One of the most interesting titles in the WildStorm Universe is WildC.A.T.S. The best way to describe Jim Lee and Brandon Choi’s cumbersomely-named supergroup is that it’s not a store brand version of the X-Men, but it’s not not a store brand version of the X-Men, either. Instead of a mutant gene, this team’s lovable outcasts tend to get their powers from their alien ancestry, and often deal with conflicts between the Kherubim and Daemonite alien factions. Their woes don’t really mesh with established DC heroes like Superman and Batman, and their cast of heroes, villains, breakout character and adjacent superteams is so huge that it would make far more sense to let them be their own thing. 

So, why adapt them at all? Well, there’s always the fact that they give Gunn an opportunity to put a comparatively obscure, yet likable team on the silver screen — in other words, pull yet another “The Suicide Squad” or “Guardians of the Galaxy” with WildC.A.T.S. This time, however, the stakes would be higher. Improving on the first “Suicide Squad” movie wasn’t exactly a tough hurdle to clear., and “Guardians” didn’t really have any competition when the filmmaker brought the goofy li’l space team to box office success. Adapting WildC.A.T.S., on the other hand, would give Gunn a chance to bring a X-Men-style superteam on the big screen … before the real X-Men enter the MCU. In one fell swoop, the little-known generic brand would get a chance to cast a shadow over the globally recognized market leader, simply by getting there first and putting in a good show. Will this happen? At this point, there’s no way to tell. Have Gunn and Safran at least discussed it? Would be very difficult to believe otherwise. 

Oh, and if WildC.A.T.S. isn’t James Gunn’s jam, there’s always Gen13, which is a very similar gang of superpowered misfits. If nothing else, they might come in handy should the DCU decide to go with a “one team for TV, the other for the big screen” approach.