With Superman still rattling around theaters, DC Studios co-chief James Gunn has seemingly been everywhere lately. With things looking promising for his reboot of the world of DC, he was inevitably asked about the events of 2022 when there were mixed and confusing messages coming out of DC.
Black Adam was released on Friday, October 21st, and it contained a surprise cameo from Henry Cavill as Superman. The following Monday, there was a seemingly big announcement when Cavill was revealed to be returning to the role.
This all happened very shortly after DC boss Walter Hamada exited Warner Bros. Dwayne Johnson talked about a “shift in the balance of power” in the DC Extended Universe, and a course seemed to have been set… and then it wasn’t.
The very next day, James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the new bosses at DC Studios, reporting directly to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Over the same weekend, Black Adam cratered at the box office, and it was announced that a brand new DC Universe was coming.
For three years, fans have argued online about exactly what happened, and Snyder-bros dug in, claiming Cavill was fired by Gunn and Safran. It turns out this was not the case. It seems the whole thing was a result of maneuvering at Warner Bros. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused, Gunn had this to say:
“Believe it or not, the day we were dealing with trying to figure out if we could take the job at DC Studios, […] the day the deal closed, all of a sudden, they were announcing that Henry was back. And I was like, ‘What is going on? We know what the plan is. The plan was to come in and do ‘Superman”. So, it was really unfair to him and a total bummer.
There was a vacuum at the time and a lot of people were… trying to be as diplomatic as possible, there were other people that had a take on what they wanted to do at DC and were trying to force their way and it was just never part of the equation for David Zaslav. We came in, and that was really unfortunate. I’m like, ‘This poor guy.’
So Peter and I said the right thing to do is to sit down with him, and talk to him… He was an absolute gentleman and a great guy about it. He said, ‘The only thing I ask is that I’m able to reveal it myself as opposed to coming from you guys.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s a class act.’”
Other commentators have been less diplomatic online. Dwayne Johnson and his ex-wife / manager Dany Garcia had allegedly attempted to exert more creative control over DC Films, aiming to elevate his production company, Seven Bucks, and position Black Adam at the center of the DC Universe. Meetings were held with David Zaslav, where Johnson reportedly pitched ideas that would give him and his company significant influence.
He was supported in this by ambitious Warner execs Pam Abdy and Michael DeLuca, who wanted DC Studios in their wheelhouse. The announcement was an alleged attempt to shape the narrative to the outcomes they wanted. When Gunn and Safran were announced, it blew all of these machinations out of the water.
Elsewhere in the new DCU, Gunn confirmed that the Andy Muschietti-directed The Brave and the Bold film will “probably” not be released in the same calendar year as The Batman Part II (2027) and that he hears fan noise online about Alan Ritchson to be cast in the role:
“I am a big Alan Ritchson Fan. Both as an actor and as a guy. Let’s just wait to see what happens”.
He added that there is no repeat of Batman vs. Superman planned any time soon in the DCU:
“Superman is very important, and it’s not Batman versus Superman.”
Outside of the podcast, DC Studios has also announced that playwright and actress Ana Nogueira, who wrote the upcoming Supergirl, will write the new Wonder Woman movie.
