James Gunn's The Suicide Squad Will Be A 'Rough Memory' For The New DC Universe

Have you heard the news? Big changes are afoot over at Warner Bros. and their shiny new DC Universe. Led by DC Studios co-chairs and co-CEOS James Gunn and Peter Safran, the creative duo officially unveiled their new plans for the most famous superheroes in the world ... and many lesser-known ones, as well. But it's not fully an "Out with the old, in with the new" kind of deal, however. As much as this shakeup might resemble a reboot of sorts, the reality is slightly more complicated as the new regime has to deal with the leftovers they've inherited from an admittedly messy era of live-action DC.

Questions abound over the status of familiar faces like Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, and obviously all the drama surrounding Henry Cavill ... to say nothing of the characters that James Gunn himself introduced as director and writer of "The Suicide Squad," before he took over DC Studios in a leadership capacity. Well, Gunn is well aware of the optics surrounding this fresh (re)start and the questions that fans will inevitably have about just how much of a clean slate this will really be. In that spirit, he directly addressed how "The Suicide Squad" fits into the grand scheme of things and when audiences can expect the new direction of the DC Universe to really begin to kick in.

/Film's Jenna Busch attended the buzzy press event and reported Gunn's intriguing comments that "The Suicide Squad" exists as a "rough memory" of what previously occurred in the universe. Read on for all the details below!

How exactly is anyone supposed to reconcile multiple interconnecting and sometimes-contradictory eras of DC films in recent years? The Zack Snyder saga may have officially wrapped up with the release of "Zack Snyder's Justice League," but many of his well-received cast of actors have continued on in their roles under new management. But we also have Todd Phillips' "Joker" and Matt Reeves' new "The Batman" to contend with, along with other holdovers such as Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. What's a pair like Gunn and Peter Safran to do? Well, the answer is to treat the pesky question of continuity with a sliding scale, apparently.

As we know, "Superman: Legacy" will serve as the official start of Gunn and Safran's DC slate, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're discarding everything that came before. According to Gunn, it helps to think of it in terms of memory:

"Some things are like a rough memory of what happens in the DCU. But once we hit 'Superman,' anything can be changed."

So what to make of this comment? It certainly seems as if "The Suicide Squad" (and other well-received hits) will exist in a sort of hazy continuity that, presumably, Gunn will pick and choose from to dictate what counts and what doesn't. But once the new "Superman" movie hits (with a crucial assist from "The Flash", which will set the stage for the upcoming creative reset in a big way), that will mark the concrete beginning of the new DC Universe continuity. Gunn promises that everything will make much more sense after we see "Superman: Legacy" for ourselves, so we're in wait-and-see mode for the time being.

"Superman: Legacy" is slated to hit theaters remarkably soon: on July 11, 2025.