To promote her surprisingly serious theme-heavy film “Cocaine Bear,” Elizabeth Banks sat down for an interview with Screen Rant. During the chat, she shared that she’d be more than happy to work with James Gunn in his and Peter Safran’s burgeoning DC multimedia franchise. “That stable of characters are epic, and that’s what I care about. I would love to do anything [with him]. Not even DC, wherever,” Banks shared, adding that her overall goal is to bring solid character stories to the silver screen. She also notes that the 2006 film “Slither,” which served as Gunn’s directorial debut and features her in the role of Starla Grant, influenced “Cocaine Bear.”

As Gunn and Safran seek to establish the DCU, bringing in Banks could be a big step in the right direction. Aside from being a household name thanks to her acting work — name value that would benefit the DCU greatly if it wants to bring in mainstream audiences — she has also proven more than capable behind the camera as well. Banks made her directorial debut in 2015 with “Pitch Perfect 2” after producing its predecessor, going on to direct the 2019 “Charlie’s Angels” reboot. Those experiences brought her to “Cocaine Bear,” which she directed and produced.

Given how disastrous things have been for the DC brand in the past several years, James Gunn and Peter Safran have their work cut out for them with the DCU. If they want it to be taken seriously by die-hard DC fans and casual moviegoers alike, bringing in someone as well-known and skilled as Elizabeth Banks is about as smart a business decision as they can make.