James Gunn Is Launching a Podcast to Explain What From THE SUICIDE SQUAD Is Actually DCU Canon
James Gunn is taking the DCU canon debate to a whole new level, and it's actually pretty hilarious. DC Studios is launching a podcast dedicated entirely to explaining which parts of Gunn's 2021 film The Suicide Squad are officially canon in the new DC Universe and which parts apparently never happened.
The podcast is called The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon? – The Official Podcast, and Gunn will be joined by his wife and Peacemaker star Jennifer Holland, along with longtime friend and actor Steve Agee, to sort through the movie's continuity.
The whole thing is pretty funny when you think about it. Gunn made an entire movie, told a complete story, and now, five years later, he's going back through his own work to decide which pieces of that story still count. Some things happened, some apparently didn't, and we're getting a podcast to explain the difference.
As you know, Gunn joined the DC universe after Disney fired him from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2018. Warner Bros. brought him aboard to write and direct The Suicide Squad. Gunn followed that film with the HBO Max series Peacemaker before returning to Marvel to finish his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.
In early 2023, Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-CEOs of DC Studios, and the old DCEU was on its way out. Following the releases of Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash, DC began moving toward a rebooted cinematic universe.
That transition also meant saying goodbye to several familiar faces, including Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam.
However, Gunn wasn't interested in leaving everything behind. He brought several familiar actors and characters from Peacemaker into the new DCU, with Season 2 taking place in the same continuity as Superman and Creature Commandos.
The show even addressed some continuity issues by replacing the Justice League with the Justice Gang in its recap. That helped explain a few things, but it also left fans wondering how much of The Suicide Squad actually happened in this new universe.
Now Gunn is going to answer those questions personally. The announcement has received mixed reactions from DC fans, with some questioning why a rebooted franchise needs an entire podcast to explain its continuity.
One fan on X wrote, "The fact that you have to explain things just shows you made a bad universe." Another was harsher, saying, "Your DCU is so ridiculously all over the place that you need extra podcasts just to make stuff up and try to explain things. I’d recommend starting to make good movies instead."
Not everyone is bothered by the idea, though. Some fans are excited to hear Gunn discuss the movie and its place in the DCU. One enthusiastic follower responded, "Dude, this is gonna be so fun, can’t wait to check it out."
Of course, one of the biggest questions is whether Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is still part of the DCU. She's such a major part of The Suicide Squad that it'll be interesting to see how Gunn handles her place in the new continuity.
Personally, I find this whole thing amusing. Gunn obviously wants to get into the details and explain his decisions to fans, which is fine. But the fact that he has to go through his own movie and pick what counts and what doesn't is just ridiculous in a funny way.
I mean, we watched the movie. It happened. It told a story filled with interesting and fun characters. Now we're supposed to accept that certain events happened while others have been erased because the franchise got rebooted?
If you're going to reboot a cinematic universe, just reboot it! That's kind of the point. Still, maybe this will be an entertaining podcast. At the very least, fans will finally get some answers about where The Suicide Squad stands in the new DCU.
Check out the teaser for The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon? – The Official Podcast below.