It has been an emotional rollercoaster for DC fans the last couple of months. Whether it was James Gunn and Peter Safran being hired as the heads of DC Studios, Black Adam underperforming at the box office, Wonder Woman 3 being cancelled, or Henry Cavill announcing he’s not actually returning as Superman, 2022 has been wild, to say the least. This has caused many fans to voice their opinions on social media and, as you could probably guess, anger and hate quickly followed. Especially in the direction of Gunn and Safran. Now Gunn has responded to all the keyboard warriors attacking him since they took over DC Studios in late October.
On both Twitter and Instagram Gunn posted, “One of the things Peter & I were aware of when we took the job as heads of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least.” The Suicide Squad director would continue on saying, “Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story & best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years. Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts & integrity & always with the story in mind.” His post would finish off condemning the hate:
“No one loves to be harassed or called names – but, to be frank, we’ve been through significantly worse. Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions. We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, & we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult & not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us. But this means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists & custodians in helping to create a wide & wonderful future for DC.”
Sadly, since the news that Cavill wasn’t returning as Superman, the DC situation has been another prime example of the worst that toxic fandom has to offer. It remains a growing problem in the entertainment industry and to Gunn’s credit, he continues to handle DC fandom like a champ. Gunn and Safran were given the impossible task of changing the downward trajectory of the DC Universe. No matter what you think of the dubbed “Snyderverse”, it was a film series full of diminishing returns. Besides Wonder Woman and Aquaman, many DC films in the current continuity weren’t box office hits. It didn’t help that the previous regime at Warner Bros undermined the DC brand with stunts like the hybrid release of Wonder Woman 1984 during the pandemic.
Seeing how the previous DC cinematic universe fared, Gunn made the choice to rebuild from the ground up. For instance, Cavill’s Superman has been a focal point for DC fans for almost a decade, but the story Gunn wants to tell with this iconic hero doesn’t fit in with that version of the character. Gunn is currently working on a Superman film that sees the character in his early years. The choice to replace Cavill was met with vitriol online; as fans, it’s easy to turn our love for a character into a sense of false ownership and entitlement, which often leads to disappointment.
It is impossible to judge Gunn and Safran's DCU without giving their cinematic world a chance to take shape first. They should definitely be given the benefit of the doubt as Gunn is responsible for two of the best superhero movies of all time with The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy after all.
Despite the seemingly overwhelming backlash, it has been refreshing for some fans to see a creator like Gunn be so transparent in this murky time for DC; and regardless of anyone's disappointment in his choices, no one has the right to send needlessly hateful comments. Like Gunn said in his post, no one likes being harassed. Even if you don’t agree with his decisions thus far, just walk a mile in Gunn’s shoes for a second to imagine the lose-lose situation he’s in at the moment. Toxic fandom has no place in this world and, again, like Gunn alluded to, it's not going to influence his decision-making. Because of that, it’s best to be patient and be respectful. Until we get a clear idea of DC’s new 10-year plan, you can read Gunn’s full post down below.