As 'Ironheart' Bombs On Disney+, James Gunn Teases Live-Action Nubia Appearance In The DCU

Superman director and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn hinted that a live-action Nubia appearance is already in the works as Marvel’s Ironheart bombs on Disney+.

In a recent interview with the YouTube channel Pay Or Wait, Gunn was asked by the channel’s host, “I want to know if you have ever thought about bringing in Nubia or Vixen? ‘Cause like I really need that Nubia storyline, James. I need it.”

Gunn replied, “Okay. I know. I’m very aware of Nubia. And yes, we are very much talking about that. And I want to have all sorts of people represented in the DCU. And yeah, you might be happy in the not too distant future.”

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Gunn’s comments about representation are not surprising. In the upcoming Superman film he race swapped Lex Luthor henchman Otis as well as the Daily Planet’s Editor in Chief Perry White.

Additionally, Gunn defended race swapping the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by accusing an individual of having “racist presumptions.”

He went on to defend race-swapping claiming it should happen in order “to more accurately reflect our world.”

However, he made it clear he has no intention of race-swapping in the opposite direction. He explained, “In most cases, it would not make sense to take a character originally another ethnicity and make them white because there are already so many white superheroes.”

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While Gunn is teasing a live-action appearance of Nubia, Marvel Studios is finding out that making films and TV shows based on representation is not working out.

Former Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso made it clear this was the philosophy the company was following and if they did not do it they would lose money. During an appearance at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2021, Alonso claimed she’s asked, “Aren’t you tired every time your movie comes it’s number one in the world?”

She responded, “The reason we have that success consistently is because our audience is global. You cannot have a global audience and not somehow start to represent it… For us, it was really, really, really important to have that. For the longest of time, we heard a woman-led film will never open. I say, ‘Please check, Captain Marvel made a lot of money.’ Then they always told us that Black Panther was never going to open and that nobody wanted a completely Black cast, and that made $1.3B.”

“So you can look at it from the social point of view, the cultural point of view. But truthfully, this is a business. From a fiscal point of view, you are leaving money on the table by not representing,” she stated.

That philosophy is not working out. Marvel Studios’ black Captain America replacement in Captain America: Brave New World lost money at the box office earlier this year. The film needed to gross at least $540 million to break even. It only grossed $413.6 million. Similarly, Thunderbolts* also lost money. It too needed to gross $540 million. It only did $381.6 million.

On the television side, Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again became one of its worst performers only bringing in 5.8 million viewers on a service that has over 57.8 million subscribers in North America. The show’s two main characters had been effectively destroyed by the representation agenda as they were humiliated by female characters in Hawkeye and She-Hulk.

Most recently, Marvel Studios released Ironheart and the show is getting a ton of negative reactions and criticism and seemingly has even worse viewership than Daredevil: Born Again given it did not even chart in its first week even after debuting three entire episodes.

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As for when Nubia might make it appearance, there are a number of options. The character could potentially show up in Creature Commandos, the previously announced Paradise Lost television series that is set on the island of Themyscira, or the recently announced Wonder Woman film that is in development.

What do you make of Gunn’s tease?

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