DC Studios boss James Gunn responds to DC fan campaigns, including saving Legends of Tomorrow and releasing David Ayer's original Suicide Squad cut. 2022 has been a rough year for the DC Comics brand when it comes to television and film, with several projects getting canceled following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. On the television side of things, The CW canceled both Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Naomi, and most recently, Stargirl, with only three DC TV shows coming up in 2023 on the network. As far as DC Films go, Warner Bros. Discovery shocked the industry when they made the decision to scrap HBO Max's Batgirl movie, which was set to star Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon. Despite having wrapped principal photography in late March, the studio still opted to shelve the highly-anticipated DC movie.Other DC projects to take a hit from the merger were HBO Max's Wonder Twins movie and Greg Berlanti's Strange Adventures anthology series. As of November 1, 2022, the studio is moving in a new direction with its DC properties as they launched DC Studios, which is being led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. While Safran will focus on the business aspects of the studio, Gunn will take care of the creative side. As part of their CEO responsibilities, Gunn and Safran will oversee DC television, movies, and animation.
With fan campaigns frequently gaining traction on social media, Gunn responded on Twitter to ongoing movements to get the original Suicide Squad cut from Ayer released and to save Legends of Tomorrow, which was canceled on The CW earlier this year. While appreciating the support for the properties, Gunn confirmed that they wouldn't be part of their new strategy as they go forward with DC Studios.
How James Gunn Can Shape The DCU's Movie & Television Future
What is key to remember is that while Gunn refers to their plan as "this new universe," it doesn't automatically mean that they are rebooting the DCU (formerly known as the DCEU.) Together with Safran, Gunn and DC Studios will be able to craft a DCU that has more consistency and an overall vision. Even though the DCU has continued to build out its universe over the last few years, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav obviously wants a similar success to the MCU, which has TV and film intertwined on a regular basis. With DC Studios, and also having two bosses supervising it all, WB can allow the DCU to start settling into a foundation.
Even though Ayer's Suicide Squad cut and Legends of Tomorrow may not be part of those plans, DC Studios aren't abandoning all of their previous projects. Following his surprise return to the DCU through a Black Adam cameo, Henry Cavill is set to reprise the role of Superman in new DCU projects, including Man of Steel 2, which is in early development. With much of their continuity still intact, DC Studios isn't so much about restarting the universe but rather re-focusing and stabilizing the interconnected franchise. As disappointing as Gunn's comments may be for the Suicide Squad and Legends of Tomorrow campaigns, there is still plenty of DC adventures coming up on the big and small screens.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter
