An unexpected turn of events happened in late October this year when James Gunn joined the new DC Studios. After the former head of DC Films, Walter Hamada left the studio, Warner Bros. Discovery replaced the division with DC Studios and hired James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formed division. Gunn had worked with both Marvel and DC Studios, and he claimed that he had more creative freedom while working with Warner Bros.
So far, Gunn has made some unexpected changes under his new DCU plan and is expected to reveal his grand plan in January 2023. While not everyone is happy with his approach to the DCU, fans believe that he is the best thing to happen to DC and The Hollywood Reporter seems to agree with them as it has awarded the filmmaker with the title of the Best Poach of the year.
James Gunn’s Shift to DC Titled as the Best Poach of the Year
The brawl between Marvel and DC has been going on for years. While Marvel stepped up its game as it continued developing the MCU, DC somehow failed at doing the same.
Warner Bros. worked on several DC projects. However, it was unable to establish a cinematic universe as Marvel had done with its characters. With hiring James Gunn as the new CEO of DC Studios, Warner Bros. is also planning to introduce a new DCU.
Gunn, who worked on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy film series, got the opportunity to direct the 2021 DC film, The Suicide Squad. While it underperformed at the box office, it became the most streamed DCEU film on HBO Max. Fans’ reaction to the 2021 film led the studio to announce a spinoff of the 2021 film Peacemaker featuring John Cena.
The filmmaker’s DC projects received praise from fans, but no one expected that soon Warner Bros. would hand over the leadership of the entire DCU to the Super director. In its first annual Yearbook, The Hollywood Reporter has titled James Gunn’s shift from Marvel to DC as the ‘Best Poach of the Year.’
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is set to release next year, will be James Gunn’s last film under Marvel Studios. It is also expected to be the last film in the Guardians of the Galaxy film series.
James Gunn Shares His Experience Working With Marvel And DC
James Gunn achieved some of the best reviews of his career for the 2021 film The Suicide Squad. The Guardians of the Galaxy director shared his experience working with both Marvel and DC during an interview.
He described that the process is very different at both studios. Gunn shared that Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, “gives more notes” and is way more involved than executives at Warner Bros.
He shared that while working with Warner Bros. he was given more creative freedom.
Warner Bros. approached James Gunn with a project in 2018 after Disney fired the director for making inappropriate tweets.
However, the tweets were quite old, and the Slither director apologized for his actions. Disney re-hired him for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is set to release on 5 May 2023.
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker are available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
