James Gunn’s Plan Spells Doom For Marvel

Written by Chris Snellgrove | Published 1 hour ago

Since becoming co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn has been taking a very hands-on approach to the DCU. He often discusses his process on Threads (his favorite social media platform), and he recently posted about five different DC projects he’s currently working on, only one of which (a Superman sequel Man of tomorrow) which he directs personally.

Despite the possibility of sounding like a fanboy, Gunn’s cheerful posts led me to a simple conclusion: that his style of writing will ultimately lead to the doom of the MCU, its biggest competitor.

There is no average day

It all started when a fan took to Threads to ask a direct question: What does a typical day look like for the co-CEO of DC Studios? An excited Gunn responded that “there is no typical day” (which he considers “the joy of the job”), but went on to describe what his days currently look like. He said he spends most of his time “getting ready.” Man of tomorrowbypass cuts Supergirl and Lanternssupportive Batman 2 crew to make sure it goes smoothly,” and “waiting for the first cut.” Clayface“.

In addition, his responsibilities include selecting actors, conducting meetings, marketing, and approving designs. However, like many fans, I was mostly impressed by the fact that James Gunn was taking such a hands-on approach to digital console development. If these future projects end up being as impressive as… Superman and Peacemaker (Both were passion projects for Gunn), the DCU may be able to once and for all push the MCU to Earth.

Kevin Feige failed

This is partly due to Gunn’s successes, of course, but also partly due to Kevin Feige’s failures. On paper, Feige is Gunn’s counterpart, and is widely credited with turning the MCU into one of the most successful franchises in the entire world. However, Marvel has missed a few steps in recent years, and the plain fact is that Feige also deserves “praise” for the brand’s string of high-profile failures.

WondersFor example, it was the MCU’s biggest financial failure. And lately, both Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four: The First Steps It was a box office disappointment that was heavily influenced by the financial success of James Gunn Superman. There are many possible reasons for this (including growing superhero fatigue among moviegoers), but all of Marvel’s major flops have one thing in common: Kevin Feige fell for them.

Something new, something old

Despite this, Feige seems very reluctant to acknowledge why this juggernaut franchise is currently faltering. He came the closest This was acknowledged to the press earlier this year, when it was reported that Marvel used the following period End game “to experiment” and “to develop” And that “we used it to expand, too much.” The implication here is that the MCU tried to do too many new things and it was probably best to stick with what worked.

This is a Wild A claim because modern Marvel’s biggest problem is its failure to do anything truly new. Thunderbolts It felt like a low budget version of Avengers, Captain America: Brave New World I felt Fan fiction for The Falcon and the Winter Soldierand The Fantastic Four: The First Steps It felt like Guardians of the Galaxy was stripped down Of characterization and humour. Relatively speaking, the slate of upcoming DCU films (which includes a very solid film, a police procedural, a horror-themed character study, and an alternate universe detective story) seems to be swinging for the creative fences, and the fanbase couldn’t be more excited.

Kevin Feige’s Marvel contract expired sometime after that Avengers: Secret Wars releases, and James Gunn is proof that Disney should let Feige go. Gunn provides the kinds of hands-on, auteur-like attention that a superhero cinematic universe deserves, and Feige, well… he’s been leaving things on autopilot while his franchise veers significantly off the rails. Hopefully the competition’s success will convince him to withdraw before everything Marvel has been building since 2008 crashes and burns.