James Gunn says the newly established DC Universe will set itself apart from the Marvel Cinematic Universe by focusing on traditional superheroes with secret identities, inhabiting the fictional cities from the comics.

"If you look at the MCU, there are very few traditional superheroes," Gunn said during an appearance on the Inside of You podcast with Michael Rosenbaum. "There was never a guy with a secret identity until Spider-Man. Their [Captain America] was turned into a soldier even though he wears a mask. Iron Man outed himself at the end of the first Iron Man because they don't want to deal with the whole secret identity stuff."

CBR VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

RELATED: James Gunn Is Making Peacemaker Season 2 After His Superman Movie

DC's Fantasy Element and Fictional Locations

Gunn detailed how the DC Universe will differ from its heroic counterpart in terms of storytelling. "There is a bit more of a fantasy element to DCU because there are these larger-than-life superheroes," he explained. "For me, there's Superman and Clark Kent. They're two different characters, and you have to find a way to deal with them that's as grounded as possible within this world of DC."

"One of the things that I love about DC, that excites me about DC, is that, in a way, it's another alternate history. It is Gotham City and Metropolis and Star City and Bludhaven, and all these different places in this other reality, and it makes it a little bit like Westeros in some ways," Gunn continued. "I love it in that way. I love that we get to create true world-building in DC. It isn't just 'we're throwing some superheroes on Earth.' I think right now, that's one of the key differences."

RELATED: Will Superman: Legacy Give the Man of Steel Trunks? James Gunn Responds

Since taking up his new position as co-CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, Gunn has affirmed a dedication to making the DCU unique. The filmmaker recently stated that no artificial intelligence would be used in the studio's upcoming projects, after a fan speculated that some voice roles in DC Universe animated projects would be AI-generated from a licensed sound bank of the actor's voice. Gunn quickly squashed the DCU artificial intelligence theory with a simple, "No way."

Instead, DCU actors will record live-action dialogue for any animated project. Gunn also mentioned that the studio would use the same actors for live-action and animated projects. "What we're doing with the DCU is we're having animation tied directly into live action," Gunn said in January. "Television, movies, and games all intertwine within the same universe. We're going to cast actors that are going to be able to play the characters in this, as well as in other things, some of which we've already cast."

Source: YouTube