James Gunn’s DC Movies Won’t Have Studio Interference
DC Studios has no leash, according to a comment James Gunn made on Mastodon, a social media site I only heard of because Gunn joined it. (It appears he feels safer there than on Twitter, where he was compelled to denounce fans who disagreed with him about firing Henry Cavill; has anyone ever lost that much goodwill that quickly, outside of maybe Disney?) One commenter said that he hoped Gunn, Safran, and their directors did not have to put up with the level of studio interference Zack Snyder did, and Gunn explained why that wouldn’t be a problem.
That’s good; good or bad, Gunn and Safran won’t be able to say Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t give them a fair chance. Putting himself and Safran in the position of the studio with the power to interfere reminds people that, despite which directors and writers are brought in, this is their vision. It sounds like a similar setup to Marvel Studios under Kevin Feige, at least right now; in earlier phases of the MCU, other people had more input, like Ike Perlmutter. That brings up an interesting point: the Marvel movies were better under the old setup, unless you prefer Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder to The Avengers or Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That doesn’t mean Gunn and Safran won’t be better stewards of DC, just that a lack of interference from Warner Bros. isn’t a guarantee of quality.
And I think people are losing faith in Gunn; getting rid of Henry Cavill and the other actors could have been weathered, but then he blasted fans who didn’t like it, which not only antagonized people but brought to mind what has become the standard defense for bad movies – if you don’t like it, it’s your fault. Gunn doesn’t even have a movie to defend yet, and he’s already this reactionary; what’s he going to do when Superman: The College Years or whatever it’s called hits theaters? Even if most people like it (and despite his disappointing attitude, I’m happy to give him and Safran the benefit of the doubt and remain optimistic at this point), there will almost certainly be a contingent that doesn’t; will he get hysterical over those Twitter comments too? On top of that, a reaction like his so early makes it seem like he isn’t all that confident in his plan; if he were, wouldn’t he let the movies speak for themselves? Regardless, it’s a good thing that he and Safran will rise or fall on their own steam; they’ll get all of the praise or all of the blame. (Just kidding; we’ll get the blame.)
