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For the trolls out there who are going to find themselves incensed by this article, let me just start with a few facts about me: I think Man of Steel is one of the best superhero movies ever made and that Batman v. Superman, while flawed (mainly, Jesse Eisenberg’s obnoxious Lex Luthor), is actually underrated. You can also read my glowing review of Zack Snyder’s Justice League here.
Now, to the point: if we’ve learned anything in recent weeks on Twitter, there’s a way to and a way not to deliver messages about policy to the masses. New DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, though, seems to have that part of being in charge covered.
Taking to Twitter on Monday afternoon, Gunn directly addressed the “Restore the Snyderverse” trolls who’ve gotten #FireJamesGunn to trend on Twitter as a result of their displeasure with his decision to recast the role of Superman.
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Last week, it was announced that Henry Cavill, who made his “official” return to the role in October, would not be returning as the Man of Steel after all, as the newly formed DC Studios — which is run by Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran — has decided to go in a different, younger direction.
In his series of tweets, Gunn acknowledged that both he and Safran knew that they’d have to cope with this overly vocal minority of fans, particularly in the beginning while sweeping changes are being made.
“One of the things Peter and 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 and unkind, to say the least. Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story and 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 and integrity and always with the story in mind,” Gunn tweeted.
“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, and we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult and not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us. But this means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists ad custodians in helping to create a wide and wonderful future for DC,” his thread concluded.
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.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 19, 2022
According to Gunn, fans will have a better idea of what they can expect from the DCU in the coming years when he and Safran make some of their plans public in January.
In addition to the news about Cavill, reports also indicate that Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins is walking away from the sequel, Matt Reeves’ The Batman franchise will be continuing as planned, and the studio has had conversations with Ben Affleck about directing.
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