James Gunn On Commitment To DC: “I’m Not Going To Do This Unless I Think We’re Doing Good Stuff”
With a six-year outlook for DC between series and films, what would be the warning signs that the brand becomes more of a machine than a place for organic stories?
DC co-bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran were asked such at Friday’s press day for the studio in which they provided an update on the projects they announced two years ago.
“I’d quit,” exclaimed Gunn. “I’m being serious! I’m not going to do this unless I think we’re doing good stuff that’s cool, that works.”
Cooling down from the blunt statement, the Superman filmmaker specified, “I’m not saying I’m going to quit, I’m not damning DC.” As a filmmaker leading a motion picture label, Gunn is an anomaly among studio bosses in town.
“We’re very deliberate in our output,” Safran said. “We’re not looking to make five movies a year and five series. We’re really focused on telling great versions of the stories we want to tell, and we have zero pressure on us from [WBD CEO] David [Zaslav] or anyone else to deliver more than that.”
Gunn has said in several interviews that unlike other studios, he’ll never rush a project into production unless the script is completely ready. Too often he’s seen movies without third acts move forward in a studio’s pipeline.
Gunn and Safran were also asked if they were concerned about the current Trump White House and activist FCC in regards to the type of projects that get made. Gunn came under fire on social media for controversial tweets he made back in 2008 and 2011. The incident led to his firing for a beat at Marvel Studios before being reinstated as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. During his time off from Disney, Gunn went to make The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker over at Warner Bros.
Gunn answered the reporter, “I know what you’re saying, but I’ve been off making Superman and working on stories for three years, and I just try to tell the best stories I possibly can. That’s all I care about. I use to read the news a lot and stuff, I’m not on the internet.”
He added: “No matter who is telling me who I’m supposed to put in my movie for whatever reason, I don’t give a shit. I was always about making the best story possible with the best characters possible.”
Safran underscored that at the duo’s DC Studios, “We want to make movies for a diverse audience.”
