James Gunn: New DC film slate is ready to go with more details coming in 2023 (Ian West/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)Dwayne Johnson has announced that a new Black Adam film is not in DC Studios’ pipeline – another blow for fans who have been shocked by DC Studios’ recent major reshuffles.
Since director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran became co-chairpersons and CEOs of DC Films in November, many of the Studios’ previous plans have been abandoned.
“James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling,” Johnson wrote in a statement shared across his social media.
“However, DC and Bucks [Seven Bucks Productions] have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters.”
He added: “These decisions made by James and DC leadership represent their vision of DCU through their creative lens.”
Black Adam⚡️ pic.twitter.com/b7ZbCJZxBw
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) December 20, 2022
Since Gunn and Safran took over, the duo have made a series of decisions about the Studios’ franchises which have caused a ripple of discord across the internet, particularly after it was announced that Henry Cavill had been dropped from playing Superman and that a Patty Jenkins-directed Wonder Woman 3 had also been abandoned.
The upset is understandable: DC is home to some of popular culture’s most beloved characters, including Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and fans are heavily invested in their narratives.
For those not following closely, all the furious discussions, Tweets and statements that have been circulating the internet make the drama of the last two months seem far more complicated than it is. Here’s everything that’s been going down about DC studios.
It all started on November 1 when James Gunn (whose past directorial work includes 2006’s Slither, 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and 2021’s The Suicide Squad) and his long-time collaborator Peter Safran officially took up their roles as the new co-chairpersons and CEOs of DC Films – they’d been appointed in the new role by WarnerMedia CEO David Zaslav – and DC Films was renamed DC Studios.
In the run up to this decision, after WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. merged in April 2022, DC Warner’s executive team had been undergoing some internal changes. The head of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group had stepped down, MGM executives were replaced and there were some senior level exits too.
Judging by Gunn’s comments online, it seems clear that the director understood the challenge he was taking on when he stepped into his new role. In a series of Tweets posted on December 8, he said: “Peter & I chose to helm DC Studios knowing we were coming into a fractious environment, both in the stories being told & in the audience itself & there would be an unavoidable transitional period as we moved into telling a cohesive story across film, TV, animation, and gaming.”
“But, in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities & the opportunity to build upon what has worked in DC so far & to help rectify what has not.”
Gunn and Safran immediately started tearing up the DC Studios’ previous plans. The first major announcement was that Cavill would not be returning to play Superman as the next Superman film would focus on the superhero’s earlier life.
Last week Cavill announced the news via an Instagram post. He said: “I have just had a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran and it’s sad news, everyone. I will, after all, not be returning as Superman.
“After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life… James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.”
Several days later Cavill announced that he will be developing a Warhammer 40,000 (a popular tabletop warfare game) series for Amazon Studios.
At the same time, rumours started to swirl around the future of Wonder Woman: there were questions about whether Gal Gadot would be returning to play the superhero, and there were reports that said that Patty Jenkins, the director of the past two Wonder Woman films, had walked away from a part three.
On December 14 Jenkins released a statement on Twitter to set the record straight. She said: “When there started being backlash about WW3 not happening, the attractive clickbait false story that it was me that killed it or walked away started to spread. This is simply not true. I never walked away. I was open to considering anything asked of me… DC is obviously buried in changes they are having to make, so I understand these decisions are difficult right now.”
The Hollywood Reporter had run an article headlined: “Patty Jenkins’ ‘Wonder Woman 3’ Not Moving Forward as DC Movies Hit Turning Point” on December 7.
Gunn responded to this article on Twitter the next day, saying: “So. As for the story yesterday in the Hollywood Reporter, some of it is true, some of it is half-true, some of it is not true, & some of it we haven’t decided yet whether it’s true or not.”
On December 6, Gadot had Tweeted: “A few years ago it was announced that I was going to play Wonder Woman.I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity to play such an incredible, iconic character and more than anything I’m grateful for YOU.The fans.Can’t wait to share her next chapter with you.”
A few years ago it was announced that I was going to play Wonder Woman.I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity to play such an incredible, iconic character and more than anything I’m grateful for YOU.The fans.Can’t wait to share her next chapter with you🙅🏻♀️🙌🏼💃🏻♥️ pic.twitter.com/XlzhrMx4xe
— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) December 6, 2022
Then, when a fan commented on one of Gunn’s Instagram photos, “Cannot wait to see what you’re cooking up… That being said the move to boot Cavill and Gadot (especially after they’d announced their return) doesn’t inspire confidence”, Gunn replied: “I’m not sure where you’re getting that we ‘booted’ Gal”, further adding to the opaqueness of the franchise’s future.
It has also been reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Gadot and Cavill’s cameos in the upcoming film The Flash, which is set to be released in June next year, had been cut, though these details are yet to be confirmed.
The new CEOs will likely be announcing some of their upcoming projects early next year. On December 15 Gunn Tweeted: “Peter & I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year.”
Not only are fans apprehensively awaiting for news about the decades’ next films, but the fate of The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (which is set for a December 2023 release) – films that have been in the works months and years before Gunn and Safran were brought onboard – is still up in the air. This is particularly the case now that actor Ezra Miller (who portrays The Flash) has been charged with felony burglary and Amber Heard (who plays Mera in Aquaman) has been embroiled in the public defamation case against her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Despite all the backlash, in a statement released yesterday Dunn said: “We were well aware that there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, & we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult and not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the factious nature of what came before us.”
Days after the duo took over in November, Gunn Tweeted: “All our initial focus is on the story going forward, hammering out the new DCU”.
