Summary
- James Gunn remains unhappy with some Disney employees post-firing, excluding Marvel staff.
- Gunn was fired in 2018 before being promptly rehired, leading to him directing The Suicide Squad before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
- James Gunn is thriving at DC, directing and acting as co-head of the studio along with Peter Safran.
James Gunn reveals that there are some people at Disney that he is still "not happy with" years after his firing and subsequent rehiring at Marvel. Before Gunn took creative control of DC's comic book movies and shows, he was best known for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. While Superman is an iconic character that the director wants to breathe new life into, the Guardians were lesser-known characters that Gunn turned into household names, solidifying his talent for mixing humor and action.
Gunn was fired from Marvel in 2018 when old Tweets about jokes that Disney thought were in poor taste resurfaced. The director was meant to helm a third Guardians of the Galaxy, but it was put on hold as he sought new opportunities. DC quickly snatched Gunn up, and he tackled The Suicide Squad, which was beloved but underperformed at the box office due to several factors. However, Marvel ultimately chose to rehire Gunn, who delivered Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 following his commitments to The Suicide Squad. Still, all these years later, Gunn hasn't completely forgiven some of those working for Disney who had a hand in his termination.
James Gunn Fell Into The Same Trap That Led To The DCEU's Failure, But Maybe He Can Still Climb Out
James Gunn is making familiar mistakes with the DCU, and he needs to quickly climb out of it.
While appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast (via The Wrap), Gunn discussed his firing from Disney and Marvel. The director opened up about how Superman was the first project offered by DC and WB, with him favoring The Suicide Squad, and Kevin Feige's first question during the two meeting in person afterward. Still, Gunn states that he is "not happy with" some people at Disney all these years later, but clarifies that those working for Marvel were still nice to him during and after the firing. Gunn stated:
Listen, there are people that I’m not that happy with over there [at Disney], but that certainly wasn’t the Marvel guys, you know? They were completely supportive. [Marvel Studios Co-President] Louis D’Esposito called me all the time. Lou and Kevin were great. So it certainly wasn’t them. But I didn’t feel guilt at all. I mean, I had to take a job! I took a job [with] people that I also really liked, and that was it.
Marvel Lost James Gunn, Who Is Thriving As DC's Version Of Kevin Feige
Gunn likely had a bright future ahead of him at Marvel prior to the firing. In addition to the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, he served as an executive producer on the massive hits Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Doomsday. However, like many directors, he was still dialed in under the guidance of hiring ranking studio officials. DC offered Gunn a place to ascend, where he is serving as a co-head of DC Studios, while still directing films.
Gunn's first movie in his proposed DCU is Superman, which he wrote and directed. The movie hopes to kick off an entire connected universe of unique media, which Gunn helped curate. Gunn's Peacemaker is back for another season, a Supergirl movie is in post-production, and distinctly original projects like the Clayface movie show the universe's willingness to try new things. While many of their plans remain to be seen, like the final results of the Lanterns series and what the Waller show will be, the DCU is poised to thrive with plenty of projects in the works, largely thanks to James Gunn.
Source: Armchair Expert (via The Wrap)