The Suicide Squad Director Is Now in Charge of DC Movies

(SPOT.ph) The supposed war between fandoms of industry titans Marvel Comics and DC Comics is a tale as old as time, but does it even factor into the creative mindset found behind the publishing titles themselves? From the comic book one-upmanship of the 20th century to the cinematic universe rivalry of the 2010's, the only point made clear beyond a shadow of a doubt is that we have some healthy competition on our hands. When one side does well, the other increases efforts to make even better content or changes the game up entirely to provide fans with something new. 

This brings us to the present day, where Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad writer and director James Gunn, the best example of camaraderie between supposed rivals, has just been announced as the new creative head of DC Studios moving forward. Will we see the DC Extended Universe finally meet its full potential on the big screen?

Also read: Comics 101: Who the Hell Even Is Black Adam?

Here's what we know about James Gunn heading DC Studios:

Gunn has confirmed The Hollywood Reporter's story that he has been brought on by Warner Bros. Discovery to be the creative head of DC Studios, which will replace the previously named "DC Films." Gunn will be co-CEO with The Conjuring universe and previous DC Films producer Peter Safran, who will manage the business side of the new studio.

Gunn and Safran take over heading the productions of DC movies from Walter Hamada, who ran DC Films from after the release of 2017's Justice League up until a couple days before the release of Black Adam. The news of new bosses comes after Black Adam's successful opening weekend and Henry Cavill's announcement that he'll be returning as Superman in future DC projects.

The deal for the pair is expected to last four years and also prevents them from taking on other work outside of DC Studios. It's worth noting that the pair won't be directly overseeing all DC movies, as other DC movies exist outside the scope and continuity of the DC Extended Universe. The Joker sequel fall under producers Michael De Luca & Pam Abdy, while it's still unclear who will oversee The Batman sequel and its numerous spin-offs.

Gunn has had a long history with comic book films, with quite a number of ups and downs. As writer and director, Gunn kicked off the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and made them main players within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2018, Disney fired Gunn off the production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after decades-old tweets containing offensive humor resurfaced. This led to Warner Bros. courting Gunn to write and direct their sequel/reboot The Suicide Squad, which even landed a spin-off streaming series created by Gunn, Peacemaker.

Disney and Marvel Studios eventually reinstated Gunn as director of Vol. 3 and even got him to write and direct The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which coincidentally, dropped its first trailer on the same day he announced his new position as DC Studios' co-CEO.

It's safe to assume we'll see a slate of DC movies announced within the next few months, as the executives would like to strengthen confidence in their line-up.

Also read: DC Is Taking the Fantastical Route With Epics Black Adam and Shazam!

Black Adam is currently showing in cinemas. The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker are streaming on HBO Go.

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