Director James Gunn clarifies how involved Marvel and DC are with their movies and shows. Gunn is the writer/director of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy series, as well as DC's The Suicide Squad and the massively successful spinoff show, Peacemaker. Gunn is currently filming the third installment of the GOTG franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (expected to debut later this year).

Gunn created the Peacemaker series during down-time while filming The Suicide Squad, which ended up breaking HBO's biggest single-day release for an HBO Max Original series ever for the season finale. Throughout the series, Gunn injected a number of Easter eggs and nods to various characters throughout the DCEU, such as Bat-Mite, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, etc., all of which would be considered canon at this point. Gunn did the same for his MCU work, referencing or including characters like Howard The Duck, The Eternals, etc., as well as introducing Josh Brolin as Thanos.

Related: Peacemaker Proves GOTG 3’s Movie Changes Are The Right Choice

Recently, Gunn was asked on Twitter about both Marvel and DC's process when he writes in something that would become canon for either company. Gunn responded, saying that "people overestimate the interaction of both DC & Marvel" when it comes to that, saying that most of the feedback on newly written work that would become canon is in service to "making the story better." The director does cite rare situations when legalities are involved or if something he wrote contradicts another project he's unaware of, but for the most part, writing and creating new content for either company that becomes canon simply "doesn't come up." Here's the exchange:

While Gunn is currently filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the writer/director has more projects on this plate afterward. Gunn wrote the script for Wile E. Coyote, a comedy set in the ACME warehouse (which houses everything used by the Looney Tunes characters), which will star Peacemaker's John Cena. The director has also received the greenlight for a Peacemaker season 2, of which he will write/direct all episodes. Gunn has also teased another DC project for HBO Max, but has kept details under wraps, only saying that it would be significantly different than Peacemaker.

It can be easy to believe that any and every creative decision at both Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. (DC) would be under a microscope, particularly when it involves a shared universe, but ultimately, both studios have to put some level of trust in the filmmakers they hire to create and expand the properties they're working with. One can only imagine how difficult it would be to write any script or direct any movie while being constantly questioned about every action, motivation, introduction, and reference. There should always be some kind of accountability in terms of contradictions and maintenance of the overall vision, but without filmmakers like James Gunn or Zack Snyder or Matt Reeves or Christopher Nolan or The Russo Brothers, etc. injecting their sensibilities into the work without being constantly scrutinized, it would truly be filmmaking by committee, which is neither entertaining nor visionary.

Next: Will The Suicide Squad 3 Be Another Reboot After Peacemaker?

Source: James Gunn