James Gunn Talks About Running DC Studios
Only ten years ago, James Gunn was just an ordinary, low-key filmmaker who directed less-known movies like 2006′ Slither and 2010’s Super. His rapid climb in the superhero genre began in 2014 with the release of the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie. To this day, he worked on two Guardians sequels and one Holiday Special for Marvel, as well as The Suicide Squad and the Peacemaker series for DC.
In 2018, after writing and directing two Guardians movies and executive producing Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Disney fired Gunn for some offensive decade-old tweets, believing that Gunn’s involvement would bring the company a bad reputation. Disney didn’t foresee DC immediately stepping in and offered Gunn to write and direct any DC property he’d like. Gunn picked The Suicide Squad, and one day after he was confirmed for the job at DC, Disney decided to reinstate him as the writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which was finally released this year.
James Gunn confirmed that he’s not planning to make more movies for Marvel after Vol. 3, and last year Warner Bros. Discovery decided to hire him as the co-CEO of DC Studios with Peter Safran. Gunn is currently developing a new cinematic universe based on DC characters — DCU, and he’s also set to write and direct the first DCU movie, Superman: Legacy, which is set to be released in 2025.
James Gunn opens up about his most demanding job yet!
In a recent interview about El País, Gunn talked about getting arguably the biggest job in his career. He opened up about his thoughts when he was first offered the job and what made him accept it. He also talked about how movie budgets and restrictions influence the movie’s final quality, as well as the creative process and working with other writers and directors on DC Universe.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a storyteller in charge. It’s unprecedented. No one in the history of Hollywood has ever had an opportunity to tell the biggest story ever told across television, film, and games, to have that type of creative outlet. So how the fuck could I say no?”
“The budget can be a trap because people can rely on it too much. But the budget won’t make a good movie. Sometimes having restrictions placed upon you can really help you, even when you make movies like this. I would say 90% of the time, I’ve had restrictions placed on me; it’s made the movie better, not worse. Because somehow I’m able to make things more streamlined, you really cut out the things you don’t need, and you keep the stuff that you do.”
“Part of [the process] is me; you need to have a good foundation, a good story. But then part of it is finding the right people to surround yourself with. […] I’m hiring great directors and great writers. It’s going to be interesting stuff if nothing else. That’s what I’d rather make, stuff that’s interesting and doesn’t work, than stuff that is just the same old thing that we’ve seen again and again.”
James Gunn for El País
It’s known that James Gunn is a big fan of comic books, and his broad knowledge about superheroes is helping him a lot in his career as a superhero filmmaker. When Warner Bros. first hired him, they initially offered him to direct a Superman movie, but Gunn didn’t feel ready for Superman just yet, so he picked to direct The Suicide Squad, a sequel/soft-reboot of David Ayer’s 2016’s Suicide Squad.
The Suicide Squad was met with positive responses from critics and fans, many of them calling it an improvement over Ayer’s movie. When the pandemic delayed the development of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 at Marvel, Gunn spent his time in lockdown writing Peacemaker, a spin-off series starring John Cena which premiered in 2022 on HBOMax.
The series received acclaim, and it’s set to return for the second season, although Gunn confirmed the season wouldn’t be made before he finishes Superman: Legacy.
James Gunn’s latest movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is now playing in theaters worldwide, and so far, it has grossed over $659 million worldwide. Gunn previously confirmed that he finished the screenplay for Superman: Legacy, and the filming is set to begin in January 2024. We still don’t have any solid news about the movie’s cast, but we’re impatient to find out who will be the next Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, etc.
Gunn is also writing Creature Commandos, an animated series set in DCU, which is set to premiere on Max next year. Superman: Legacy is set to be released on July 11, 2025.
