With the chaos at DC Studios being total and nonstop, the new management of James Gunn and Peter Safran has a lot of work to do, and not everything they do will go over well. Henry Cavill’s sudden departure was not a popular outcome, seen as the deletion of the best the Snyderverse had to offer.
What’s more, it’s possible Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa might join Cavill — and Ben Affleck, for that matter — on the outside of the fishbowl. We don’t know what the statuses of Gadot and Momoa will be. She could stay on as Wonder Woman and he has odds of playing Lobo or some other character, based on his recent reaction to a phone call.
In any case, Gunn took to social media to address the critics still dogging him over Cavill, well aware he can’t please everyone. Calling them a “certain minority of people online,” he made it clear he and Safran won’t be moved by harassment or “disrespectful” outcries. They’re sticking to the direction they have in mind for DC cinema.
“One of the things Peter & I were aware of when we took the job as heads of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least,” Gunn posted, probably alluding to Snyderverse devotees, but they aren’t his main concern. He added that they intend to sincerely place the story above everything.
“Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story & best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years,” he said. “Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts & integrity & always with the story in mind.” Saying that, Gunn would circle back to fan unrest.
“No one loves to be harassed or called names – but, to be frank, we’ve been through significantly worse. Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions,” he continued. “We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig…we would sometimes have to make difficult & not-so-obvious choices…in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us.”
Gunn would wrap up his remarks by saying the new artistic duty he and Safran have to create a “wonderful future for DC” is paramount. “But this means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists & custodians in helping to create a wide & wonderful future for DC,” he said. So it’s onward and upwards no matter what.
The new executives are trying to keep a positive attitude but even after the attempted olive branch on Instagram, they are still receiving criticism from all over, including from a former DC movie cast member unafraid to speak out. Ray Fisher took aim at Gunn in much the same way he did former DC execs, Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada.
Fisher accused Gunn of exercising “fake grace” and called it “really funny.” The actor then accused Gunn of “going to bat for Joss Whedon, pseudo-apologizing for it, and then deleting it immediately before taking his new DC job.” Fisher made the effort to produce receipts – screenshots of the pertinent tweets – but Gunn had an answer for the charges.
“ALL my tweets automatically delete every few months, Ray, it has nothing to do with my tweets to you,” Gunn responded. How and why Gunn had that function arranged for his social media is a salient question that deserves an answer. Chances are it’s related to the perverse jokes he made on Twitter many moons ago that got him fired briefly by Disney.
Anyway, that was Gunn’s answer to Fisher whom he is very unlikely going to hire and there are more arrows being slung at the new heads of the DC Studio where that came from. Gunn would respond to a few such as one Instagram user whose confidence is not inspired by the “booting” of Gadot and Cavill.
Gunn didn’t know what “thebsboy” was talking about. “I’m not sure where you’re getting that we ‘booted’ Gal,” he replied. Again, this answer can be taken a number of ways as it could mean Gadot is here to stay as Wonder Woman, at least for a little while longer, or that she is in talks for a new deal post-The Flash.
Others would be more rancorous and probably qualify as the “unkind” and “disrespectful” outcries Gunn referred to — thus, not warranting a response from him. However, although he may ignore them and soldier on, the responders to his Instagram post specifically aren’t accepting his olive branch. Replies range from “bring Cavill back” and a simple “Boo” to words more heated.
Pointing out the fact that Gunn was, indeed, getting a lot of praise and support from fellow Hollywood colleagues, gen47__ noted, “You may get many approval from these verified pages but it is te fans who ultimately decide. Disrespectful outcry!! Who the hell are you to say that, Cavil waited for so many years for his return and finally he got an opportunity a you f—king disrespect him.”
“Bro the disrespectful outcry you’re talking about is mostly very passionate DC fans making their voices heard,” prefaces a response by tylerbobmclane, who then adds, “If you can’t respect that and hear them out then you my friend don’t get it.”
He elaborated, “Henry Cavill could have still played Superman somewhere if your DC universe you just don’t like the guy apparently.”
“Say you don’t care about the fans without saying you don’t care about the fans….” sarcastically noted msgermany328, questioning Gunn’s statement.
“So everyone who wanted to keep Henry Cavill is just getting written off as ‘disrespectful outcry'” read the post of another disappointed fan.
Instagram user doiphotos pointed out, “Public outcry may not affect your actions, but when you dismiss fans as if they’re not part of your success, I guarantee that money, or lack thereof, will finally convince you.”
“Your fans rooted for YOU when you were fired from Disney, and this is how you repay them. Nice,” the response concluded.
Another user noted the fact that James Gunn may still choose to keep both the Suicide Squad franchise he soft-rebooted in 2021 and his Peacemaker series for HBO Max, writing, “If you want to reboot the DCU, do it completely. Delete everything, plus your work. Be honest.”
“Please dont dismiss legitimate criticism as disrespectful outcry,” encourages sleeks87. “Sure there is some of that, but that’s not the whole picture. Fans are upset because as the stewards of a franchise, you should close out the unfinished stories that paying customers want to see finished, before you tel new stories.”
The user then concluded, “Completely cancelling everything as if all of it was a mistake is shortsighted and disrespectful to fans.”
Judging by this and the other comments, as isolated in the scheme of things as they are, the solidarity is there for Cavill; but not so much for Gunn and Safran. There might be a rush to judgment at play here. However, it’s up to the duo to prove naysayers wrong.
NEXT: James Gunn Said To Have Killed ‘Batman Beyond’ Movie Starring Michael Keaton