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When it comes to the DCU, Luther Corp, Lord Tech, and other companies will be "equally important" as the likes of Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern, says James Gunn.
In a new feature with Interview magazine, in which The Office's Rainn Wilson quizzes him on the newly revamped franchise, the writer-director spelled out the rules of the DCU world. "There is not a New York City in our DCU. There is not a Los Angeles in our DCU. There is Metropolis, Evergreen, and Coast City. It's a different map," he said, going on to point out that all of the movies and TV shows going forward are set in a universe where superheroes, or Metahumans, have existed for 300 years.
"They've been a part of our life. But I think that we're reaching a point in the DCU where there's three factions. There's the Metahumans, the governments, and then the corporations. And the corporations are equally important," Gunn went on. "There's Luthor Corp, there's Lord Tech and Stagg Industries and Wayne Enterprises, which are the four big companies that are vying for another type of domination."
Luthor Corp we met, of course, in Superman earlier this year, while Lord Tech – overseen by Maxwell Lord ("He's not the greatest guy in the world, but as far as billionaires go, he’s probably more on the right side of things") – appears in Peacemaker season 2. Gotham City's chemical and genetic research-based Stagg Industries was name-dropped in the aforementioned movie, with the Bruce Wayne-led Wayne Enterprises presumedly set to show up in The Brave and the Bold.
"The corporations in themselves aren't evil. Corporations are amoral. I guess governments are amoral too. But it's really more dependent on the morality of the figurehead. Lex Luthor's a pretty bad guy, although his corporation has done some great things," explained Gunn. "Luthor has created a battery, which has made the running of the world a much more efficient process. He has cars that run more efficiently, that are better for clean air. He's done some really great things for the world, which is the reason for his obsession with Superman.
"He was considered the greatest guy in the world a few years ago, even though there were Metahumans," Gunn concluded. "Then this guy with dimples and a glint in his eye in a silly costume came in and made him feel like shit, so he's been sort of obsessed with him ever since and has gone evil."
Superman is still showing in select theaters, and is available to buy or rent on digital. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows.
