James Gunn joins DC Studios as co-CEO as Marvel work ends


James Gunn has become a beloved director following his work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. With the third instalment on the way, Gunn is saying goodbye to the MCU, hopping over to a huge position at its competitor: DC Studios. 

After his work on 2021’s fantastic The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, Gunn has taken the role of co-CEO at DC Studios. What does this mean for the future of DC on film?

DC snags James Gunn

Revealed via The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn’s tenure at Marvel is now at an end. Previously, it was rumoured that the filmmaker would leave directing behind, and that appears to be the case.

At DC, Gunn will work alongside producer Peter Safran to oversee the future of DC across film and TV. Additionally, the new DC Studios will embrace both live-action and animation areas of the franchise.

Gunn and Safran are pegged to be DC’s equivalent of Marvel’s Kevin Feige. This means that the two will be essential to building up the franchise, caretaking canon and greenlighting new stories across the DC Universe.

The report states that Gunn will be in charge of the DC universe’s creative decisions. Meanwhile, Safran will be handling the studio’s business operations.

Alongside his co-CEO duties at DC Studios, James Gunn still has a four-year DC deal to direct. Simply put, this will likely involve Season 2 of Peacemaker and the rumoured Suicide Squad sequel.

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What’s coming in DC’s future?

The future of DC films is looking bright, even after the dismal handling of the SnyderVerse era. After a rocky few years, the DC Extended Universe may finally have a chance at redemption, especially with talented creatives behind the scenes.

Nevertheless, there’s still a lot of layover content coming that has already been greenlit. For example, Todd Phillip’s Joker 2 is still in development, hopefully alongside a sequel to Matt Reeves’ brilliant The Batman.

In the DCEU proper, Ezra Miller’s The Flash is still planned to release in June, 2023 as well Aquaman 2 in December. Finally, Henry Cavill has officially returned to the DCEU as Superman.

It’s an exciting time for DC fans, albeit a confusing one. Until this new direction is finalised, there’s no concrete path forward for DC. Will that change?

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