To borrow a phrase from the current NXT Tag Team champions Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, at DC Studios under the guidance of James Gunn and Peter Safran, "it's a new day, yes it is." Ever since the duo was appointed as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the company and were given the responsibilities of overseeing all DC film, television, and animation projects back in October 2022, they have been hard at work compiling a plan for the future to present to Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav. Part of that preparation period has included clearing out projects that no longer fit in their live-action theatrical release slate like Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman 3," shelving others for the time being (or longer) like "Black Adam 2" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and announcing new ones like a Superman movie written by Gunn that does not star Henry Cavill.
However, all this planning at the beginning of their tenure is meant to avoid the same mistakes the beloved comic book franchises had faced in the past. For example, the Snyderverse was plagued by studio interference, most famously when Zack Snyder had to step away from "Justice League" after a personal tragedy and WB brought in Joss Whedon to finish the film. Since the movie ended up being so different from what Snyder had intended, Whedon ended up getting credited as the director and HBO Max later released a version of the film known as the "Snyder Cut." This was only one of many titles in the DC Extended Universe (now DCU) that were altered by the higher-ups, in many cases to the detriment of the movie.
But according to Gunn, incidents like that are a thing of the past.
New Sheriffs In Town
Even before he landed this new job at DC Studios, James Gunn has always been active on social media. He's arguably one of the most responsive figures in the entire entertainment industry when it comes to answering fans and sharing his work. While responding to fans on Mastodon recently, the "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" filmmaker and newly christened studio big wig addressed one query about who would be running the show at DC Studios and whether there would be "studio interference" in the future as we saw in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and David Ayers' "Suicide Squad." Essentially, Gunn said that the buck stops here.
"The position is different than it was with Zack [Snyder], etc. Peter [Safran] & I are the heads of DC Studios. The only studio interference would be from us!"
It's hard to say for sure since their plan has yet to be shared publicly in its entirety, but it feels like Gunn and Safran are compiling a plan of action first, then talking to filmmakers and stars to see what pieces fit best where they need them. In addition to Dwayne Johnson, Henry Cavill, and Patty Jenkins, they have reportedly spoken to Ben Affleck and Jason Momoa about the future of this franchise. Being involved in the creative process from the beginning and collaborating with the talent doing the work should cut down on the costly changes late in the game that were commonplace in the previous attempt at a shared universe of DC Comics characters. But what works, in theory, doesn't always work in practice. Time will tell if the approach works, but at least we know one thing for sure based on Gunn's post — whatever happens from here on out in the DC Universe, Gunn and Safran are responsible.
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The post The DCU Will Face Less Studio Interference than the Snyderverse Did, According to James Gunn appeared first on /Film.