DC finally has its Kevin Feige – and it’s an acclaimed Marvel director, by all people!

As Marvel (and later Disney) enjoyed increasing success with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), their competitor DC (or parent company Warner) also wanted to jump on the bandwagon as soon as possible and also create a coherent comedy movie universe from the ground up on stomping it. so-called DC Extended Universe (DCEU) was only a moderate success as a major project, as the first team-up movie “Justice League” was not particularly well received. The main reason many saw was that the DCEU was not as carefully prepared as the MCU and that there was not a single person pulling the strings with a more or less clear creative vision like the producer and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has done. with competition since the beginning of the MCU.

But at least the latter wants to finally wipe out at DC – and especially with the active support of a Marvel director with an undeniable signature. As announced now will be the creators of “Guardians Of The Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad” James Gunn as the new head of the revamped DC Studios (formerly: DC Films). He shares the post with successful producer Peter Saffronwho previously worked with Gunn on The Suicide Squad and the series spin-off Peacemaker, as well as other DC and Warner Bros. hits such as Aquaman and the Conjuring series.

New DC Leadership After ‘Batgirl’ Scandal

The new direction in DC’s motion picture division comes as part of a major upheaval at Studio Warner Bros., which, following a merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. now operates under the newly renamed Warner Bros. Discovery group with new leadership. Gunn and Safran follow in the footsteps of Walter Hamada, who has been the head of DC Films for the past four years but recently resigned because he wasn’t exactly thrilled that David Zaslav, the boss of Warner Bros. Discovery, the near-completed DC streaming was. movie “Batgirl” in the trash to write off millions of dollars in taxes.

Zaslav had in the aftermath of this formulated a new 10-year plan for DC, in which he wants to focus mainly on major cinema events around iconic figures such as Batman and Superman and less on medium-sized streaming projects, to finally be able to compete well with Marvel again. According to his example should also have his own Kevin Feige, who holds the reins of DC on behalf of Zaslav and is now mainly found in Gunn. While Safran is primarily supposed to take care of the business part of the DC universe, Gunn has his hat on creatively. Until now, it was quite unusual for an active director to take on such a leading role.

Will the DCEU be more like the MCU again?

But what exactly does this mean for the future of DC movies? That is not so easy to answer at the moment. That there are now clear leaders for the comic universe, firstly indicates that from now on the DCEU could again focus more on the big picture and clearer links between the individual projects, which – according to the Marvel model – could potentially work towards a “Justice League 2” or some other big team-up. After the failure of the “Justice League”, they recently moved away from it. While the individual films were still in the DCEU and had isolated cross-references (as “Black Adam” currently proves in theaters), they should mostly function independently. The “Black Adam” credits scene, which was filmed only shortly before the theatrical release, could already be a harbinger of another rethink.

On the other hand, it is said that Gunn and Safran need to develop a long-term strategy for the entire DC film, series and animation field, although we can hardly imagine all the upcoming projects suddenly becoming part of the DCEU. In fact, other DC universes still need to be held, part of which is then subject to different supervision. As is known, work is currently underway on “Joker 2: Folie à Deux”, a sequel to the mega-hit “Joker” with Joaquin Phoenix, which is not by Gunn and Safran, but by Warner Film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. .

It’s unclear whether DC Studios’ new executive duo will also oversee The Batman’s planned major universe, which will deliver not only a direct sequel, but multiple movie and series spin-offs based on this year’s hit box. starring Robert Pattinson should be, but actually “The Batman” director Matt Reeves is considered the driving creative force.

No more James Gunn Marvel movies?

In any case, James Gunn’s new feature should make it easier for James Gunn to tackle his own DC projectsDespite his new job, he wants to continue working as a filmmaker. He’s currently working on a second season of “Peacemaker,” but more spin-offs of “The Suicide Squad” or maybe even a theatrical sequel to the outrageous anti-hero blockbuster are also conceivable. And who knows: maybe Gunn can finally fulfill a personal dream and direct his own Superman movie (possibly even “Man Of Steel 2”?).

What is certain is that James Gunn after the upcoming “Holiday special Guardians Of The Galaxy‘ (coming November 25 on Disney+) and ‘Guardian of the Galaxy 3(from May 3, 2023 in cinemas) no more Marvel films for the time being, but will initially work exclusively for DC. His new contract is initially for four years, according to various sources, but can of course be extended afterwards. It’s still a stroke of luck for DC that Disney had in the meantime fired Gunn from the MCU over controversial jokes in old tweets and that he was hired by the league in the first place for “The Suicide Squad”.

So James Gunn’s new job should be a big loss for Marvel, but hopefully just as big a win for DC, which we can’t wait to see what comes of it.