James Gunn recently admitted that the early stages of building the DCU stretched him too thin, leading to the head of DC Studios vowing never to do one thing again. The DCU is already underway since Creature Commandos premiered in late 2024. The franchise will continue with the release of Superman, and will then release its first live-action TV series when Peacemaker Season 2 drops on HBO Max later in the year.
According to Gunn, juggling so many projects at once in such a short amount of time is something that he will "never do again" when it comes to the DCU. Being the co-CEO of DC Studios and the head creative mind behind Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Season 2 proved to be "way too much" for Gunn.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn discussed how Peacemaker Season 2 came about, specifically revealing why it has taken longer than expected to be released, and how taking on the role of leading DC Studios caused him to become rather stressed out.
While speaking solely about Peacemaker Season 2's long wait, Gunn admitted that it was "simply because of [him]." The DC Studios co-CEO explained that, even before he took to job at DC Studios, he "had to do Guardians 3" before going back to Peacemaker.
However, the gap between Peacemaker seasons became even longer after Gunn became the co-CEO of DC Studios because he "had to get Superman working first:"
"Once I was done with 'Peacemaker,' I had to do 'Guardians 3,' and then when I was about ready to jump [back] into 'Peacemaker,' I got hired to be the head of DC. As soon as I got that job, I made a couple of calls, and the first one was to [Marvel's] Kevin Feige telling him that I'm taking the [job as] head of DC. The second one was to John Cena, and I said, 'I'm getting this gig, and I still want to do 'Peacemaker,' but it's going to have to wait. We're going to have to get 'Superman' working first."
Gunn was able to write the script for Peacemaker Season 2 "as soon as [he] was done writing Superman." While he admitted that it probably felt like a long time for fans, Gunn admitted that "there was so many things [he] did in between," so it was rather short for him:
"As soon as I was done writing 'Superman,' I was able to write season 2 of 'Peacemaker.' I know it seems like a long time for other people, but for me it all seems awful short because there was so many things I did in between."
One of the projects Gunn was referencing was Creature Commandos (which recently got an exciting update regarding Season 2). Even though he wanted to get back to Peacemaker, he still had to write that animated series since it needed to be released before Superman.
Gunn also had to plan out the entire first chapter of the DCU in that time period, meaning he was stretched even thinner than people know.
"I will never do it again," stated Gunn when referencing how much he worked on at the same time:
"I will never do it again. I will tell you that much. It was way too much."
It is worth noting that, while Gunn was writing, creating, directing projects, and planning for the future, he also had to ensure that the development of other DCU projects was on track.
However, Gunn's process seemingly worked out better for Peacemaker since he was able to "develop it along the way." Since he was able to do that, Peacemaker Season 2 is "very much connected to Superman" and the rest of the DCU:
"I developed it along the way, in conjunction with the other DC projects that we're doing, so it's very much connected to 'Superman' and it's very much connected to what comes after. I had a rough idea of what I was going to do, but it was actually quite different than what the show ended up being."
Peacemaker Season 2 will be released on HBO Max on August 21, 2025. The show will feature John Cena returning as the titular character. Superman will fly into theaters on July 11, 2025, starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel.
James Gunn's Promise Ensures Success for the DCU
James Gunn understandably needs to make sure that he isn't driving himself crazy with the DCU. With so much on his plate, it is not surprising that things became overwhelming.
So, it is important that Gunn vowed to never put himself in that position again. It will be beneficial for his mental and physical health in the future, but it will also help the DCU to succeed for years to come.
"Superhero fatigue" is a phrase that has commonly been thrown around over the past few years, specifically in terms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some fans have stated that the MCU simply began releasing too many projects, which led to those projects being lower in quality and fans not being as willing to keep up with the franchise.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige even admitted that the MCU became inaccessible, getting to a place where it felt like watching movies or TV shows felt more like doing homework than consuming something entertaining.
If Gunn makes sure he is not juggling too many projects at once with the DCU, not only will he be able to put more focus on the projects he is working on, but fans won't feel like too much is being released within short time frames.
There has been no clear-cut plan for a specific number of movies or shows to be released each year in the DCU like there has been for the MCU moving forward. However, it seems as though fans may be able to expect one or two films each year and the same number of TV shows.
If that ends up being the case, fans will not get "superhero fatigue" from the DCU, but they also won't be begging for something to be released since they will know that something will be coming relatively soon at all times.
Ultimately, James Gunn promising that he won't have too much on his plate will only help the DCU moving forward.
