A little over a month and a half after taking over DC Studios, James Gunn is already feeling the wrath of fans after canceling Wonder Woman 3 and revealing that Henry Cavill is not returning as Superman.
The 56-year-old filmmaker and new head of DC Studios with Peter Safran released a new statement Monday on both Twitter and Instagram about the “disrespectful outcry” from fans.
While Gunn is yet to unveil DC’s new roster and reveal the fate of other films slated for 2023, he insisted his vision would not be marred by backlash from a vocal group of fans who still insist that Zack Snyder returns to ‘Restore the Snyderverse’, though Snyder himself says he’s done with the superhero franchise.
Anger: A little over a month and a half after taking over DC Studios, James Gunn is already feeling the wrath of fans after canceling Wonder Woman 3 and revealing that Henry Cavill is not returning as Superman
“One of the things that Peter and I were aware of when we took the job as head of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online who could be, well, short-tempered and unfriendly, to say the least,” Gunn began .
“Our decisions for the DCU are based on what we think is best for the story and best for the DC characters that have been around for almost 85 years,” added Gunn.
“These decisions may or may not be great, but they are made with a sincere heart and integrity and always with history in mind,” he said.
Aware: “One of the things that Peter and I were aware of when we took the job as head of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online who could be, well, short-tempered and unfriendly, to say the least,” began Gunn
“Nobody loves to be harassed or verbally abused – but to be honest we’ve been through a lot worse. Disrespectful outcry will never affect our actions,” he said.
“We knew there would be a period of turbulence as we entered this gig and we knew that sometimes we had to make difficult and not-so-obvious decisions, especially given the contradictory nature of what lay ahead.” said Gunn.
“But that means little to us compared to our jobs as artists and administrators who help create a bright and wonderful future for DC,” Gunn concluded.
Harassed: “Nobody loves to be harassed or verbally abused – but to be honest, we’ve been through a lot worse. Disrespectful outcry will never affect our actions,” he said
Gunn also took to Twitter to address some untrue rumors in the thread, including how DC will recast all of its heroes.
“I keep seeing posts with this untrue theory. We’re not recasting everyone except for The Suicide Squad,” Gunn said.
He also replied to another fan who said he would be happy if Gunn canceled all DC films and replaced them with sequels to his 2006 film Slither, except for a possible Weasel film, although Gunn said: “That rumor isn’t either true .’
Untrue: “I keep seeing posts with this untrue theory. We’re not recasting everyone except for The Suicide Squad,” Gunn said
Untrue: He also replied to another fan who said he’d be happy if Gunn canceled all DC movies and replaced them with sequels to his 2006 film Slither, except for a possible Weasel movie, although Gunn said, “This one Rumor is also untrue.
Gunn and Safran reportedly presented their pitch for at least the next five years of the DC Extended Universe to WarnerMedia CEO David Zaslav last week.
There was no indication of how the pitch was received and which projects might go into development first under this new regime.
Gunn teased on Twitter last week that they will be sharing the first details of their roster early in the new year
Pitch: Gunn and Safran reportedly presented their pitch to WarnerMedia CEO David Zaslav last week for at least the next five years of the DC Extended Universe
Gunn had also revealed that he’s currently writing the script for the new Superman movie and it won’t be an origin story, although it’s unclear who will be directing it at the moment.
He added that Cavill won’t be playing Superman because the story focuses on an earlier part of Superman’s life, adding that Superman is “a big, if not the biggest priority” of his list.
It is still unclear what Warner Bros. intends to do with upcoming DC films such as Shazam: Fury of the Gods (March 17, 2023), The Flash (June 16, 2023), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25, 2023). representing the final films under the former DC Films regime, headed by Walter Hamada, before the company rebranded to DC Studios under Gunn and Safran, which officially took over on November 1st.
Unclear: Gunn had also revealed that he’s currently writing the script for the new Superman movie and it won’t be an origin story, although it’s unclear who will be directing it at the moment