Conspiracy Theorists Think James Gunn Wants To Destroy The DCU
This article is more than 2 years old
Conspiracy theorists are convinced that Kevin Feige enlisted James Gunn to destroy the DC Universe from the inside. As crazy as that sounds, the current state of the Warner Bros Discovery superhero franchise is the direct result of a chain of events set in motion by the Marvel boss. If Gunn hadn’t been temporarily fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the filmmaker would never have joined forces with the competition to direct The Suicide Squad.
The film’s success eventually led to the Peacemaker series on HBO Max, which resulted in Gunn’s current position as CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran. For a while, it seemed like Kevin Feige may have accidentally turned James Gunn into his arch-nemesis. But details of the new bosses’ plans for DC have fans wondering if his appointment is just a giant ruse to destroy Marvel’s counterpart. The newly minted CEOs traveled to Los Angeles where they were huddled in deep planning.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, James Gunn and Safran will meet with Warner Bros Discovery CEO, David Zaslav, to unveil their plan for the DCU. While nothing is official, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 is not moving forward and is considered dead in its current incarnation. After submitting the first treatment for the movie, Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs and co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy told the filmmaker her story did not fit in with the new plans.
No decision has been revealed about James Gunn’s next steps. It is also unclear how any future Wonder Woman movie would fit into the new DC plan. Adding to the strangeness, Gal Gadot took to social media to say she was grateful to have portrayed the heroine. “Can’t wait to share her next chapter with you,” she wrote. The timing of Galdot’s tweet made fans wonder if the actress already knew the movie was being scrapped.
The entire DC slate remains in flux, but there are several rumors and scenarios to consider. The most prominent one builds on James Gunn’s shuttering of Wonder Woman 3 which means the end of the Snyderverse and its heroes. That would mean Man of Steel 2, with a returning Henry Cavill, would also be axed.
Also, Aquaman will no longer be played by Jason Momoa. While these characters are still set to appear in the Flash movie, the future of those characters has yet to be determined.
A sequel to Black Adam also seems unlikely under the new management. Despite the hype surrounding the movie led by Dwayne Johnson, it only earned $385 million at the global box office. Although the actor hoped to cement his place as a DC hero, playing up Henry Cavill’s return was not well-received by the studio, or James Gunn.
Now, the box office takings from his movie are being questioned publically with the former WWE star tweeting about it after Variety said it would lose over $50 million theatrically. Fortunately, it seems like James Gunn and Peter Safran are unlikely to interfere with Matt Reeves Batman universe. The filmmaker is currently writing the sequel to The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, and is overseeing the launch of two series that spin out of his movie, including The Penguin.
While the internet spins out of control over the proposed plans for DC, James Gunn and Peter Safran have yet to comment. However, the former made it abundantly clear that anybody who claims to know on what’s going on in the DCU was uninformed.
