13 rating and feature more adult jokes and scarier monsters.
However, when they submitted the film for review, it received a hard R-rating. After some edits, it was dropped down to a more family-friendly PG.
It’s rumored that the R-rated cut of Scooby-Doo still exists somewhere out there.
What children’s series would you like to see rebooted for a more mature audience? Let us know in the comments below.