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Fans are thinking that Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier is playing a role in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s revamped DCU. This new theory (per comicbook.com) comes from a recent Instagram Story by Gunn that shares an image of the comic. This would not be a big surprise considering Gunn is open about the comics inspiring his new slate of films and shows. Though, nothing has been confirmed just yet.
Speculating Gunn’s DCU
The Instagram post in question is a re-share of one made by Paul Scheer. He took a snap of Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier with a quick caption: “After [James Gunn’s] big [DC] announcement, something tells me maybe it’s a good time to revisit this.” While Gunn did not comment, he did share the post on his own Story.
Even without explicitly confirming it, there is no denying that Gunn’s new projects could be linked to Cooke’s story rather easily. DC: The New Frontier was released back in 2004 and featured six-issues written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. The stories take place between 1945 and 1960 and put some of DC’s iconic heroes amid the Cold War. The issues connect DC’s Golden Age and the Silver Age.
DC: The New Frontier
The crux of the issues sees an entity known only as “The Centre” mesmerizing humanity. It forces iconic heroes like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Hal Jordan to work together to defeat the being. With Gunn’s new slate of projects focusing heavily on these characters, it would be easy to see how Gunn is setting up a similar arc in film.
Looking at the types of projects in James Gunn’s DCU hints that Cooke’s book may be an influence. Both Wonder Woman and Superman projects tell stories more in line with a prequel. This could easily set up an origin story of how these heroes came to be the ones we know today. Plus, it could show how they ended up uniting to take on an evil entity. Possibly laying the seeds for a Justice League in the future.
For now, we can only speculate what Gunn has planned for DC’s heroes. Although it is never a bad time to revisit Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier!