James Gunn addressed the challenge his new vision for DC Studios faces as the franchise moves forward in a rebooted universe. After being briefly fired and later re-hired by Marvel Studios, Gunn was brought in during late 2022 to oversee DC's creative direction, a role that required him to promote projects from the fading DCEU in 2023. That awkward overlap made the handoff more complicated, and the studio couldn't properly reset its continuity until 2025, with Superman as the mainline starting point of the DCU.
Gunn openly acknowledged the biggest structural challenge facing the DCU: the sheer difficulty of balancing his dual roles as both a studio executive and an active filmmaker. While speaking on Variety's Awards Circuit podcast, Gunn admitted that his position as DC Studios co-CEO is an "experiment."
He explained that, unlike figures such as "Walt [Disney]," he is still involved in the creative process as a writer and director, now taking on 2027's Man of Tomorrow. The director also called it "madness" because he doesn't always create "the most conventional mainstream films:"
"It's never happened before. I mean, 'cause even Walt was... he was more a producer. He's a producer. He wasn't really a director, you know?
This is a unique position and truly an experiment. It is something that hasn't been done, and to do it with me sometimes might seem like madness...
It's not like I'm creating the most conventional mainstream films. But I do love making big mainstream spectacle films. That's my jam. But yeah, so I think that it was something that when I was approached about taking on this role."
This experimental structure, however, is the biggest factor in Warner Bros.' long-term growth of the DCU. Supergirl will be a major test for the DCU, as the first new project not written or directed by Gunn since he took over.
Gunn noted that he initially declined the job altogether, "No way," because he did not want to replicate Feige's model. But once producer Peter Safran was part of the deal, "[he] couldn't say no:"
"When I was first approached, I was like, 'No way.' Straight up no, because I didn't want to do what Kevin Feige did. But then when it was me and Peter together, and they came to Peter, and I think Peter was like, 'No way...'
As soon as Peter did it, I was [feeling], this is exciting, and fun, and I couldn't say no, because in a way because no one had ever done it before."
Despite early financial success, Gunn seems unsure whether leading DC Studios will be sustainable, "I still don't know if it's a successful experiment:"
"So, I wanted to see what it was like and I thought it was worth with trying out. And I still don't know if it's a successful experiment. I know that, in terms of money, it's been successful so far, but it is a lot to do, and how much of it I'm actually capa[ble]."
He admitted that the workload has become overwhelming, "It's a lot, a lot of work," especially when trying to juggle writing, directing, and overseeing an entire cinematic universe. He said, "I don't have enough hours in the day to do all this stuff:"
"It's a lot, a lot of work. And so, that part's been stressful in a different way. Not stressful in terms of like... just stressful in terms of, I don't have enough hours in the day to do all this stuff... If I could sleep two hours a night, that would be great, because I often sleep five hours a night and that's not... still more to do."
Of course, Gunn would have never gotten the chance to eventually run DC without being the beloved Guardians of the Galaxy director over at Marvel Studios.
However, in 2018, Disney fired him ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after old offensive tweets resurfaced, prompting widespread support from the film's cast and fans, which led Disney and Marvel to rehire him in 2019 so he could complete the trilogy.
In the period between his firing and rehiring, Gunn worked with Warner Bros. to write and direct The Suicide Squad. This left the door open for a bigger reunion, which eventually happened when he was appointed the head of DC Studios.
Can James Gunn Continue Running DC?
A key pillar of Gunn's approach since taking over DC Studios is his insistence on approving scripts before greenlighting any project. That’s why Supergirl, written by Ana Nogueira, and Clayface, penned by Mike Flanagan, are the only two DC films scheduled for 2026; Gunn loved both scripts.
This careful oversight has left some previously announced projects, such asThe Authority, the Wonder Woman spin-off series Paradise Lost, or The Brave and The Bold, in limbo, waiting for a strong script or quietly canceled behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, Gunn-written projects dominate the current DCU canon. From the animated series Creature Commandos to the theatrical Superman and Season 2 of Peacemaker, Gunn directly shaped the stories that define this universe. By writing and directing these projects himself, he effectively greenlights his own vision, with Man of Tomorrow now being fast-tracked for a 2027 release.
Interestingly, 2026 marks the first year Gunn won’t have any DC projects he wrote or directed, meaning he will be focused solely on his executive role. As Gunn said, time will tell whether the experiment is truly working.
