It Would Be So Cool to See a DC Cinematic Universe Set in the 1950s

We have no idea was James Gunn and Peter Safran are planning for DC Studios and the DC Cinematic Universe. But, they have mapped out an eight to ten-year plan, and Gunn recently confirmed that he and Safran are going to reveal that plan to Warner Bros. Discover in two months. The rest of us will have to wait.

Gunn previously teased that they are looking to tell the biggest story ever told across multiple films, saying, “All our initial focus is on the story going forward, hammering out the new DCU, & telling the Biggest Story Ever Told across multiple films, television shows, & animated projects.”

Now, I know that Gunn isn’t going to change his direction or plans for DC based what some fans want to see, but my friend and GeekTyrant co-founder Free Reyes recently sent me what he’d like to see from the future of DC with a whole DC Cinematic Universe set in the 1950s, and I absolutely loved the idea so I had to share it and talk about!

I just love the concept of these iconic heroes adjusting to the world after the horrific events of World War II and as the Korean War begins. There are also so many great stories that were told in the ‘50s era of DC Comics. Many of these were covered in the book The Greatest 1950s Stories Ever Told, which is a collection of stories that were published in various DC Comics publications in the 1950s. Those include:

• World's Finest #77 - "The Super Bat-Man!" (starring Superman and Batman)

• Star-Spangled Comics #113 - "The Black Cougar!" (starring Tomahawk)

• Detective Comics #228 - "Escape to the Stars" (starring John Jones, Manhunter from Mars)

• Sugar and Spike #3 - "Lobsters Away!" (starring Sugar and Spike)

• Showcase #9 - "The Girl in Superman's Past" (starring Lois Lane)

• Adventure Comics #252 - "The Mystery of the Giant Arrows" (starring Green Arrow)

• Adventure Comics #253 - "Prisoners of Dimension Zero!" (starring Green Arrow)

• Congo Bill #6 - "Gorilla City!" (starring Congo Bill)

• Strange Adventures #28 - "Devil's Island in Space!" (starring Captain Comet)

• Western Comics #72 - "The Riddle of the Crystal Ball!" (starring Nighthawk)

• Wonder Woman #99 - "Top Secret!" (starring Wonder Woman)

• Blackhawk #109 - "The Raid on Blackhawk Island" (starring Blackhawk)

• Fox and the Crow #14 - "Three Hundred Dollars??" (starring the Fox and the Crow)

• Superboy #22 - "Superboy and the Sleeping Beauty!" (starring Superboy)

• The Brave and the Bold #3 - "The Hammer of Thor!" (starring the Viking Prince)

• Adventure Comics #245 - "The Sorcerer of the Sea!" (starring Aquaman)

• Sensation Comics #107 - "Queen of the Snows!" (starring Johnny Peril)

• Batman #81 - "Two-Face Strikes Again!" (starring Batman)

• Adventure Comics #159 - "Knight of the Future!" (starring the Shining Knight)

• The Phantom Stranger #1 - "When Dead Men Walk!" (starring the Phantom Stranger)

• Action Comics #238 - "Marooned in the Fourth Dimension" (starring Tommy Tomorrow)

• All-American Western #121 - "The Unmasking of Johnny Thunder" (starring Johnny Thunder)

• Showcase #8 - "The Coldest Man on Earth!" (starring the Flash)

• Girls' Love Stories #27 - "Castoff Love"

• World's Finest #64 - "Spy Train" (starring King Faraday)

• Showcase #23 - "Summons from Space!" (starring Green Lantern)

• Our Army at War #87 - "Calling Easy Co.!" (starring Sgt. Rock)

• Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #32 - "The Jimmy Olsen from Jupiter" (starring Jimmy Olsen)

• Showcase #6 - "The Secrets of the Sorcerer's Box!" (starring the Challengers of the Unknown)

There are so many other different directions they could take it as well with original stories. One of the other things that stick out in my mind most other than the stories, is how a 50s DC Cinematic Universe would look visually!

My imagination is just going wild thinking about what Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and more would look like and the place they live and inhabit. Most of the superhero comic book films we’ve seen are set in contemporary times. Then you’ve got movies like Captain America: The First Avenger and Wonder Woman that were period pieces set in different eras, and those films were great! So it could totally work for a ‘50s setting! They could just be so much fun and playful.

I don’t know, this is just me being a fanboy and geeking out over the possibilities of what could be. I doubt that this is the direction that Gunn and Safran are taking things, but it would be pretty epic if the did. Who know, maybe they will tell some stories set in that era, or maybe even the ‘60s and ‘70s as well. We’ll just have to wait and see.