Marvel and DC Comics have been rivals ever since before the superhero movie boom took off. With each having its own roster of famous pop culture characters that help shape young generations, every medium seems to have the two companies butt heads. At the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige walked the purple carpet and was asked about the very recent news of comic book movie darling, James Gunn, getting the new position of overseeing projects as the new head over at DC Films.
It’s almost like a comic book story in itself; former friends and professional peers one day have one of them break off and join the opponent’s faction. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed Feige’s feelings on the matter, and in an age of fierce competition, Feige is very supportive of his friend.
I speak to James almost every day. We have a wonderful thing called the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special coming out. We have a wonderful thing called Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 coming out in May. How he’ll have any time to work on DC until May I don’t know, but once he does have the time I’ll be very excited. I’ll be first in line.”
Gunn became a mainstream blockbuster filmmaker when he was chosen to write and direct 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before then, he had directed graphically violent movies such as Slither and Super after graduating from the obscure cult movie studio, Troma Films. Gunn had since made a name for himself by writing for big-budget movies like the Dawn of the Dead remake and the Scooby-Doo live-action films. Since Guardians, he’s been a hot commodity for offbeat comic book films and directed 2020’s The Suicide Squad for DC, which spun off the Peacemaker character into his own HBO Max show in which Gunn is involved.
Gunn is now parlaying this working relationship into a leadership position, and the writer/director frequently connects with the public on his social media, where he continuously demonstrates his passion for his craft and his fandom, and his genuine intention to please fans.