Nathan Fillion's recent comments may have confirmed the existence of this weird Superman villain in the DCU

The cast and crew of Superman surprised everyone with an Entertainment Weekly interview that shined a bright light on the future of popular DC characters and franchises. There, James Gunn, both the director of the DCU movie and the co-CEO of DC Studios, along with Peter Safran, revealed key details about the DCU, including the Justice League of this universe.

Nathan Fillion, one of James Gunn's best friends, who is set to play the role of the human Green Lantern, the Guy Gardner version, was a part of the interview. There, Gunn revealed to the Entertainment Weekly reporter that Superman will be setting up a DCU where humanity is more used to the presence of metahumans (super-powered individuals) because of 300 years of exposure.

Fillion backed up James Gunn by revealing that the DCU is a universe in which aliens, humans, monsters, and interdimensional imps coexist. The shoutout to the interdimensional imps has fans believe that it is a reference to the niche Superman opponent, Mr. Mxyzptlk, a being from the fifth dimension. While the character may not appear in the upcoming movie, a future DCU project might include him.

Who is Superman's opponent, Mr. Mxyzptlk?

Mr. Mxyzptlk is an imp from the fifth dimension who has the power to warp reality to his liking. Despite being one of Superman's oldest foes (first appearance in 1944), Mxyzptlk, or Mxy, can be defeated by getting him to say his complicated name in reverse. But he has appeared in the 90s animated series headlined by the Man of Steel, Smallville, Supergirl, and even My Adventures with Superman.

While he hasn't appeared in any of the live-action movies headlined by the Man of Steel, Mxy is exactly the kind of character that James Gunn would like to include, because he likes to shine a spotlight on lesser-known, fan-favorite cult characters. Therefore, it won't be surprising if the upcoming DC might contain a shoutout to the fifth dimension, and Nathan Fillion's comments may prove it.

What did Nathan Fillion say about the DCU?

Before Nathan Fillion's DCU comments, James Gunn told the reporter that the upcoming movie headlined by the Man of Steel will show us a world that has characters powered by both science and mysticism. Gunn first went into his past with superhero stories and then spoke about the nature of the new DCU:

"I grew up reading DC and Marvel comics and having worlds and universes of superheroes who were interacting. I grew up watching Super Friends on Saturday mornings. It's a long time coming, to be able to be a part of a world in which superheroes are real. We don't have to explain everyone away. There's a little bit of magic in this world. There's science beyond our understanding in this world. This is the kind of place where there's an island full of dinosaurs that probably exists."

Backing his friend, Nathan Fillion added:

"There's enough room in my heart for different ideas about the story of Superman. But they all have one thing in common: What if there was a Kryptonian who came to Earth and was here with us? James' take is: What if we lived in that world? It's giant monsters, alien beings, interdimensional imps. There's things happening that are reality for this world that we're about to enter."