James Gunn says the "DCU is not a Xerox of DC Comics" as he teases a different take on an iconic DC villain

It's nothing new for heroes and villains to switch sides. Venom started out as a real pain. Sinestro was the greatest Green Lantern of them all, until he wasn't. Perhaps one of the most forgotten heel turns in comic book history, however, involves billionaire bad guy Maxwell Lord, who has now been played by two different stars on the big screen – Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984 and Sean Gunn in Superman.

In a recent online exchange with a fan, James Gunn – the co-head of DC Studios and director of Man of Tomorrow – was asked why bowl-cut-haired ring-slinger Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) was working for Lord as part of the Justice Gang, given his evil reputation. It was here that Gunn set the record straight on Threads about the character, and assured that the version we'd already met might be different to the kind of character Lord had become.

"Who said he was evil? The DCU is not a Xerox of DC Comics. It's an alternate universe. But as a hint, I'm a huge fan of the deeply flawed but hardly malevolent Max as originally created by [Keith] DeMatteis, [J.M.] Giffen, and [Kevin] Maguire, not the less nuanced evil dude he was retconned into," explained Gunn. "The original Max as presented in JLI was one of my favorite characters."

For those who might have done their hero and villain homework, Lord started out as an ally to the Justice League and was a key part of the Justice League International’s formation. Over time, he eventually became an enemy of the original League and ended up getting his neck snapped by Wonder Woman in a pivotal part of Infinite Crisis after killing Ted Kord, aka Blue Beetle.

In the final act of Superman, Gardner enlisted Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) into the Lord-funded hero team, the Justice Gang, while also giving themselves a name change. Factoring this in, there's no telling how close to the comics the Justice League's journey might become and, by extension, how much involvement Lord will end up having as this universe expands. While Gunn might certainly be backing his version of Lord, we'd still suggest that Xolo Maridueña, who is reprising his role as Blue Beetle, keep an eye out, just in case.

Man of Tomorrow releases in theaters on July 9. For more, check out all the other upcoming DC movies and shows in the pipeline.

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Nick is a freelancer whose work can be found at Screen Rant, The Digital Fix, and Looper. He loves movies, TV, DC, and Marvel. He also believes that the best Robin Hood is still a talking fox.

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