DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn addresses having to cancel an upcoming DC Universe film. Gunn’s Superman film has lastly arrived in theaters, and the DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” slate is simply getting began, sd extra movies and TV tasks are at the moment in numerous levels of growth over at DC Studios.
With DC Studios placing an enormous emphasis on having finalized scripts earlier than something goes into manufacturing, the DCU timeline is already standing out from the DCEU film franchise. Nonetheless, if a screenplay cannot come collectively the best way DC Studios needs it to, the mission merely won’t go ahead in any respect.
Throughout a latest NPR interview, Gunn opened up about how there was a DCU film he needed to cancel, regardless of having a director and screenwriter hooked up to the mission. In line with Gunn, regardless of having labored on quite a few drafts for this movie, DC Studios could not proceed with it, as he shared the next:
James Gunn: One of many issues is that once they’re writing these screenplays that are not completed, you are getting the primary act. And also you’re usually in a primary act that is nice, however you may’t write a primary act that does not relate to the final act. So if the final act is not written, motion pictures do not work like that. Plots do not work like that. They seem to be a piece of – , it is like a clock, , the place all the things has to suit and work collectively. And I’ve seen it occur many times, and it irritates the hell out of me. And as a lot as I am going on the market and maintain, , speaking about it, they nonetheless maintain doing it, and it is loopy. However I will by no means do it. I’ll by no means do it.
I simply stopped – , we had a screenplay that – , a film that was greenlit. We went about. We received second draft and third draft, and it simply wasn’t altering. It wasn’t getting higher. It was staying in the identical place. And I mentioned, we will not make this movie. We will not. It is not good. We all know it is not good. Simply because now we have director hooked up and screenwriter, it doesn’t suggest the script is working. It is – everybody goes to be upset on the finish of this. It’ll come out, the film’s not going to be good. Director’s going to look unhealthy, screenwriter’s going to look unhealthy and we will look unhealthy. So I do not wish to have this. We’re not going to make the film. And so we killed it.
I might be stunned if it is ever occurred at a studio ‘trigger that is simply not the best way issues work. Persons are actually excited to have one thing greenlit, after which they go they usually simply make it as a result of they must say sure to all people, they usually do not wish to disappoint all people. You realize, for all of the speak of the film enterprise being so primarily based on {dollars} and cents, it’s primarily based on like me, like me, like me, like me, like me. And it is horrible. Individuals do not wish to be not favored. They do not wish to let folks down, and it is horrible. It is not good for anybody.
On the time of this story’s publication, it is unclear which DCU film Gunn was referring to, as he by no means named the mission that needed to get canceled. It is also unclear if this is similar or a unique DCU mission that received canceled after Gunn’s feedback in a June 2025 interview.
Whereas time will inform which DCU film needed to get scrapped, it is really encouraging to listen to that DC Studios is staying true to their mission in not greenlighting movies that they do not absolutely imagine in if issues with the script aren’t figuring out. The very last thing Gunn and DC Studios ought to do is repeat the DC Movies division’s errors, which included launching movies with rushed outcomes.
With Hollywood needing movies to make a revenue greater than ever, as studios use hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, Gunn is ensuring DC Studios is strategic with whether or not or not a film will get to proceed. Even when a DCU movie has to take longer to work on the script earlier than filming begins, that’s price it in the long term if it results in a greater product.
Listening to Gunn’s commentary showcases that DC Studios is what Warner Bros. Discovery has arguably wanted for the DC model for a very very long time. It is attainable that the movie Gunn might have been referencing is the Swamp Factor film, since that one has James Mangold hooked up as each a author and director.
Whereas Gunn could have been speaking a few completely different DCU film, given how there have been little to no Swamp Factor updates because the authentic January 2023 announcement, the horror movie being canceled is not out of the query. However till Gunn clarifies, solely time will inform which movie was really canceled.
Nonetheless, whereas this one DCU mission is not transferring ahead, DC Studios nonetheless has loads of different releases arising, together with the Batman and Surprise Girl motion pictures which are at the moment being written. Hopefully, although one DCU film is not transferring ahead, others will within the coming years.
Supply: NPR
- Created by
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Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
- First Movie
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Man of Metal
- First TV Present
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Peacemaker
- Solid
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Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Sturdy, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor, Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Xolo Mariduena
- Film(s)
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Man of Metal, Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice, Suicide Squad, Surprise Girl, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Surprise Girl 1984, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Courageous and the Daring
- Character(s)
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Superman, Batman, Surprise Girl, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam
The DC Universe is without doubt one of the largest comedian guide franchises and sometimes competes with Marvel. DC Comics began as Nationwide Allied Publications, based by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with hundreds of comedian books, motion pictures, TV reveals, and video video games. 2013 marked the start of the newest iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After a number of motion pictures with blended critiques, DC underwent a tender reboot below the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.