James Gunn has definitely 100% cleared up the DCU canon situation (for realsies) this time – but has only made things worse

DC Studios boss James Gunn has provided a "simple" way to keep track of DCU canon, then immediately confused things with a Peacemaker admission.

"The DCU begins canonically with Creature Commandos, and then Superman continues the DCU. Then, Peacemaker season 2 continues from there. Now, that's the basics. If you really want to keep it simple and not confused, just know that those three things are canon," Gunn explained on a video posted to social media.

So far, so straightforward. Right? If you stop reading there, the DCU is a linear, easy-to-follow cinematic universe with essentially no ties to the preceding DCEU. But, wait, there's more.

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"Anything we show on the 'Previously Seen' on Peacemaker then becomes canon. Anything they talk about in the old world, that then becomes canon," Gunn said.

"We know, for instance, that Rick Flag's son was called in Corto Maltese [during the events of The Suicide Squad] because we hear him talk about it in Creature Commandos. But what you really need to know is everything is canon from Creature Commandos to Superman through to Peacemaker season 2."

Now, you may have questions. Where does that leave Blue Beetle, a character Gunn once described as the first DCU character ahead of his 2023 standalone movie? Right now, that's unclear. The Suicide Squad was also referred to back in January as an "imperfect memory", making things even hazier.

To make matters worse, Gunn bolted on more asterisks to DCU canon in the Peacemaker rewatch podcast. He declared he intended to "go back and change a few things" in the first season – such as constant references to Aquaman – "that don't quite match with [the DCU]."

In a way, Gunn has embraced the confusing, convoluted canon that has punctuated comic book stories for decades. Now, we just need to navigate the weeds of continuity and (largely) forget about what came before. As the DC Studios co-CEO says, let's focus on Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker season 2. The rest will, hopefully, become clearer along the way.

For more, here's our guide to DCU Chapter One and the upcoming DC movies currently in the works.