With the premiere of the new “Superman”, the second film by director James Gunn in the universe of DC. But do his days at Marvel finally belong to the past? Gunn already directed the second part of “Suicide Squad” and thus interrupted his work in the competitive field of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
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“I thought my career was over”
In 2018, the director was originally excluded from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, for which he was previously responsible. At that time he opened openly: “I thought my career was over.” Four years later, he was hired together with film producer Peter Safran as co-director of DC Studios.
In the “Armchair Expert” podcast, James Gunn remembers old conversations with Toby Emmerich from the Warner Bros. Studios. The fact that Gunn would make a “Superman” film for DC in the future seemed unthinkable for Emmerich. Instead, he offered him to participate in the sequel of “Suicide Squad”. The result was seen on the international cinema screens in 2021.
Return to Marvel
Gunn added that on the same day he got a call from the then Disney Cco Alan Horn, after Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige had previously campaigned for the director to get his original job back.
“I went to Kevin’s house. I went to his basement, where he exhibited all of his Star Wars figures like in a small museum, and he said, ‘This is great.’ I said: ‘Yes, that’s good, but I have to do something else beforehand.’ And – Oh my god, I totally forgot – Kevin said, ‘Ugh, are you doing Superman?’ “
In fact, this was not meant to mean “Superman”, but the continuation of “Suicide Squad”.
Ethical dilemma failed
For many superhero fans, a change from the Marvel universe to the DC universe could be a treason. James Gunn, however, did not feel an “ethical dilemma” because he was finally the one who was fired.
“Listen, there are people over there (at Disney) with whom I am not particularly happy, but these were definitely not the Marvel people, do you know?” Added the director. “They were completely supportive. Louis d’Sposito (Marvel Studios co-president) called me all the time. Lou and Kevin were great. So it was certainly not because of them. But I didn’t have a guilty conscience at all. I mean I had to take a job! I accepted a job with people that I also liked-and that was.”
New “Superman” currently in the cinemas
Whether the director has done his new job well has been assessed in German cinemas since July 10th. David Corenswet (“Twisters”) slips into the role of Clark Kent. Emmy winner Rachel Brosahn (“House of Cards”) plays Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult (“Nosferatu”) mimics the opponent of the superhero.