Mark Ruffalo Says “Marvel Should Be Sweating” Over James Gunn’s DC Role

Marvel Cinematic Universe star Mark Ruffalo (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) is known for speaking (too) frankly about the hit superhero franchise – and now he’s at it again. Instead of dropping major spoilers like usual, though, Ruffalo was speaking on the new challenge to the MCU that could come with James Gunn’s DC Studios and its DC Universe franchise. In fact, in Ruffalo’s words, “Marvel should be Sweating” over what Gunn, Peter Safran, and Warner Bros. Discovery have planned for the next few years of TV/movie content. 

Ruffalo was attending Emerald City Comic Con, and during his panel appearance, he was asked what DC Studios could do to get to the same level of success as Marvel Studios. According to Ruffalo, Warner Bros. Discovery already made the right move: hiring James Gunn.

“I would say, hire James Gunn, cause nobody does it better. And Marvel should be sweating because James Gunn is a really gifted filmmaker and I think he’s going to be amazing for that franchise,” Ruffalo told the crowd. 

Now, as usual, what Ruffalo thought was a mundane statement or observation on his part will probably blow up into something bigger. There has been major debate in the more extreme ends of the Marvel/DC fandoms ever since DC Studios was announced last fall, with James Gunn and producer Peter Safran at the head of the studio. After Gunn and Safran unveiled their first slate of DC Universe TV shows and films earlier this year, the debate over whether or not DC’s proposed lineup of projects can rival Marvel’s ambitious Multiverse Saga plan. 

Still, right now, DC has a lot of bad history and fan disappointment to overcome, while still pulling off blockbuster results with the last of its old slate of films, including Shazam! Fury of the Gods this month; The Flash movie in June, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom at the end of the year. That’s been a tricky marketing challenge, as only The Flash (the official point of reboot for the DCU franchise) has an “event” that audiences can safely invest in to lead them into the new franchise to come. Shazam! 2 and Aquaman 2 both come with clouds of skepticism hanging over them, as neither franchise is guaranteed to continue into the new DCU era. 

Meanwhile, Marvel Studios has plenty of exciting content coming in The Multiverse Saga – including a potentially one-of-a-kind comic book movie experience in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and possibly the biggest Marvel movie crossover event ever in Avengers: Secret Wars. So maybe Mark Ruffalo is a little bit overconfident in how sweaty Marvel should be right now…