James Gunn Says These Major Real World Cities Don’t Exist in DCU

James Gunn recently addressed what makes the DC Universe (DCU) unique and different from other franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Notably, Gunn has directed the three Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel and currently serves as the co-head of DC Studios along with his long-time producing partner Peter Safran.

James Gunn says New York and Los Angeles don’t exist in DCU

Gunn discussed the world-building aspect of the DCU during an interaction with Rainn Wilson for Interview Magazine and underlined what sets it apart from the MCU and other popular franchises.

When asked how it felt to be part of the DCU world-building, the filmmaker responded, “I think it’s the reason I agreed to the job. You talk about George R.R. Martin [the author of A Song of Ice and Fire book series, the source material of Game of Thrones] and he is really one of the guys who I love and look up to. I’m an enormous fan of his and people say, ‘Oh, the DCU is doing what MCU is.’”

The filmmaker added, “But I think it really is a lot more to me what the Game of Thrones world is like or what Star Wars is like, because we’re building a universe and then picking out little pieces of it and telling individual stories from that universe.”

Gunn’s first DC project was the 2021 DCEU feature The Suicide Squad. The movie performed poorly at the box office for a variety of reasons, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it received glowing reviews from the critics. Since then, Gunn has created two seasons of Peacemaker and one season of Creature Commandos and helmed 2025’s Superman. Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Season 2 are all part of the DCU.

When Wilson asked what makes the DCU unique as a franchise, Gunn pointed out that Metropolis, Evergreen, and Coast City exist in this fictional universe instead of New York and Los Angeles. He added, “It’s a different map. It’s a world in which some form of superheroes, which we call Metahumans, have existed for at least 300 years, and they’ve been a part of our life.”

Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net