“Superman” filmmaker and DC Studios co-chief James Gunn sat down with reporters last week to offer status updates on all things DC alongside his co-chief Peter Safran, and one golden rule emerged: They’re not rushing into anything.
Gunn said he’s bringing key lessons in franchise building from his time at Marvel to DC Studios, with a strong focus on script quality over release dates and building a connected universe that still allows for standalone stories.
Gunn directly referenced his experience making the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise noting how initial skepticism on the first film turned to success: “‘Guardians’ came in. Suddenly, everybody’s like this movie is going to be Marvel’s first bomb. This can’t work, nobody cares. What is a raccoon? How is a raccoon ever going to talk to Thor?” Gunn said.
“And then that went the way it did,” he added, addressing chatter over DC’s revamp. “So I have learned to just see this noise, and it gets louder and more extreme, but it’s just a bunch of noise.”
This experience appears to have shaped DC’s current approach under his and Peter Safran’s leadership. “As it’s been my experience working in Hollywood, the worst thing about the quality of Hollywood movies is that so many scripts get greenlit based on a date or based on this is an IP that we want to make, but not doing it properly,” Gunn said.
Gunn’s “Superman” will hard-launch the new DCU this summer, but several other films and shows are in the works and in various stages of production and development.
Gunn noted that the company’s focus is on making each project work independently while building out a larger universe. “We remain steadfast in making sure that each of these projects works as a standalone project, so that you can go see ‘Superman’ and you can watch ‘Lanterns’ without having to see both of them,” Gunn said, while also adding that “there’s going to be special things in there for people who have seen both.”
Safran emphasized the company’s flexible approach to universe-building: “We’ve laid out internally a plan for ourselves, but we’re very happy to pivot as things emerge, as we discover things, in the making of ‘Superman,’ or in the making of ‘Supergirl,’ or scripts being written, where there’s a flexibility built into it, even though we know where the larger story is headed.”
In terms of output, DC Studios is aiming to produce “two live-action films and one animated film per year,” according to Safran, who also added they’re targeting two live-action and two animated series for the Max streaming service per year.
Their strategy also extends to how they select projects, with some unexpected additions coming from strong creative pitches. On the upcoming “Clayface” movie, Gunn said: “‘Clayface’ is the crazy one, because we had no plans on making a ‘Clayface’ movie. Mike (Flanagan) came in and he pitched the ‘Clayface’ movie, and it was great…so he turned in the script, and it’s one of the best scripts that we read from the whole time.”
“It fits nicely within the DCU, and it takes us into the world of Gotham,” Safran added. “So the opportunity to make a horror movie for DC was kind of like a gift.”
Gunn is also taking a different approach to fan engagement. Gunn recalled his positive fan experience as a kid meeting The Clash lead singer Joe Strummer at Colony Records in New York and hanging out with the musician. “That kindness to me meant so much that, if I can give some semblance to that to a kid who comes up and talks to me out in public or online, which is the way it mostly happens today, then I want to do that,” Gunn said.
“I would say that James has always, for 20 years, really brought an authenticity to his interaction online,” Safran added. “That’s something that’s actually helpful.”
On the marketing front, Gunn and Safran are maintaining close creative control working alongside the Creative Advertising and Worldwide Marketing teams at Warner Bros. Discovery. “We work incredibly closely with Christian (Davin) and Dana (Nussbaum) and John Stanford,” Safran said.
“John is the one who basically cut the trailer,” Gunn added. “But it was with me being incredibly involved in the trailer and that’s just the way it’s going to continue to be with me being involved with the creative and Peter being involved with the overall structure of everything.”
The overall DC Studios strategy appears to have studio support from the very top. As Safran noted: “We have the full support of DZ (David Zaslav) on all fronts. He loves what we’re doing, loves the movie, and has really rallied the entire company behind ‘Superman’ for this summer.”
“It’s incredibly gratifying, frankly, that everything that DZ had promised us two years ago when we took the job, it’s all been a reality since we’ve been in the job,” Safran said.
Status Updates on Upcoming DC Studios Projects
“Superman”: Currently in editing, with Gunn calling the cast “maybe the best cast I’ve ever worked with,” including David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion.
“Supergirl”: “We’re now halfway through production on ‘Supergirl,’” Gunn said of the Craig Gillespie-directed film based on the “Woman of Tomorrow” comics with a script from Ana Nogueira that the studio “loved immediately.”
“Peacemaker” Season 2: Recently wrapped filming. According to Safran, it will debut in “late August.”
“Clayface”: Cameras set to roll this summer with James Watkins currently in negotiations to direct. Safran described it as “an amazing body horror film that reveals a compelling origin of a classic Batman villain.” He added: ”Clayface is not as widely known as Penguin or Joker, but we think his story is equally resonant and thrilling and frankly, even more terrifying.”
“The Brave and the Bold”: In “active development” with the script currently being written. While Gunn didn’t name the writer, he said “I’m working very closely with the writer on ‘Brave and the Bold’… the script is really good so far.”
“The Batman: Part Two”: Matt Reeves hasn’t turned in a full script yet but what they’ve read is “incredibly encouraging,” according to Safran. He also added it is “very unlikely” that Robert Pattinson’s Batman becomes the DCU Batman, shooting down the rumor once and for all.
The DCU Batman: The plan is still to introduce him in “The Brave and the Bold” but he could make an appearance in another DC Studios project. “I wouldn’t rule anything out,” Gunn said. “He could show up in something else.”
“Swamp Thing”: “Obviously, James Mangold went off to make a wonderful other film, and so the ball is really in his court now,” according to Safran.
“Dynamic Duo”: In pre-production, described by Safran as “a coming of age crowd pleaser” being produced with Warner Bros. Animation, written by Matt Aldridge (“Coco”).
“The Authority”: Development on the project has slowed as other projects took priority. Gunn said: “Out of all the projects that we had, everything is still 100% fully on track. The one that kind of got messed with through all of the other good things that are happening is ‘Authority’ and the script has also had a harder time coming along, so that’s been a part of it as well.”
