This year’s CinemaCon brought a massive reveal when it comes to James Gunn’s trajectory at DC Studios. The director of Superman explained that Warner Bros. originally approached him to helm a story featuring the Last Son of Krypton back in 2018. Gunn had recently been fired from Marvel Studios after old, inappropriate, social media posts came to light, but instead of choosing to direct a Superman reboot back then, James Gunn agreed with the studio to tackle The Suicide Squad. The sequel introduced a new iteration of the secret team that featured Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) as a founding member, who reprised her role from 2016’s Suicide Squad.
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There are multiple reasons as to why this strategy has proven to be successful for both Warner Bros. and James Gunn. The DC Universe would look very different today if the director had decided to take on Superman all those years ago. Making The Suicide Squad was the right step in the middle of a complicated journey that eventually allowed James Gunn to be the head of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran. James Gunn’s Superman movie became a reality years later, and the blockbuster is aiming to launch a new franchise on the big screen this summer. Here are some reasons why the brand is better because of James Gunn’s Suicide Squad decision.
Familiar Territory for James Gunn
Warner Bros. initially approached James Gunn because the filmmaker had been fired from Marvel Studios amidst a social media controversy. The director was still supposed to develop Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 for Disney, but knowing how valuable Gunn would be as an asset, Warner Bros. didn’t hesitate in recruiting the filmmaker. It was later announced that James Gunn would take on a sequel to Suicide Squad, and it made sense for the director to work on this particular team, since Guardians of the Galaxy proved that Gunn was able of turning a group on unlikeable characters into a beloved found family.
The result turned out to be a success, with The Suicide Squad earning $169 million at the global box office. While that doesn’t sound like an impressive number, it’s important to remember that the movie was released during the pandemic, when people weren’t flocking to theaters, and The Suicide Squad also premiered on Max at the same time. The critical acclaim for the sequel was so strong that Warner Bros. felt confident in expanding their working relationship with James Gunn. The studio was ready to move on towards the future of the DC brand.
The Timing Was Off
The version of Justice League that was directed by Joss Whedon was released in the final weeks of 2017, and if Warner Bros. announced that James Gunn was going to reboot the franchise shortly after would have sent shockwaves throughout the Internet. The DC Extended Universe was moving forward with the release of titles such as Aquaman, Shazam!,and The Flash, so announcing a new version of Superman less than a year after Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent was brought back to life wouldn’t have been ideal for Warner Bros. Back then, there was still plenty of territory to be explored in the DCEU.
Taking on a sequel to critically panned story such as Suicide Squad was one thing, but taking on the competition’s flagship character would’ve been an entirely different situation. There’s no way of knowing how Marvel Studios would’ve reacted if James Gunn had taken on Superman instead. Right after the director was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, there was plenty of uncertainty surrounding the future of the franchise that followed Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaรฑa), Groot (Vin Diesel), and other characters viewers came to know and love over the years.
James Gunn Became a Better Filmmaker
James Gunn’s decision of directing The Suicide Squad instead of Superman allowed him to take on a wide variety of projects that turned to be some of the most personal stories of his career. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 was an emotional sendoff to the characters Gunn had been working with over the course of a decade and that sequel was critically acclaimed. If that wasn’t enough for Marvel Studios, Gunn’s last Guardians of the Galaxy movie earned $845 million at the global box office. The filmmaker was able to add another feather to his cap with the emotional story that marked the end of that iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The development of the TV series Peacemaker saw Gunn taking one of the best characters from The Suicide Squad into his own adventure. Across eight episodes of television, the filmmaker was able to tell the emotional tale of a man opening himself up to others, and growing up as a human being in the process. These projects allowed James Gunn to become a better filmmaker and these stories made Warner Bros. feel confident enough to let Gunn lead DC Studios into the future. It could be said that, by taking on The Suicide Squad first, James Gunn was able to have his cake and eat it, too.
