The comic book genre has been dominating the film world for a number of years now, with various studios competing with their respective cinematic universes. While those who have watched the Marvel movies in order know the franchise to be a well-oiled machine, the DC Universe has had more peaks and valleys. But that’s expected to change thanks to James Gunn’s new leadership position as co-CEO of the studio. And Gunn recently clarified the difference between his DC role and what Kevin Feige does for Marvel.
Kevin Feige is the man behind the MCU as a whole, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. James Gunn has been hard at work making sweeping changes to the DCU, including firing Henry Cavill from the role of Superman. He and brother/collaborator Sean Gunn recently answered questions about themselves for a video on Wired’s YouTube page, where he spoke about the difference between his gig and what Feige does at Marvel. In his words:
It's actually a little different. I mean, number one, DC Studios is a studio, so it's a little bit different. Peter Safran [co-CEO of DC Studios] does a lot of what Kevin Feige does. A lot of what I do is I just work on the creative side of things. So mapping out the stories and the creative side of the universe is my job much more so than some of the more administrative, executive-type stuff. And Kevin has to do both.
There you have it. Looks like James Gunn is the architect behind the narrative structure of the DCU, while his co-CEO Peter Safran is handling more of the administrative work that comes with running a studio. It sounds like a great partnership, and the two filmmakers definitely seem to be settling in these new roles. We’ll just have to wait a few years to see their plans play out on the big screen.
While Gunn and Safran have been making sweeping changes to the DC Universe, a number of upcoming DC movies were filmed before they got their exciting new gigs. They should be arriving over the next few months, and include titles like The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. After that we’ll finally be able to see the fruits of Gunn’s labors.
James Gunn seems like the perfect person to craft DC's slate of movies and TV shows, as he’s already proven himself someone who excels at telling powerful stories within the comic book genre. Obviously there’s his acclaimed work on the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, which included that delightful holiday special. And for DC he directed The Suicide Squad as well as its spinoff series Peacemaker starring John Cena. And it should be fascinating to see how he finally brings serialized storytelling to the DCEU. You can check out his comments comparing himself and Feige below:
Aside from giving narrative guidance to the overall shared universe, James Gunn is also getting behind the camera as the director/writer of Superman: Legacy. Fans are eager for any indication as to who will be playing the Man of Steel, and how the story will differ from that one that centered around Henry Cavill.
The next DC movie hitting theaters is The Flash on June 23rd. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
