DC Bosses In Trouble At Warner Bros. Over Unconventional Tactics?
A rumor suggests that DC co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are in hot water with Warner Bros. execs over their unconventional media handling.
After publicly making candid comments about the goings on at DC and Warner Bros, co-CEOs of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran are ruffling some feathers with the higher-ups at the production company, according to CBR.com. In a recent interview, Gunn told the world exactly how he felt about his predecessors at Warner Bros, and his words weren’t exactly kind. He also addressed the rumors that Henry Cavill had been fired from his Superman role, stating that the actor was never actually hired in the first place, despite appearing in the post-credit scene for 2022’s Black Adam.
Since Gunn and Safran both come from the creative side of Hollywood and not the business side of the industry, it’s not surprising that the two would behave more plainly when communicating with the public. However, the comments the pair have made about DC are not being well-received by those higher up the Warner Bros Discovery ladder. Gunn, especially, is apparently under fire for his public statements, including a comment he made describing how “f**cked up” the history of DC Studios was.
It has long been clear that DC Studios was missing something essential that the MCU seemed to have. While the MCU has continued to grow rapidly over the past 15 years, Warner Bros has spent almost the same amount of time releasing DC films that have continually disappointed fans. Amidst the disorganized studio turbulence (most notably exemplified by 2017’s Justice League fiasco), DC needed something to change, and Warner Bros executives made the unconventional choice of bringing in MCU creative Gunn to save their franchise.
Candid and harsh though his words may have been, it seems that Gunn’s description of DC Studio’s history at Warner Bros is accurate. Before Gunn and Safran took the job as co-CEOs for the company, the job had been offered to many other Hollywood professionals, with no one wanting to take over the mantle of the unstable studio. In addition to releasing mediocre films, the studio was also creating its own controversy by developing a habit of canceling deep-in-production films, like what would have been 2022’s Batgirl, resulting in many fans being outraged at the company.
While executives may have hoped that DC’s drama would drop after Warner Bros hired Gunn and Safran, this has definitely not been the case. Last fall, fans became furious at the studio once again after it was revealed that Henry Cavill would not return to his role as Superman, in a surprising twist of fate that seemed unbeknownst even to the actor. Cavill’s dismissal from the franchise was shocking not only because he is well-liked by DC’s fans but also because The Witcher actor appeared in an end-credit scene in Black Adam, which suggested the actor would be back to reprise his role in future films.
In response to the Cavill controversy, Gunn made a statement while unveiling the new DC plan for Warner Bros Discover that Cavill was not fired from the role, like everyone, including the actor, believed, but that Gunn had never hired him in the first place. Gunn blamed his predecessors at DC for Cavill’s ignorance regarding the role, claiming that former executives had strung the actor along.
Despite the controversy, Gunn and Safran’s DC is well on its way at Warner Bros, with Gunn working on a new Batman movie, The Brave and the Bold, scheduled for release sometime in 2025. Whether or not there unconventional tactics and media handling has truly landed them in hot water with their bosses remains hearsay.
