Credit: FlickrJames Gunn is not messing around regarding his huge DCU reset, as the man presumably has his back against the proverbial wall. DC has not been making the money that superhero movies generally make, and Warner Bros. is likely tired of facing box office bombs. Gunn is now in charge of an already failing company, so he must make tough decisions, and one of those tough decisions was canceling the most asked-about DC movie.
Related: DC Accidentally Just Spoiled James Gunn’s Superman Plans
One of the bright spots of the DC Universe has been its animated films, which have completely separate from the live-action world. That’s not shocking, as the MCU has never been able to bring together animated and live-action ventures together…yet. Though it would be very ambitious to have a shared universe with animated and live-action stories blending, James Gunn aims to do just that.
He recently stated that he would take things further with animated DCU movies, which would be given theatrical releases. This should have already been happening, as DC has released some fantastic animated movies like Justice League: Doom (2012), Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), and more recently, Batman: The Long Halloween (2021) and Justice League: Warworld (2023).
We recently got to speak to Justice League: Warworld producer Jim Krieg at San Deigo Comic-Con, who informed us that he hopes his animated ventures in the Tomorrowverse would help inspire James Gunn. The Long Halloween and Warworld are under the Tomorrowverse banner. Unfortunately, our friend Jim Krieg informed the world that his plans for the most requested DC movie were shot down.
James Gunn Shoots Down ‘Kingdom Come’
During an interview with ScreenRant, it was revealed by current animated producers Jim Krieg, Jeff Wamester, and Butch Lekic that James Gunn shot down the animated version of Kingdom Come that they were set to work on.
Krieg said, “We originally talked about ‘Kingdom Come’ after this, but changing regimes, we couldn’t go forward with anything like that.”
This is massively disappointing news, as the Kingdom Come story is one of the most beloved by DC fans. Krieg and company have also been responsible for the Tomorrowverse, arguably involving some of the best-animated ventures.
James Gunn did state that he plans for the DCU to combine live-action, animated films, and video games into one cohesive universe, so he might have already been planning to work on Kingdom Come on his end, meaning he would want creative control over how the film would be presented to the world.
Kingdom Come is a miniseries released in 1996 and showcased a wartorn world featuring the Justice League disbanding. The world accepts a new hero named Magog, who has no issues when killing when necessary. Magog kills The Joker, who is meant to stand on trial for killing the Daily Planet staff, which includes Lois Lane.
Superman leaves the planet, which erupts into chaos, leading to the birth of new meta-humans. Superman returns to reform the Justice League, but Batman is an outlier, as he is upset that Superman abandoned the planet when it needed him. A massive battle ensues between new and old superheroes to save Earth.
It is a perfect story originally written by comics legend Mark Waid. Considering Jim Kreig’s work in the Tomorrowverse animated films, his take on Kingdom Come would have been amazing. He also has no issues taking a more adult approach to DC movies, as The Long Halloween: Part 2 and Warworld received R ratings.
Kingdom Come would be one of the DC films that would need a more adult rating, as it covers a world where Batman and Superman must do what is necessary to save the planet—which involves stopping murderous superheroes.
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We understand that James Gunn wants to run things as he wants, which makes sense. DC has had many years of mediocrity, and blowing everything up is the only way to move forward truly. He has complete creative control for obvious reasons, and we hope he would at least entertain the idea of making a Kingdom Come movie in the future.
What do you think of James Gunn shooting down the Kingdom Come movie? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!