For some time, Warner Bros. Discovery had been searching for the right person to run the DC Comics side of the business (essentially, their Kevin Feige). And in a surprise move, the newly formed company announced that it hired both film director James Gunn and film producer Peter Safran to serve as co-chairmen of DC Studios. Together, they will take charge of DC projects in tv, film, and animation.And while Gunn still has some commitments with Marvel (he has teased about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is coming out soon), the director’s new DC post took effect last November 1. For now, nothing has been said about his future directing plans. Moreover, it’s also unclear if Gunn would still be directing that film that he was rumored to be pitching to Warner Bros. before he was named co-chairman.
James Gunn Was Initially In Talks For A Mystery DC Project
Prior to the big announcement from Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav, it was rumored that Gunn had gone to the company to pitch a mystery film project. And while some may have hoped he was discussing a follow-up to The Suicide Squad, that is highly unlikely.
“Yeah, we’ve talked about it,” Gunn revealed just a few months ago. “But the honest truth is, I just have so many hours in a day to work on stuff. And I had such a fun time working in television that I really think that’s what I’m going to spend the next year of my life doing.”
That said, he did give some information about his future movie plans and whether it involves DC. “I’m thinking about what that next movie will be,” he continued.
“And is that next movie going to be— if first of all, it could be something completely different than [the world of DC]. And I’m excited about Mike De Luca [ now the co-chairperson and CEO of Warner Bros. Film Group alongside Pam Abdy] coming in to [Warner Bros.], frankly, because I’ve known him for a long time and I love Toby [Emmerich, former head of Warner Bros. motion picture studio], but I’ve also known De Luca he’s been a friend of mine for many, many years.”
He Has Also Been Hard At Work On Season 2 Of Peacemaker
Gunn started working on Peacemaker when Warner Bros. approached him about working together on something else after The Suicide Squad.
“They came to me afterward and said, ‘If you were to do a series about any one character?’ I think I could have picked anybody and they would have been OK,” he recalled.
“If you made a series with any one character who would it be?’ And I said, ‘Peacemaker.’”
Gunn felt strongly about Peacemaker because he felt like in the movie, “we really just scratched the surface of who this guy is, what makes this d******** tick.”
Following the success of the first season, Peacemaker scored a season 2 renewal from HBO Max back in February. With Gunn taking on a new DC job though, it’s unclear if he’ll continue to run the show or hand over the reins to someone else.
Will James Gunn Direct Another DC Movie?
For now, there’s no word on Gunn’s own directing slate with DC now that he’s co-running the entire division. That said, recent reports reveal that he and Safran have already been busy plotting out the future of the DC universe. During a recent town hall, they revealed that they are coming up with an “eight to 10 -year plan for DC.
“The opportunity to make DC as great as it can be and as it should be — that is the reason why I’m doing this job because I know that Peter and I can do that,” Gunn said.
“We spent the past couple days with a group of some of the best thinkers in the industry, the best writers in the industry starting to map out that eight to 10 year plan of what it’s going to look like in theater, in TV, in animation, across the board for these characters.”
The move is in line with Zaslav’s previous announcement to model DC to Marvel Studios in the hopes of replicating its success. So far, the confirmed upcoming films include Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the controversial The Flash, Aquaman, and the Lost Kingdom, and Blue Beetle.
Within the DC canon, there’s also Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux with Joaquin Phoenix and Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2 with Robert Pattinson.
And while he also reaffirmed his love and appreciation for some of DC’s lesser-known heroes, Gunn also offered some praise for two of its most popular heroes of all time. “I love Superman, and I love Batman. I love their interaction,” he said.
“I love the ways in which they’re the same and the ways in which they are completely different.”
