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James Gunn's Brutally Honest DCEU & Snyderverse Comments Upset Warner Bros
James Gunn and Peter Safran's comments during the DC Universe Chapter One slate announcement have apparently ruffled some feathers over at DC parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. Gunn and Safran are the new co-CEOs of DC Studios and, as such, have the job of course-correcting the DCU after controversial past releases. The duo's blunt comments on sensitive topics like the old DCEU and Snyderverse have reportedly angered some executives at WBD.
THR reports that Gunn and Safran's comments were not received well by some of the studio's executives. According to THR, "there’s been quite a few ruffled feathers" since certain members of the previous DC regime remain at WBD. The new DC Studios co-CEOs were quite frank with their words, which included Safran affirming the Batgirl movie was "not releasable" and Gunn saying the old DC regime was "giving away IP like they were party favors at any creator who smiled at them.”
Why The New DC Universe Is Exactly What DC Needs
The DCU's new path is more exciting than what the previous regime had planned for the future of those characters. The reason for that is very simple — DC is finally embracing its comic book roots under Gunn and Safran. Gunn is well-known for his time as a director in the MCU, with his soon-to-be-complete Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy a great example of honoring the source material, while also leaving room for experimentation. DCU movies in the vein of the Snyderverse are likely done in the main DC continuity, with the overall tone of the universe going a more vibrant "comic-book-y" way.
While Gunn might have sounded harsh when mentioning DC IP being passed around like party favors by the old regime, it is clear that the creative has a point. For better or for worse, Zack Snyder had a clear vision of what he wanted to do with the DCEU. After Snyder left during the post-production process of Justice League, the overall live-action DC universe lost any sight of an end goal or plan to connect its projects. The Justice League Peacemaker cameos directed by Gunn started a movement for the interconnection of the DC universe, which has since grown exponentially by the promotion Gunn got to DC Studios co-CEO.
Important DC characters like the extended Bat-family, the Green Lantern corner of the DCU, and more have been kept from the DC live-action spotlight for far too long. Thankfully, that is now being corrected in the new DCU, with extraordinary characters like Bruce Wayne's assassin son Damian and the tragic/comedic future superhero Booster Gold being present in DC Studios' slate of projects to start the DCU's Chapter One. With the help of DC Comics' writer Tom King — along with a superhero-proven writers room — Gunn's taking the DCU reset of The Flash and running with it to create the ideal universe its iconic characters deserve.
