Batman comics writer Chuck Dixon recently commented on James Gunn‘s DC Universe during his interview with Fandom Pulse. The writer worked on DC characters like Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the ’90s and early 2000s. The author shared that Gunn would be fired from his leadership role at the DCU after failing to make Superman a huge success.
He shared that Gunn would’ve escaped the fate if his movie had been about some other lesser-known superheroes in the franchise. He also claimed that the film failed to make a profit despite having the world’s most famous superhero. He shared:
I think it’s over for him. Superman failed no matter how you look at it. If it was a Hawkman or a Martian Manhunter movie he might have escaped the hammer that’s about to drop on him. But he failed to even break even on a Superman movie. When you have all the good wishes that come with the world’s most famous superhero on your side and fail to make a profit it’s bad. Real bad.
He further claimed that the lack of renewal of Peacemaker was a tell-tale sign that Gunn’s time with the DC universe was up. He also shared the possibility of the cancellation of the entire DCU after the potential sale of WB. He shared:
The lack of renewal for Peacemaker is a sign. He will not be a part of the DCU (if there even is a DCU) after the upcoming sale of Warners.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the company was up for sale earlier this month. According to The New York Times, Paramount, Comcast Corp, Netflix, Amazon, and Apple have expressed interest in buying WB’s assets.
Should Chuck Dixon’s Prediction About James Gunn Be Taken Seriously?
Chuck Dixon’s comments on James Gunn and the DCU may not carry much weight, even if some of them are partly true. While Gunn did not manage to make a major hit out of Superman, fans still believe that he can take the franchise to the next level.
Interestingly, Dixon never liked Gunn or his slate for the DCU to begin with. He shared that Gunn’s slate seemed “extremely underwhelming,” adding that he didn’t have much of a track record outside of Guardians of the Galaxy (via Bounding into Comics).
He further shared about the DC co-CEO, “For some reason, I don’t think James Gunn is a Louis B. Mayer. I don’t think he knows what the audience wants.” He also criticized that Gunn was too dependent on the new comics rather than the core DC stories. He shared:
The other thing I find perplexing is that so much of this new material is going to be based on relatively new comics. Comics that appeared within the last decade or so. These are not core, basic DC properties or DC stories. These are like recent reboots, reiterations, or reimaginings. And that’s fine except they’re not comics that sold particularly well. They’re not record breakers.
He concluded, “So for me it’s both concerning and I don’t care. I really don’t care.” From his latest comments, it appears that he did care about Gunn’s films after all. Dixon is also a controversial figure whose actions have polarized the comic book fandom.
More recently, he responded to Daniel Warren Johnson’s Absolute Batman sketch, which portrayed Batman as a blue-collar hero and seemingly taking on an ICE agent (via Bleeding Cool). In his own sketch, Dixon drew Batman with an ICE sign on his chest, taking on enemies who had Antifa written on them. Both sketches ignited major political controversy.
Superman Box Office: Was It Enough to Secure Faith in James Gunn’s DCU?
The David Corenswet starrer did not live up to the box office predictions, but it managed to cross the $600 million mark in collection. The film opened at $125 million at the domestic box office. According to Variety’s estimates, the film has generated $125 million in profits for WB. Superman saw a 54% drop in the second week, which was not bad compared to its Marvel counterparts this year (via Forbes).
James Gunn put a unique spin on DC’s Man of Steel and brought optimism and hope back to the character while fleshing out interesting characters based on the comics and the original Superman movie of 1978. Rachel Brosnahan plays Lois Lane while Nicholas Hoult appears as the classic Superman villain Lex Luthor.
More importantly, the film came at a time when WB films outperformed other studios like Disney and Universal at the box office. Analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research told Variety, “Warner Bros. is having a fantastic run. The studio made outstanding choices and took some big creative risks, and they’re paying off.”
Currently, there appears to be no reason to fire Gunn, especially after his hit TV show, Peacemaker. However, the uncertainty surrounding the sale is making some fans nervous.
What do you think of Chuck Dixon’s latest comment on James Gunn? Let us know in the comments below!
