MarvelandDCEUhave always been more than competitors—they’ve been fierce rivals since the comic industry began nearly a century ago. Yet, true to the spirit of Christmas, Marvel’sThe Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Specialbrought DC in on the festivities and cheer by mentioning our favorite brooding billionaire and bat-obsessed hero, Bruce Wayne, A.K.A. The Batman.
Even though it was a simple throwaway name-drop by a hypnotized Kevin Bacon, this is significant, being one of the two times in the past two decades that either of the franchises has acknowledged the other. The first time (also the first time on the big screen) was also the MCU referencing DC when the hero-villain Ikaris is confused forSuperman in Marvel’sEternals. With such blatant confirmation of the two worlds of heroes, fans are more than justified in asking: are we going to see a Marvel/DC crossover?
Crossovers Were Common Before
There have been many Marvel and DC crossovers in the past, the very first beingSuperman v The Amazing Spider-Mancomic in 1976, which saw Lex Luther and Doc Ock threaten the Earth, and it’s up to Superman and Spider-Man to save the day. This started dozens of collaborative efforts between the two comic giants for years to come, all the until the very last crossover between the Justice League and the Avengers in the fan-favoriteJLA/Avengersin 2004.
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A special crossovers comic series entitledDC vs. Marvel(orMarvel vs. DC, depending on who’s publishing) pitted superheroes against their counterparts in battle, and the winner was determined by reader ballots distributed in advance in comic book stores. Fans could actually support their hero and help them win the battle, and the comic companies gained valuable insight into popular characters. Crossovers created unique opportunities in market research and in reader engagement, which both helped drive sales and lead to more crossovers. But eventually, the two companies got too competitive, crossovers meant helping the other succeed and sometimes letting your own heroes get beat,and cut ties.
How Can A Crossover Happen Today?
Famous filmmaker James Gunn has plenty of experience in both franchises, directing all of Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxyentries, and directing DC’sPeacemakerandThe Suicide Squad. Recently, Gunn has become co-head of DCEU film unit and is supposed to be to DC what Kevin Feige is to Marvel; a singular mastermind to lead the franchise to success. Though he has a reputation of doing things his own way, as anyone who’s watchedGuardians of the Galaxyknows.Gunn wants to do a Marvel/DC crossover movieand has even been talking to heads of studios about it all.
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The probability of a crossover seems pretty unlikely at this point—Marvel Studios has already released its line-up until 2026 at SDCC 2022 and doesn’t seem interested in other non-MCU stories; DC Studios is reorganizing under Gunn and is pulling itself together after a lot of rocky years against the juggernaut success of the MCU. Yet the possibility is there, more now than in a long time, namely under Gunn.
When Can We Expect A Crossover?
In the MCU, the Multiverse is up and running and crazier than ever, and many fans are hoping that this will allow for the franchises to crossover, in MCU canon at least. For the DC side, the DCU is up in the air at the moment and has been for quite a while. Not being as interconnected or consistent as Marvel, DC has made many movies and shows at the same time as Marvel but has suffered in many areas, including quality and production interference.
So as Gunn takes over and possibly reboots the DCU, he can work towards a crossover while getting things back on track. Though for both studios, it cannot happen for a while, and an MCU/DC crossover would takeEndgame-level build-up years after the MCU gets over the Multiverse Saga and the DCU gets on all cylinders. Of course, that’s if the studios agree at all, which will be the hardest part.
So, needless to say, a crossover won’t happen for many, many years.
Back in the day, crossover events were not so common that the heroes and their respective companies were confused, but were still allowed to team up or fight each other, granting the power of the fandom to interact in creative and unique ways they haven’t been able to do since. Crossovers have always been big events, but just one, modern crossover between the glorious purpose of the MCU and the might of DCEU is a dream simply guaranteed to be bigger than evenEndgame.
