When it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be taking over as co-CEOs of the recently implemented DC Studios, the reaction was about as mixed as you might expect.
While some fans felt that a major shake-up of Warner Bros.' shared DC universe was exactly what was needed to get the franchise back on track, others were disappointed that the previous DCEU era (or, the "SnyderVerse") was going to be rebooted, and were sceptical about the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker coming on board to steer the ship.
During a recent interview on the Inside of You podcast, Gunn says he was fully prepared for a certain amount of backlash, because he understands how passionate people are about these characters/properties and how they feel they should be presented.
"I knew that there was going to be many challenges as we embarked on that journey, because people have different ideas about how things are supposed to be. People have all sorts of things that they love whether they love things from the DCEU, or they love things from the Arrowverse, they love things from the animated worlds, or whatever, that is something that we knew was going to be a ring of fire we were gonna have to walk through.”
Gunn went on to reveal that what finally sold him on the job was the news that his long-time friend and collaborator would be joining him.
"What made it [DC Studio's role] appealing to me eventually was because they also went to Peter early on. And he was like the same way. But what eventually became appealing to me was doing it with Peter [Safran]," he added.
The first chapter of the new DCU slate, "Gods and Monsters," was announced earlier this year. Gunn will helm Superman: Legacy, while The Flash director Andy Muschietti will handle Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and James Mangold will direct a Swamp Thing movie.