DC Studios recruits Marvel director James Gunn to run movie division

The director best known for Guardians of the Galaxy is now in charge of Marvel’s arch rivals.

James Gunn will run DC Studios. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

The Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has been named the co-chief executive of DC Studios, the home of the big screen adventures of Superman, Batman and other iconic superhero characters.

Gunn and producer Peter Safran will jointly run DC Studios, rebadged from its previous iteration, DC Films.

Gunn has worked with DC on The Suicide Squad movie and also created spin-off TV series Peacemaker. He will focus on the creative side of the studio and Safran will run the business and production side.

Gunn is to draw the map for DC movies, which has been more unfocused than its arch rival, Marvel. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has been a guiding force for the films’ cohesive vision since it premiered Iron Man in 2008, and Feige later took on the brands’ TV/streaming output when its film and TV divisions were merged.

DC films have had a patchier run when it comes to both critical and box office success. While movies such as Wonder Woman and Joker have been lauded, others such as Justice League were not.

James Gunn with Peacemaker star John Cena. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty

And there was a lot of unpleasantness and controversy surrounding director Zack Snyder’s tenure over some DC films, including a murky fan-led campaign to release the filmmaker’s cut of Justice League after now-disgraced director Joss Whedon took over the title during production.

Behind the scenes, there has been drama surrounding the studio’s leadership. DC Films boss Walter Hamada exited the role this past week after four years at the helm. During his time, he was pulled into a public squabble with Justice League actor Ray Fisher.

Before Hamada, co-heads Geoff Johns and Jon Berg’s short run were marked by a toxic relationship with Snyder and his vociferous fans.

Parent company Warner Bros Discovery will be looking to Gunn and Safran to bring some stability to DC Studios. And despite his executive status, Gunn is still expected to keep making movies.

With filmmaker Gunn doubling as an executive, the DC Studios model differs from what Marvel has with Feige. It will function closer to what Pixar does where its top brass are also creatives, such as chief creative officer Pete Docter.

The DC movies don’t all exist in the same “cinematic universe” as the Marvel ones do. Some, such as Todd Phillips’ Joker and its upcoming sequel and Matt Reeves’ Batman flicks, are in a separate in-world space.

Margot Robbie in James Gunn-directed The Suicide Squad.

According to The Hollywood Reporter sources, Gunn and Safran will not have oversight of Phillips’ work and it’s unclear if Reeves will collaborate with the new DC Studios heads or if he will report directly to Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav as Phillips will.

But everything else upcoming will be Gunn and Safran’s responsibility.

DC Studios just released the Dwayne Johnson-starring blockbuster Black Adam, which grossed $US140 million in its opening weekend, and has upcoming Shazam 2, The Flash and the Aquaman sequel.

Gunn still has the release of The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Marvel, which is currently in post-production and slated for a May 2023 release.

Gunn’s stewardship of DC effectively ends his working relationship with Marvel, which was already marred by an earlier incident in which the Disney-owned studio fired him for a series of old tweets that were resurfaced and amplified on social media by Donald Trump’s fans.

Gunn had been critical of the former American president and right-wing pundits seized on the old tweets which featured jokes about paedophilia and rape.

Gunn signed a deal with DC to direct The Suicide Squad before Marvel un-fired him and greenlit The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.