James Gunn Clarifies Comments About Hating DCU Characters’ Black Adam & Shazam 2 Cameos

James Gunn addresses his recent comments on Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Following the DCU reboot, both Black Adam and Shazam are expected to be recast. By Superman‘s July 2025 release, it may still be too early to introduce a new version of the Wizard’s champions, as Dwayne Johnson and Zachary Levi’s portrayals are still too fresh in the audience’s minds.

On a July 21st interview with Den of Geek, James Gunn was asked whether Emilia Harcourt and John Economos’ appearance in Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods is canon, to which Gunn responded, “They’re not canon! I hate it!” Two days later, Gunn clarified his comments on Threads, explaining that he doesn’t hate the movies, but his characters’ role in them:

“This is the kind of nonsense you have to look out for in these posts. I never said I hated either of those films – I said I didn’t like the way the 11th Street Kids were included, as I don’t think Harcourt was ever the warden of an underwater prison, and I don’t think Waller had anything to do with the Justice Society.”

James Gunn Didn’t Oversee The Peacemaker Characters’ DCEU Cameos

James Gunn makes it clear that he had no creative input in the 11th Street Kids’ return. As Gunn explains, John Economos and Emilia Harcourt’s link to Amanda Waller’s “Black Site” and the Justice Society were never acknowledged or set up by the DCEU, let alone Peacemaker or The Suicide Squad. By Black Adam, Harcourt was already reluctant to work with Waller.

James Gunn created his versions of the Suicide Squad and the 11th Street Kids for the DCEU, back when a reboot wasn’t in the cards for Warner Bros. Before the creation of DC Studios, James Gunn didn’t have absolute control over his DC characters, meaning that Emilia Harcourt and John Economos could be used in other projects without Gunn’s involvement.

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The events of The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker season 2 will likely be mostly canon in the DCU. However, Jennifer Holland’s Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee’s John Economos likely won’t have any ties to Black Adam, Shazam, or the Justice Society anymore. Their return in Peacemaker season 2 and beyond belongs to a slightly different continuity.

Harcourt & Economos’ DCEU Cameos Prove How Disorganized The Franchise Used To Be

Emilia Harcourt and John Economos’ cameo appearance in Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods‘ post-credits scene is clear proof that the DCEU had no clear direction. Individual writers and directors seem to have been setting up future stories on the fly. What’s worse, James Gunn didn’t know where his own characters were heading.

What exactly Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods were setting up is unclear. Black Adam probably would have met Task Force X, and Shazam probably would have joined a new iteration of the Justice Society. However, none of that was guaranteed in the DCEU, either.

Source: Threads

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  Shazam! Fury of the Gods
  

  Release Date

  March 17, 2023
  

  Runtime

  130 minutes

  Director

  David F. Sandberg

  Writers

  Chris Morgan, Henry Gayden

  Producers

  Peter Safran

  
  

  
  

  
  

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  Black Adam
  

  
  

  5/10

  Release Date

  October 21, 2022
  

  Runtime

  125 Minutes

  Director

  Jaume Collet-Serra

  Writers

  Bill Parker, C.C. Beck, Jerry Siegel, Jack Kirby, Joe Shuster, Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani, Adam Sztykiel

  
  

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    Aldis Hodge

    Hawkman / Carter Hall