James Gunn Responds to Backlash Over Recent DC Changes

DC Studios chief James Gunn took to social media to call out abusive fans and promise that he and his partner Peter Safran are committed to doing what they believe is best as custodians of DC’s superheroes. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker, who is reportedly writing an upcoming Superman movie, has been on the receiving end of a lot of online negativity for years now — but #FireJamesGunn has been trending on Twitter more or less nonstop since he confirmed that Henry Cavill would not be returning as the Man of Steel. Many of Gunn’s loudest critics have been from within the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse fan community, but not all.

Gunn said, as he has previously, that he and Safran understood what they were getting into by taking the job. He also said that he knew there would be a period of adjustment, due to the “fractious” nature of what has been going on at Warner Bros. and DC for the last few years.

“One of the things Peter & I were aware of when we took the job as heads of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least,” Gunn wrote to Instagram. “Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story & best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years. Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts & integrity & always with the story in mind. No one loves to be harassed or called names – but, to be frank, we’ve been through significantly worse. Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions. We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, & we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult & not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us. But this means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists & custodians in helping to create a wide & wonderful future for DC.”

Gunn, the brains behind The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, was tapped to run DC Studios in October, along with producer Safran, who has worked with Gunn for years. The pair have said little about their plans for the future, except that they intend to create a cohesive universe across TV, film, animation, and video games. Since they took over, Wonder Woman 3 has been shelved, and Henry Cavill’s time as Superman has officially come to an end, suggesting to many that DC Studios will oversee a near-total reboot of the film continuity.