James Gunn’s DCU Canon Is a Problem That Marvel Fans Have Seen Before

James Gunn has been very open about how he’s handling canon in his rebooted DC Universe. His rule of thumb is pretty simple: if something shows up or gets referenced in a current DCU project, it’s canon. That’s how we ended up with Rick Flag casually name-dropping June Moon, a.k.a. Enchantress, in Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 3, effectively pulling her into the new continuity. But here’s the catch: this selective approach to canon feels eerily similar to mistakes Marvel has already made. And if DC isn’t careful, it could land in the same confusing mess. So, let’s talk all about it.

The Drawback of Selective Canon in the New DCU

On paper, Gunn’s approach makes sense. Fans love callbacks, and referencing older characters gives the new DCU extra layers without starting from scratch. It’s also a neat way to honor actors or characters that people enjoyed, even if the overall films they came from were uncelebrated. However, selective canon comes with strings attached.

By picking and choosing which parts of the old continuity to keep, Gunn risks creating a patchwork timeline. Sure, Enchantress exists now, but does that mean the rest of the first Suicide Squad is canon, too? What about Deadshot or Diablo? Fans are already debating these questions, and once the audience starts arguing over “what counts,” the shared universe loses some of its clarity.

Marvel Has Already Fallen Into This Trap

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Marvel has been dealing with a similar headache. After Avengers: Endgame, the MCU leaned heavily on the multiverse to explain away continuity gaps and bring back fan favorites. Characters like Loki, Gamora, and even multiple Spider-Men got folded back in. Of course, this created great crowd moments, but it came with the cost of narrative clarity. The more Marvel used selective canon and alternate timelines, the more fans started getting confused as to what really matters and what does not.

Because of this, a chunk of the audience stopped keeping up. You didn’t need to know every little detail to enjoy the MCU before, but with selective canon, homework suddenly became part of the viewing experience. If Gunn isn’t careful, DC risks repeating the same cycle, which will overload fans with uncertainty instead of delivering a fresh, accessible universe.

Why Does Gunn’s DCU Need a Better and Clearer Approach?

The whole point of rebooting DC with Gunn and Peter Safran in leadership was to wipe away years of DCEU confusion. For too long, DC movies tried to both connect and stand alone at the same time, which left audiences scratching their heads about who was Batman this year and whether Justice League still mattered. A new DCU should be bold enough to say that this is the new canon; everything before doesn’t count.

By reintroducing Enchantress and other legacy elements, James Gunn is already blurring the lines he promised to straighten out. It’s a short-term win for fans who enjoy easter eggs, but it risks undermining the bigger mission of giving audiences a clean, straightforward superhero universe they don’t have to chart like a multiverse map.

Marvel’s mistake wasn’t bringing characters back; it was relying on it too much and confusing casual fans. Gunn has an advantage here: the DCU is still young, and the audience is open to building a new world from scratch. Instead of cherry-picking from the DCEU, Gunn should focus on building new, definitive versions of these characters. That way, when someone like Enchantress shows up, she feels like a fresh addition, not leftover baggage. So, what do you think about this? Do let us know in the comments!