Chekov's Gunn

A couple of months ago, James Gunn, known for directing the Guardians of the Galaxy films, was fired from Marvel Studios after Mike Cernovich brought to Alan Horn’s attention a series of Tweets from Gunn’s past joking about pedophilia. Despite making amends for said Tweets, his sudden dismissal, and indefinite pause of production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III, riled many fans. To-date, Horn has yet to renege this decision, and it’d seem, from the outset, that it’s time to move on. At least, I would say that…but recent news dropped that Gunn was in talks to direct and write Suicide Squad 2 for DC.

Cue the celebration.

For those unaware of my stance on the matter, which you can find here, I think this is great news. I felt Gunn’s firing was completely unwarranted and reflected poorly on Disney as a whole. Additionally, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, while not my personal favourites, are easily the most-personal of The MCU’s filmography, dabbling in themes of death, abuse and forgiveness in ways many of its peers have yet to do. They’re also fun and funny, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments amidst some killer tunes. So to see Disney fall prey to an orchestrated, online attack on one of their best filmmakers is upsetting, which is why I’m pleased that there’s now closure to this story in some fashion.

It’s also another of DC’s smarter moves in recent months. Anyone who’s been following the incredibly-messy trajectory of The DCEU knows how, save Wonder Woman, much of a disaster, both in-front of and behind the camera, it is. It’s been a series of bad decisions in succession, and it’s about time the franchise started over. That WB execs have been attempting course-correction is good, but getting an accomplished director like James Gunn to helm the DC-equivalent of a “Guardians of the Galaxy team” is nothing short of brilliant.

It'll also boost DC’s reputation in the filmic world. Keep in mind that DC’s been struggling with its brand for 6 years now. The company, up until recently, had been trying to merge Christopher Nolan’s dark grit with Zack Snyder’s inept filmmaking, resulting in a mess that seemed almost like DC was intentionally trolling its fans. It’s not like long-standing franchises aren’t bound to eventually have flops, Marvel had two in one year with Season 1 of Iron Fist and their incredibly short-lived Inhumans series, but three in-a-row? And then one more right after its only success-story? And almost all of them from the same director?!

I won’t bag on Snyder too much, especially considering his family tragedy, but this wasn’t a good look for DC. In an attempt to be the “edgier MCU”, The DCEU was slowly digging its own grave. It was as if the project was dead from the start, which is why I’m glad WB are starting to course-correct and differentiate themselves from the competition. Their trailers for Aquaman and Shazam! show promise, but hiring Gunn really drives that home. It’s also a smart business decision, given Gunn’s ability to work well under studio mandates.

Which is why the few people that are angry over this baffles me so much. For one, this is DC making good on their promise of “director-led films” from the beginning of The DCEU’s inception. Though Snyder has a unique voice, he’s not a coherent filmmaker. He might’ve started out promising in his early days, but his biggest successes, Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Watchmen were more the result of the screenwriters: 300 and Watchmen were written by people other than Snyder, while Dawn of the Dead was one of Gunn’s earliest, big-budget writing credits. Even in the case of Watchmen, which I’ve seen, the movie didn’t understand its source material. By having Gunn write and direct Suicide Squad 2, you’re ensuring a greater chance of success.

Two, why does it matter if alt-right trolls are offended? They’re the ones responsible for Gunn’s removal from Marvel, let them be unhappy! The best revenge you can have here is to see your target show you down by remaining successful. And isn’t that what matters, even more than him directing for Marvel’s competition?

And three, it’s good for both DC and Marvel. It’s good for DC because they now have such a talented man working for them, and that’s something they need at the moment. It’s also good for Marvel because it’s a lesson in bad decision-making that they need to learn from. They let their biggest ace in the hole go over something petty, and there are consequences to doing that. That’s not to say they’ll suffer terribly in the long-run, they probably won’t, but considering that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III is now in limbo, well…I think this is coming back to bite them. (Which it should!)

Ultimately, this gives The DCEU the competitive edge they so desperately crave, especially with having to play catch-up. And as much as I love what Marvel’s doing with their brand right now, I like DC’s heroes more. They hit broader themes, hence they appeal to a broader crowd. Besides, I’m desperate to see a Flash movie done right, let-alone a Superman movie done right for the first time in almost 40 years!

It’s possible that this’ll go terribly-wrong, and that Gunn’s efforts will be in-vain. But until WB tries, what’ve they got to lose?