More Behind the Scenes Drama? Gunn's Recent Comments Made Warner Bros. Execs Unhappy
James Gunn and Peter Safran have promised to focus on the future in their new roles as co-CEOs of DC Studios. At times, they've even talked poorly about the previous regime – a move that caused a stir among Warner Bros. executives.
Gunn and Safran recently released a new slate of films for the next several years, including Superman: Legacy – which will be written and potentially directed by Gunn. At the private event in which the new slate was revealed, Gunn trashed the past decade of DC films to reporters.
He referred to the companies' history as "messed up".
"No one was minding the mint. They were giving away intellectual property like they were party favors at any creator who smiled at them."
He also criticized their penchant for pushing movies into production with an unfinished script. As a filmmaker, he says it's a "mess" when he's forced to finish planning the movie during production.
In his new role, he promised to handle DC differently. His first promise was to be unified in their media. In the past, DC had characters in the "Arrowverse" franchise of CW shows that were competing with their main run in theaters. There have been several standalone projects amidst the larger DCEU.
He also promised that the studio would stop pouring money into films with unfinished screenplays.
"We are not going to put hundreds of millions of dollars into a film where a screenplay is only two-thirds of the way done and we have to finish it while we're making the movie."
The Hollywood Reporter's newsletter said that there are "quite a few ruffled feathers" among Warner Bros. Discovery executives after Gunn's comments. The newsletter pointed out older comments made by both Gunn and Safran that spoke against the old regime at DC.
Neither of the two come from corporate Hollywood; they are filmmakers and have been acting as such. They respond to rumors on social media and occasionally speak their mind to a fault.
When David Zaslav was named head of Warner Bros. Discover after the 2021 merger, many of the same executives Gunn was referencing were fired. However, there are still many who remain in their positions as Gunn and Safran criticize their past work.
Zaslav himself hasn't been shy about speaking poorly of DC's past; last year, he said Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios have "an awful lot to do – and an awful lot to undo."
While the frustration among DC executives is understandable, DC has made plenty of mistakes in the past decade and fans have been given a subpar product. As long as Gunn and Safran keep their promises to fans and DC sees some serious improvement in this new slate, they'll have nothing to apologize for.