It seems that James Gunn and Peter Safran's shoot-from-the-hip style of stewardship for the DC Universe is not being well-received by some inside Warner Bros. Discovery.
The recently appointed co-CEOs of the newly codified DC Studios were always considered unconventional choices, with backgrounds as creatives rather than from the business side. Indeed, with Gunn being a director and Safran being a producer with a directing background, their frequent bites on social media and in interviews have become a constant stream of noteworthy narratives for the media. However, comments (especially from Gunn) have reportedly left "quite a few ruffled feathers" at the company behind the scenes, according to THR's Heat Vision newsletter. While nothing is specified, Gunn is known to offer colorfully candid thoughts on the way the studio was run before the duo's tenure.
James Gunn Shades DC's Previous Regime
"The history of DC...was f**ked up," Gunn exclaimed in a recent interview with a level of candor shocking even for him. The comment was indicative of the confusing web of properties (e.g. TV's Arrowevese and the former DC Extended Universe films) he and Safran have been tasked with untangling. Yet, it's understandable how someone who was involved with that DC history might take exception to such a comment. Given the way he waltzed in the door a few months ago as a big-shot director from Marvel's hit Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, it might have felt like he was burying everyone.
Additionally, Gunn recently sounded off on another hot-button topic regarding the way DC Studios handled Henry Cavill's seemingly reneged comeback as Superman. Legions of fans were left outraged late last year after Cavill -- having appeared in a comeback-teasing post-credits scene in 2022's Black Adam and made to announce his imminent comeback in a new Superman movie -- was seemingly dismissed from the role retroactively. Interestingly, Gunn offered the surprising clarification that "we didn't fire Henry. Henry was never cast." The co-CEO may have breached decorum when he subsequently offered his own opinion on the controversy. "I like Henry, I think he's a great guy," he said. "I think he's getting dicked around by a lot of people including the former regime at this company."
Gunn and Safran came into their jobs this past November amid studio turmoil, with Warner's disjointed lineup of DC Comics live-action films -- notably represented by the 2017 event movie Justice League -- having failed to bear fruit that was Marvel-level lucrative or even logistically sustainable. Thus, as the parent company Warner Bros. Discovery continued creating controversy by cutting back on a wide array of film and television content under its widespread umbrella -- the most notorious of which was the cancellation of the deep-in-production Batgirl movie -- the company picked studio heads who spoke the same language and shared the same concerns as the vocal fandom, many of whom were locked in a perpetual state of outrage.
The New DC Universe Slate
However, months of speculation about the duo's intended direction for the DCU came to an end last week with a lively press conference, in which the duo mapped out the ambitiously comprehensive slate of new DC Comics TV series and films. Among the highlights are The Brave and the Bold, a live-action film focusing on the Batman Family, notably the Damian Wayne version of Robin; an iteration that will run concurrently with the 2025-scheduled, Robert Pattinson-starring sequel The Batman Part II, which arrives under the "Elseworlds" label of properties set outside the main DC Universe. Moreover, Superman will indeed return to the big screen (obviously sans Henry Cavill) in a new take on the Kryptonian's classic story, titled Superman: Legacy, which Gunn is writing -- inspired by elements of writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman -- and is expected to direct. That film is scheduled to land on July 11, 2025.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision