DC Studios’ James Gunn knows what went wrong with the MCU.
Gunn directed the Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel Studios before he then went over to Warner Bros. Pictures to helm the DCU alongside Peter Safran. Following the December 2024 release of Creature Commandos, Gunn’s Superman movie now arrives in theaters next month.
What did James Gunn say about the MCU?
Speaking with Rolling Stone, James Gunn touched on why he thinks the output that Marvel Studios demanded from filmmakers over the past couple of years really hurt the MCU’s reputation.
“[Longtime Marvel executive producer] Louis [D’Esposito] said that privately to me,” Gunn said. “I don’t even know if it’s really their fault…That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. And it killed them.”
Reflecting on the lessons he learned from seeing how the MCU has changed in the recent past, Gunn said, “We have to treat every project as if we’re lucky. We don’t have the mandate to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year. So we’re going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality. We’re obviously going to do some good things and some not-so-good things, but hopefully on average everything will be as high-quality as possible. Nothing goes before there’s a screenplay that I personally am happy with.”
Following Superman, the DCU continues in August with Peacemaker Season 2, before Supergirl will then be released next June. The Lanterns television show, meanwhile, is also expected to arrive in 2026.
Marvel, meanwhile, has said they plan to release fewer projects annually than they have been. So far, Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* have both come out in 2025, while The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives next month. In 2026, the studios’ film slate includes Spider-Man: Brand New Day in July and Avengers: Doomsday in December.
That said, there are also a number of television shows that have been released so far in 2025 and many more that are in development. Up next is Ironheart, which arrives later this month.
