Director and new DC Studios co-head James Gunn responded on Tuesday to backlash over some of the early decisions that he and fellow co-head Peter Safran had made — namely the decisions not to move ahead with the third installment in the “Wonder Woman” franchise and not to bring back actor Henry Cavill as Superman.
Both decisions — coupled with the news that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “Black Adam” would not have a continuing storyline in the DC Universe — raised eyebrows and angered fans alike, but Gunn made it clear that he and Safran were prepared to face the consequences of their decisions.
It's official, James Gunn is the Grinch of 2022. 😂
– No Wonder Woman 3
– No more Henry Cavill as Superman
– and now THE ROCK just got Jabroni'd https://t.co/OBKuqOCqbE— TheresaRockFace (@TheresaRockFace) December 21, 2022
Gunn laid out his thought process in a lengthy Twitter thread, explaining that while he and Safran both understood that not all of the decisions they made would be popular, they intended to always move forward with what they believed was best for the studio and stayed true to the characters that had been around for decades.
“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,” Gunn began, noting that they had expected backlash and that they were prepared for it to be unpleasant.
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.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 19, 2022
He went on to explain that backlash, however unkind, would not deter them from doing what they believed was best when it came to honoring the characters’ history and moving the stories forward. He also conceded that they were well aware of the possibility that they could make mistakes in that effort.
“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,” he said.
Gunn went on to note that however prepared they were for complaints and social media uproar, that did not change the fact that it could be hurtful. “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.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 19, 2022
“We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig,” Gunn added, noting that some of the choices they were making might be “not-so-obvious” to the fans, at least at face value, and that they were prepared to move forward with them regardless.
Gunn’s overall assessment was that the backlash came with the territory — and in the grand scheme of things, was less important than making sure that DC Studios had a solid path forward.
“This means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists & custodians in helping to create a wide & wonderful future for DC.,” he said.