James Gunn has become the target of many fans' frustrations over the cancelation of Henry Cavill’s Superman return. In a recent Twitter post, Gunn responded directly to one comment that called his attitude to the news as “cold indifference” that was “truly CEO role worthy.” As someone who has been a constant presence on social media throughout his Marvel and DC journeys, the current backlash over Superman has not seen him hiding away. In a post, he said:
“I’m anything but cold about it. I sat down in person with Henry yesterday and we had a very open and honest and respectful discussion. We’ve communicated since and he and I are all good. And I said what I needed to say yesterday, not sure what else you’d like me to say.”
There are still many fans upset at the return and loss of Henry Cavill in the DCU, and that has only increased the pressure on Gunn and Peter Safran when it comes to their plans for the future of the franchise. It was never going to be an easy transition from the old DCEU to the new DCU, but now it has become a mountainous climb to win back fans and try and finally make the DCU work for Warner Bros. Discovery. Whether they can do it is something we won’t know for at least a couple of years.
Will All Old DCEU Characters Be Recast In the New DCU?
It seems with Superman set to be played by someone younger in a movie that will not be an origin story but will be set in a similar time in the life of Clark Kent as we saw in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, with Superman being in his first year as a hero and Daily Planet reporter. If this is the start of the new DCU, it seems inevitable that the characters around him will also need to be adapted to this time period. That could mean everyone from Batman to Wonder Woman will be recast. Then where does it leave the likes of Shazam, The Flash, and Aquaman? Zachary Levi recently responded to Henry Cavill’s Instagram post announcing that he would not be coming back as Superman, commenting:
“Hope to catch you in another universe, sir.”
Back when Gunn and Safran were announced as the new DC Studios CEOs, Levi seemed optimistic about their arrival, telling Comic Con Portugal that he knew of Gunn’s work and that “he’s one of my bosses now, which is dope.” He went on to note:
"And then, Peter Safran, who is his partner, is my producer - he produces the movie Shazam!. So your question is, ‘If those are my two bosses, is there a plan and a future for Shazam?’ I would say ‘Yeah, I would hope so. I would hope so.’ Because those are my friends, and if they don’t have a plan, then they are not my friends anymore. No, sir."
Whether this means that Levi’s list of friends is about to get a little shorter, we will soon know when plans for the rebooted DCU are announced.