Arrowverse Producer Marc Guggenheim Clarifies DC Universe Comments

A little over a month ago, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim took to his Legal Dispatch newsletter to express some frustration with the state of his career. Saying that it sometimes felt like his years running Warner Bros. Television’s hugely successful “Arrowverse” had not helped him much on a career level, he used the example of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s recent reworking of DC. Noting that, after years of service, it would have been nice to get a call, Guggenheim concluded by saying that he nevertheless was gratified by the years of support from Arrowverse fans. All of this was couched in the context of “Here’s the blog post I almost wrote,” noting that he felt frustrated but later realized he could turn that frustration into a discussion about the brutal nature of the TV industry.

A lot of this context was lost when, over the past week, numerous outlets have covered the comments, leaving out many of the qualifiers and emphasizing the “quote “I really wasted my time.” In today’s installment of the newsletter, Guggenheim starts out by clarifying those remarks:

It’s taken as an axiom that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” but the problem is that with virtually no exceptions, the coverage focused on my statement that “I really wasted my time” with the Arrowverse while conveniently leaving out the important modifier “at least on a career level.”

They also managed to leave out how I was explicit in being “deeply grateful” for all the fan engagement over the years.

Ah well. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story (or clickbait headlines), I guess.

My only regret is that articles like these give aid and comfort to the Arrowverse’s small contingent of trolls. (As if Mr. Gunn cares a whit about their objections to character romances or deaths.) Then again, such folk have always insisted on making themselves the subject of the narrative and that’s not likely to change anytime soon.

Guggenheim co-created Arrow with Greg Berlanti, who runs Berlanti Productions and is one of the most prolific producers in television. There were rumors that Berlanti was considered briefly for the DC Studios job, although it is not clear whether Warner Bros. Discovery ever met with him. Arrow ran for eight seasons and spawned a sprawling, interconnected universe that included The Flash, Black Lightning, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman. Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch first appeared as Clark Kent and Lois Lane during the reign of the Arrowverse, which will officially draw to a close with the end of The Flash in May.

Guggenheim also served as the “showrunner” for Arrowverse crossover events, overseeing storylines like “Invasion!,” “Crisis on Earth-X,” “Elseworlds,” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths” as they ran through the various shows.