James Gunn set a bold and exciting precedent for the new DC Universe (DCU) even before he was appointed as the Co-Chairman of DC Studios alongside his producing partner Peter Safran. The opening scene of his 2021 film The Suicide Squad massacred several villains who were part of Task Force X, including even the fan-favorite Captain Boomerang, played by Jai Courtney. The opening scene made it feel as though no one was safe, and the same principle would carry over into projects like Peacemaker and Creature Commandos. Now, the writer/director took to social media to explain how he wants the death of characters to work in the new DCU. A fan asked the director if the Creature Commandos character, Princess Ilana Rostovic of Pokolistan (Maria Bakalova) would be making a return of some kind. In the season 1 finale of the series, Ilana is shot in the head by The Bride (Indira Varma) after the Princess killed Nina Mazursky. The director would candidly respond by saying, “I’m not sure how she would come back from that. In the DCU, if you die, you’re dead. It’s the way I’ve always done it.”

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Gunn’s reference to “the way he’s always done it” naturally refers to the filmmaker’s prior works, in which significant deaths typically mean they don’t play any role in the story that isn’t in a flashback or a hallucinatory sequence of some kind. Yondu (Michael Rooker) in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) in The Suicide Squad stand out as two of the most emotional deaths that would not be reversed. However, there is one way a character could come back in the DC universe.
Future DC Studios Projects Can Resurrect Characters, As Long As It’s Done in Service of Story

Warner Bros.

One of the biggest tropes in DC media, whether it be comics, video games, television, or movies, is the use of the Lazarus Pit. Mainly employed by the League of Shadows and Ras al Ghul, the Lazarus Pit has been used time and again to resurrect characters, with one of the most famous examples being Jason Todd, the second Robin. The frequent use of the pit was something brought up to Gunn as a counterpoint, and the director responded by saying it would need to be a crucial part of the story:
“Well, I wouldn’t mind using the Lazarus Pit (and/or resurrection) in a story. But it would have to be part of the story itself. I won’t be killing major characters just to pop them in the old Lazarus pit to be alive again. What backfires more is people believing there are no stakes, and death doesn’t mean anything. Dead is dead.”
James Gunn has always prioritized story over everything, making it a point in several DC Studios press conferences to reiterate the fact that no film is green-lit or goes into production without a completely finished script. So, should the need arise to bring a dead character back to life via the Lazarus Pit, it wouldn’t be surprising for Gunn to be OK with the decision (or possibly even write it himself) as long as the resurrection is in service of a compelling story with proper stakes and well-written characters. Source: Threads

Superman

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Director

James Gunn

Producers

Lars P. Winther, Peter Safran