James Gunn (56) defends himself against his critics. The new head of DC Studios is currently being heavily targeted on social media for some decisions. Among other things, Gunn canceled “Wonder Woman 3” and fired Henry Cavill (39) as Superman actor. It was only on November 1, 2022 that the director (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) was introduced together with Peter Safran (57) as the new master of the DCU, the cinema universe of DC Comics.
James Gunn has now published a detailed statement on Instagram and Twitter. “One of the things that Peter and I were aware of when we took the job as head of DC Studios was a certain minority of people on the internet who could be, well, short-tempered and unfriendly, to say the least,” Gunn writes at the start.
But their decisions “are based on what we think is best for the story and the DC characters that have been around for almost 85 years.” The statement should probably mainly relate to the plan to rejuvenate Superman. “Maybe these decisions are great, maybe not, but they are made with a sincere heart and integrity and always with history in mind.”
James Gunn makes it clear that an “disrespectful outcry” will not influence these decisions. Although he has experienced worse, he is a fan of being “harassed or verbally abused” like no one else.
“We knew there would be a turbulent time when we took this position,” Gunn continues. And, looking at the controversial actions of his predecessors: “We knew that sometimes we had to make difficult and not so obvious decisions, especially in connection with what was ahead”.
But the “turmoil” means nothing compared to the task of “creating a great and wonderful future for DC” for Gunn, who explicitly describes himself as a “custodian” of DC’s legacy.
