Comic books and monkeys have a long and glorious history together. There's an unwritten rule amongst die-hard comic fans that goes a little something like, "if you put a monkey on the cover, the book is guaranteed to sell." And while both Marvel and DC have a plethora of anthropomorphic primates on their roster, DC comics just know how to implement apes better. Several prominent superheroes in DC's pantheon are often bedeviled by mischievous apes. From Gorilla Grood trying to best The Flash to Superman's ape kaiju antagonist known as Titano, DC superheroes and apes have been intertwined for decades.
Typically, during the process of adapting superheroes to the big screen, there are several concessions made surrounding content. Some ideas that work wonderfully in comics wouldn't fare as well on the silver screen. Conventional wisdom usually brackets superheroes battling monkeys in that paradigm, but new DC films head, James Gunn, thinks it's time to reinvestigate that notion.
James Gunn just declared that his stewardship of DC Universe will be marked by the abolition of all restrictions where Gorilla characters are concerned.
Gunn, who recently took on the role of co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios, made this announcement on Twitter. Responding to a fan's petition for DC to "up their gorilla limit by one," Gunn quipped that he will "abide by no gorilla limits whatsoever" in future DCU projects. The filmmaker then tweeted artwork of characters Monsieur Mallah, Gorilla Grodd, Ultra-Humanite and Titano, along with an all-caps caption insisting on the simian quartet's right to live.