James Gunn Reveals Why DC’s Biggest Villain Won’t Be Showing Up in the DCU Anytime Soon

James Gunn has made it clear that one of DC’s most powerful villains won’t be showing up in the DC Universe anytime soon. After the Peacemaker finale left fans buzzing about possible connections to Darkseid, the DC Studios boss explained why that’s not part of his plan, at least for now.

In an interview with Screen Crush, Gunn talked about how his version of the “Salvation” dimension, where ARGUS sends dangerous meta-humans, isn’t tied to the New Gods or Darkseid like it was in the comics.

“I don’t expect that to be exactly what it is,” he said. Gunn was inspired by the 2007 comic series Salvation Run, which followed villains exiled to another world. He said he liked the idea of seeing criminals forced to build their own society after being abandoned by the government.

“I liked the idea of supervillains building a society in this other dimension,” Gunn explained. “And I liked the way that it was a very practical way that Amanda Waller and Rick Flag Jr. were trying to deal with the problem of meta-humans who continuously escaped from prison in a way that I think a fed-up government might.”

However, Gunn confirmed that his take won’t follow the comic’s storyline, where the planet was secretly part of Darkseid’s domain. He said that the DCU version of Salvation is completely separate from that mythology.

“You gotta remember the first and foremost thing is that I’m building a world, okay? And in that world, an aspect of that world is now obviously ARGUS, who are in charge of meta-human activities, have taken upon themselves to start sending meta-human prisoners to Salvation,” he said.

While the ending of Peacemaker hinted at parademons, Gunn made it clear that fans shouldn’t read too much into it. He believes bringing in Darkseid right now wouldn’t be the right move, especially after how the character was portrayed in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and considering how similar he is to Marvel’s Thanos.

“There are aspects of Darkseid and Thanos, [who] are obviously very similar. They look very similar,” Gunn said. “Using Darkseid as the big bad right now is not necessarily the thing, for a lot of reasons: because Zack [Snyder] did it so cool in his way. And because [of] Thanos in Marvel.”

For Gunn, the focus is on building a fresh version of the DC Universe without rushing into familiar territory. He wants to give fans new stories and characters before tackling another huge cosmic villain.

Gunn is making a smart move here. Jumping straight into another “big universe-ending villain” like Darkseid could make the new DCU feel repetitive, especially after audiences already saw similar stories with Thanos and Snyder’s take. Taking time to build the world and its heroes first makes sense.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!