James Gunn Wants Actors Who Are “Easy To Work With” For His DCU In Potentially Veiled Jab At Henry Cavill
JB Augustine
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It’s almost the month’s end, the first in 2023, and we still don’t know what the first few films in James Gunn’s DCU slate are going to be as promised. We know a little about who won’t be there — namely Henry Cavill — but recent tweets by Gunn clarify what he looks for, and hint at who he might hire.
Geralt (Henry Cavill) reaches out to a possessed Ciri (Freya Allan) in The Witcher Season 2 Episode 8 “Family” (2021) via Netflix
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When a Twitter user implored him not to bring in cast members from Guardians of the Galaxy and find new actors for a cinematic DC “Rebirth” and not a “reuse,” Gunn had an interesting answer that reveals a little about his hiring choices and, in a way, evinces more about his firing ones. He started with his criteria.
“We have hundreds of roles to cast,” the DC Studio head replied in a quote. “As I’ve always done, some will be brand new faces, some will be actors I’ve worked with before, [and] some will be actors you know who I’ve never worked with. What matters most is the actor fits the role [and] they’re easy to work with.”
James Gunn Twitter
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Fans are speculating what this could mean. First, it sounds like we are going to see some Guardians in the DCU. Dave Bautista wouldn’t be a surprise and neither would Chris Pratt because of their box office success. The latter might meet with pushback from the usual critics because of his faith but the moviegoers who count will give him a chance.
Who they would play is more of a conundrum. Rumors swirled years ago that Bautista was in talks for Bane. That doesn’t appear to be on the table anymore as Bautista recently indicated he couldn’t “bring justice to Bane anymore.” Pratt, meanwhile, is more of a mystery. He’s been tied to Superman in the past but at 43, he’s probably aged out.
The titular team take in their new surroundings in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Marvel Entertainment
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This brings us to the other speculation. Gunn favors a younger Superman for the story he’s working on which doesn’t give Henry Cavill an edge either despite the phenomenal shape he and Pratt are in. However, this might not be what cost Cavill a place in the new DC, and the last sentence in Gunn’s tweet speaks volumes here.
He makes it clear actors have to be “easy to work with.” And it was rumored that Gunn didn’t like Henry Cavill by YouTuber Den of Nerds. However, Gunn claimed this rumor was “false.”
James Gunn Twitter
However, Den of Nerds doubled down and claimed, “Even more ppl have reached out to me since you said this to tell me you really don’t like him. Just saying what I heard.”
Gunn replied, “So weird. You seemed so plugged in! Anyway, I just had forty people reach out to me to say you just got kicked out of your Mom’s basement. So sorry, man.”
James Gunn Twitter
Den of Nerds would then reply to another user claiming Gunn is lying. He wrote, “I like James, but he’s lying. Pretty simple.”
Den of Nerds Twitter
Nevertheless, Gunn also had a meeting with Cavill and whether he got the impression the Witcher actor was difficult or not is unknown, but he may have some reports of Cavill’s reputation in mind, especially those that emanated from the Netflix fantasy’s set. Those, of course, turned out to be embellished.
Henry Cavill as Superman in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Warner Bros.
Cavill’s commitment to accuracy and the source material rubbed some writers and producers the wrong way and instead of lambasting — or lampooning — his coworkers, he honorably stepped away from Witcher’s third season thinking Superman was waiting for him.
That didn’t turn out well, so he’s moved on to a Warhammer adaptation and DC is going in its direction which might not have room for dissenting opinions.
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