The plan for the DC Universe at Warner Bros has finally been unveiled by James Gunn himself. After months of bluntly debunking rumors on Twitter and speaking to fans directly, as well as acknowledging how his and Peter Safran’s vision will not please all fans, he’s seeking to revise the slate by jettisoning projects that were previously announced. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn felt the former leaders of the DC film company had a “f*cked up” strategy and even criticized their dizzying treatment of Henry Cavill, saying he was “dicked around.”
“As everyone here probably knows, the history of DC is pretty messed up. It was fucked up. No one was minding the mint. They were giving away IP like they were party favors at any creator who smiled at them,” Gunn has said candidly. “There is the Arrowverse, there was the DCEU, which then split and became the Joss Whedon Justice League at one point and the Snyderverse. At another point, There is Superman & Lois, there is Reevesverse, there are all these different things. And even us. We came and did Suicide Squad and that became Peacemaker and all of sudden Bat-Mite is a real thing.”
The attempt at the shared universe at Warner Bros definitely came stumbling out of the gate. The studio had originally appointed Zack Snyder to be the overseer of the properties, however his first two outings were met with criticism after his own unpopular decisions, and the studio had scrambled to have him light up the tone of Justice League, which became a whole debacle. Then, there was also the famous editing situation with Suicide Squad, which had chopped up the narrative of the first movie prompting fans to want to see the full David Ayer cut showcasing his full vision.
Gunn has faced backlash mostly centered on fan-favorite Henry Cavill being given the shaft after he was excitedly ready to return to his star-making role. Cavill had stated that he met with Gunn, and they were discussing the situation in a civil manner, to which they even left the door open for him to work on a non-Supes project. Gunn debunked rumors that Cavill had been fired.