Films and Fiction

Mark Twain might have said that the report of his death was greatly exaggerated, so James Gunn might say that the report of his departure from DC Studios was greatly exaggerated. Despite Warner Bros. dropping Zack Snyder like a hot potato, they don’t seem to be quite so eager to be rid of his successor. Even though the rumour mill continues to turn every time a new announcement is made about the DCU, there’s no reason to believe the Gunn will be gone for some time yet.

Hollywood seems to be the one place where failure can actually be good for you. Despite their output, people like JJ Abrams, Ryan Johnson, and Alex Kurtzman are all still employed, and continue to be looked upon favourably within the industry.

One reason for this is their iron-bound contracts, designed to protect them from sudden dismissal. For a guy like James Gunn who occupies such an important position, it’s likely his contract is more solid than most.

Any attempt to remove him before his contract expires would involve a hefty golden catapult from the studio, as he would be entitled to a cut of all box office revenues from movies released under his watch–revenue he would miss out in if he was removed prematurely.

This might seem like the least of their worries, after all, no matter what they might have to pay out, it couldn’t be more than their losses on Supergirl; getting rid of this kryptonite executive would probably save them money in the long-term. But despite all their talk, Hollywood is actually quite a conservative industry, at least when it comes down to business.

Despite Gunn’s unpopularity and failures, removing him would be a very risky and unlikely thing for them to do.

While fans of movies and comics might look mostly at the creative side of Gunn’s work–the changes he makes, the projects he greenlights, how he treats Superman, etc.–none of this really matters to the executives and board members who pay Gunn’s wages. To them, it’s all business, something that can be more easily manipulated by Gunn and co. to make it look like his DCU is performing well.

As any story of behind the scenes executive meddling will show, these suits know practically nothing about movie making, story telling, or what makes for good or bad entertainment. Their insight usually extends to “this thing is popular/profitable; lets make our thing more like that”.

The finer points of whether a Jimmy Olsen/Gorilla Grodd show is a crowd-pleaser, or whether Supergirl should be your second movie, really don’t concern them at all.

It’s all about the numbers, and from a certain point of view, James Gunn is actually doing pretty good.

He was a big gun at Marvel, and delivered what is probably their second most-popular release after Endgame (No Way Home being the first), he has a good record of successes, and was probably seen as something of a lucky catch for them, being picked up after Marvel discarded him. With his past hits with Guardians of the Galaxy, and his proven ability to turn second-tier characters into fan favourites, it’s clear he’s not a complete loss.

While we can scrutinize the Superman numbers forever, there’s no denying it’s fairly successful in comparison with its recent contemporaries, like The Flash. Every new universe has to start somewhere, and this was probably “fine”, not least as it managed to be the biggest superhero movie of 2025, beating all three MCU releases by a long mark–a very nice stat to bring into the boardroom.

Even if the WB suits were getting nervous about Gunn’s future, there are still a lot of things to consider before throwing him aside. Not least the fact he’s getting stuff made. They need shows to put on HBO, regardless of quality (much like Disney+ with Marvel and Star Wars), and they need movies to put into theatres. While Gunn might not have much of a plan, he does have some things in the works, and seems to have attracted the interest of a few big names, even if most of them have since drifted off to other things.

There’s still his own movie, Man of Tomorrow, a potentially big-ish movie, and so far the only DC film to release in 2027, now the The Batman II has been delayed.

Due to the nature of Hollywood production and the long lead times between initial development and release, it’s important to keep the conveyor belt moving, so you have something to sell to fans and investors alike. Remember that the industry runs on potential as much as results: a Superman sequel *could* make a billion dollars, rather than a Superman sequel *has* made a billion dollars.

Considering that Gunn’s contract likely expires in 2027 anyway, it would be wise to keep him on, and even give a short extension, just so he can see that movie into theatres and involve any negative press about his departure, and talk of bad blood, while also giving him another chance to actually deliver.

In truth, no one can say that Gunn leaving would be the best thing for DC, without considering other elements. Not least, who would replace him? Matt Reeves is struggling to make a single movie, there’s no ex-Marvel talent that comes to mind, and many big names have track records worse than James Gunn’s.

Whoever was chosen would likely have their own ideas on how to run the studio and what projects to produce, and right now, DC can’t afford another full reboot. It’s only been three years since the last of the DCEU staggered off our screens, the leftovers from the Snyderverse, whose creator was dropped about seven years before that.

Warner Bros. simply can’t afford the uncertainty and embarrassment of another hard reset right now, with all the associated wait times, recasting and fan dissent. It would be better to stick with what they have, for now, until James Gunn can reach some kind of Avengers-style staging point, where he can sidle out, and slide in his replacement, who can keep the basic universe and actors, but reorganise things for the future.

I doubt Warner Bros. is in much of a hurry to change things anyway, not until the Paramount buyout goes through. If it does succeed, then there would likely be changes for the future, and plenty of extra money to spend on new things. With an artificially inflated share price due to the merger and plenty of investors interested, they have no need to make rash decisions and create any uncertainty. Just wait for the Ellisons to arrive and let them deal with it.

Even if Gunn were to be fired right now, it would still take several years for things to improve, as WB can’t afford not to make movies and shows and would have to wrap up whatever’s in production.

Despite all their seeming indifference, however, Hollywood can and eventually will realise what’s going on in the real world, even if the ascribe it to the wrong causes. They’ll finally get the memo that superhero movies aren’t selling like they used to and move on to something new, just like they did with fantasy in the 2010s.

At that point, all cinematic universes will be in peril, but I don’t think Gunn has anything to worry about. No doubt he’ll be moved along at some point, perhaps with the screen of “personal reasons” to avoid any negativity. But who knows, considering that Kathleen Kennedy survived at Lucasfilm for at least seven years longer than she should, maybe James Gunn will be the final boss of failed executives, not quitting until he brings the whole machine of DC Studios down with him.

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