James Gunn is gearing up for his new DCU reboot, starting with Superman: Legacy in 2023. He has revealed parts of his vision of the new DCU earlier this year. Gunn’s plans were met with understandable skepticism due to the underwhelming prospects of recent DCU offerings.
The DCU (Elseworlds) has Joker 2 with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga coming out in 2024. Gunn recently talked about the progress of the film, and fans aren’t quite happy with what he had to say. It has to do with him having a small hand in the overall progress of the film.
Also read: “We ain’t getting it in 2025”: James Gunn’s Update on Robert Pattinson’s The Batman 2 Upsets Fans
Fans Are Not Happy with James Gunn Having a Say on Joker 2
Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker 2 is slated to be DCU’s only theatrical offering in 2024. The much-awaited sequel to the 2019 hit will see Phoenix return as the Joker along with Lady Gaga, who will play Harley Quinn.
As the current head of DC Studios, James Gunn had some words to say about Todd Phillips’s work in Joker 2 even though he had nothing to do with the film. On Instagram, he claimed that while he gave some notes, the project was already set in stone even before he came on board as CEO, He said,
“Todd had Joker in full swing by the time we came onboard – I’ve watched and given notes, but it is mostly with WB, where it started,” Gunn wrote. “Everything forward in live-action we’re involved with.”
Some fans were not happy with Gunn getting involved in some way with the project. They took to X to criticize Gunn and claimed that the project did not need Gunn to make it a success (like the first film). Here are some of the reactions,
The 1st joker was amazing without James Gunn so I don’t see any reason to involve him with the sequel. Let it be it’s own thing
— Ava_palindrome (@ava_palindrome) December 15, 2023
Todd Phillips after getting Gunns notes: pic.twitter.com/mgWVzDDHTJ
— 𝒮𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘦 🏳️⚧️ ★ ʀᴇʙᴇʟ ᴍᴏᴏɴ (@SnyderQueen_) December 16, 2023
whelp there goes the quality films in Batman & Joker we got … no need for Gunn to be involved he should just be focusing on the new DCU
— Shinobi (@JonathanRSonier) December 15, 2023
He probably tossed out those notes
— Snyder Haters Cringe (@snyderanti) December 15, 2023
Gunn thinks he’s Nolan lmao
he ain’t ever done anything close to that quality— Mayyur Sudarsan (@MayyurSudarsan) December 15, 2023
Gunn himself has said the whole film is Phillips’ own creation, and he just gave notes to him, which he may or may not put in the film. It is evident that he has a lot of respect for Phillips’ work, and he will be wholly responsible for the merits and demerits of the film when it comes out and not Gunn.
James Gunn Claims That The Current Trend of Superhero Cameos is Boring
The superhero genre has been a mixed bag in recent years, with the discussion around it being who’s gonna cameo in a film and not about the main plot. Recent MCU offerings especially have been relying on cameos to excite viewers, while the narrative of the film itself is substandard.
James Gunn recently talked about this trend and criticized meaningless cameos that serve no purpose. He said (via Deadline),
“That’s fine if it doesn’t disrupt the story. It’s the plot contrivances that develop from a cameo, not the cameo itself. I call that ‘Cameo Porn’ and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films. If a character is in film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise.”
Gunn himself has a stacked coast for Superman: Legacy. Judging by his threads it seems all the characters that have been announced to appear in the film will have pivotal roles and not just meaningless cameos.
Also read: James Gunn Didn’t Want His “Favorite” Lex Luthor Actor in Superman: Legacy
