Following SGT. ROCK's Cancelation, Is DCU In Trouble? And Does DC Studios Need New Leadership?

Following SGT. ROCK's Cancelation, Is DCU In Trouble? And Does DC Studios Need New Leadership?

With Sgt. Rock on hold and a slate of movies seemingly in various states of disarray, is the DCU in trouble and should Warner Bros. consider putting a studio executive in charge of, you know, a studio?

Editorial Opinion
By JoshWilding - May 04, 2025 09:05 AM EST
Filed Under: DC Studios

Is DC Studios' DCU already in trouble? It feels like a question we've asked many times before, albeit with good reason. At the start of 2023, James Gunn and Peter Safran announced 10 new movies and TV shows; Creature Commandos has been released, Superman is right around the corner, and both Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Lanterns are in active production. The other six appear to be no closer to happening now than they were then. 

That's not an assumption either. Earlier this year, Gunn and Safran hosted a press event, best described as ill-advised, which boiled down to them admitting that The Authority, The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, Waller, Booster Gold, and Paradise Lost had all hit stumbling blocks. But hey, on the plus side, they were moving forward with low-budget features revolving around Sgt. Rock and, uh, Batman villain, Clayface. 

Having that sort of mix of projects from a studio producing superhero content is far from a bad thing, but those smaller projects need to be mixed with and supported by much bigger ones. They shouldn't be the main offerings from a brand that's been struggling in theaters for years. 

Earlier this week, the news broke that Sgt. Rock has been scrapped. There was some damage control via the trades, claiming concerns about the weather in the UK had resulted in production being halted for a possible 2026 shoot. It's an implausible, almost insulting, excuse that doesn't add up (particularly when they're shooting in a country where it often rains more days than not during the summer). Reliable sources have indicated that there were issues with the budget and concerns about Luca Guadagnino's capabilities, with the plug pulled in the middle of pre-production. As a result, the only DC movie being released in 2027 is The Batman Part II, and no one seems sure whether that will ever see the light of day. 

Now, with chatter about Clayface also potentially being at risk, it's undeniable that all is not well at DC Studios. While we don't expect Warner Bros. to shelve the brand if Superman underperforms this summer—things aren't quite that dire—Gunn and Safran's inexperience has become impossible to ignore. One is an accomplished filmmaker, and the other a veteran producer; neither of them are studio executives. 

The goal is to create a new shared world of successful films and TV shows, but with so much pressure to fix DC, neither has the time to find their footing the way Kevin Feige could with Iron Man and those early Phase 1 movies. Feige has been stretched thin attempting to oversee the Multiverse Saga, so imagine if he were trying to write and direct three or four of those at the same time? Marvel has audience goodwill, DC does not: one flop and it might all come crumbling down.

The pressure is on, and there are indications it's being felt. Gunn has only recently stopped spending a huge amount of his time debunking rumours and sometimes squabbling with fans on social media. Meanwhile, the veteran writer and director wants to keep his friends in work and is eager to reunite with them, leading to a weird mix of new and returning faces in a DCU that's supposed to be a fresh start, yet still somehow just feels like the DCEU with a different coat of paint. And if Gunn is leading the creative while Safran busies himself with everything else, how on Earth do you get that far into a project like Sgt. Rock, only for work to be postponed by a year at the last minute?

There's going to be growing pains, and not everything will be perfect. Even Marvel Studios has discovered in recent years. In the case of DC Studios, though, it's getting increasingly difficult to shrug off these questionable decisions, including the lack of transparency regarding some projects (Gunn has never commented on Gal Gadot's claims she'd been asked to return as Wonder Woman) and the fact they're too transparent about others (the biggest takeaway from Gunn and Safran at the press event mentioned above was arguably, "LOL, we don't know what we're doing"). 

Sgt. Rock being cancelled isn't the end of the world. Hell, it's a movie that not even die-hard DC fans were asking for. Gunn is a great storyteller, and Safran's Hollywood achievements are many, but that doesn't mean they should be running a studio. The Russo Brothers found huge success in the MCU, but as soon as they launched their own label, they delivered disappointment after disappointment. Now, they hoped to rebound with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, two movies that have the potential to save their careers after The Electric State bombed. Gunn and Safran both can do great things for DC, but like the Russos, they need to report to someone other than themselves to be at their best. 

Unfortunately, just like Warner Bros. once announced a slate of DCEU movies that failed to come to fruition, it now feels like the DCU is repeating history all over again...

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IAmAHoot
IAmAHoot - 5/4/2025, 9:16 AM
Oh good lord. Cancel it before it's even properly gotten started?
Scarilian
Scarilian - 5/4/2025, 9:26 AM
@IAmAHoot -
He keeps announcing projects and then not delivering on them.

You shouldn't announce something if you are not going to deliver.

CyberNigerian
CyberNigerian - 5/4/2025, 9:47 AM
@Scarilian - He was forced to propose, present and announce projects.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 5/4/2025, 9:49 AM
@Scarilian - I know this is your fetish but come July I think you just might be awfully quiet on this front
CaptainTriip
CaptainTriip - 5/4/2025, 9:51 AM
@Scarilian - what is it like to be mentally ill? I really want to know. You do realize that he’s just one player in a massive interconnected system and that but it is 100% common to put things into development that don’t come to fruition. I mean, you do realize that that’s how the industry works right?

Honestly, I don’t know why I bother you’re probably like 12.
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/4/2025, 10:07 AM
@Scarilian - He'd make a great politician. 🤣
dracula
dracula - 5/4/2025, 11:10 AM
@Scarilian - supergirl
Clayface
Lanterns
Creature Commandos
Peacemaker season 2

Think thats all so far

For a franchise that hasnt had its first movie yet, seems thwy are making good progress on their projects

Also reports say Sgt rock is only delayed with the possibility of filming next year
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/4/2025, 9:17 AM
No marvel cancelled stuff it was bad idea from start they realized it where was marvel nova that still going on,? Blade , others wonder man still happening ?
HammerLegFoot
HammerLegFoot - 5/4/2025, 9:26 AM
@dragon316 - Wonder Man comes out in december.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 5/4/2025, 9:28 AM
@dragon316 -
Still expecting them to drop Iron Heart all at once to get it out the way. They've been desperately trying to bury that project. It was supposed to have released in late 2023... so they've been sitting on that garbage for two years.
dracula
dracula - 5/4/2025, 11:13 AM
@dragon316 - hell marvel has cancelled a lot of projects people forgot about

Pretty sure originally they announced a completely different batch of movies with included Runaways
Pictilli
Pictilli - 5/4/2025, 9:21 AM
No. Sgt Rock is a terrible idea.

Gunn is making all the right choices.

In Gunn We Trust!
Scarilian
Scarilian - 5/4/2025, 9:30 AM
@Pictilli -
Gunn was the one vocal about wanting a Sgt.Rock movie. He got praised for wanting it, now he gets praised for cancelling it. This cult-like worship of people is disturbing.
epc1122
epc1122 - 5/4/2025, 9:48 AM
@Pictilli - we don’t even know if it was Gunn who decided to scrap the movie. I absolutely don’t mean to offend because I know how this is going to come off, so I’m side in advance, but the saying “in Gunn we trust” sounds like a line from a cult following. I’ve liked most of the choices he’s made so far but to we don’t really know him. No one is perfect and I would prefer him to not announce things before it’s finalized. Not that I was super excited for sgt rock, but i would prefer to have a more definitive slate instead of a bunch of rumors. As of now it’s what, Superman, supergirl, clayface, green lantern, and a couple of cartoons? I think it’s more of a wait and see to see how Superman does, but I’m pretty worried about Superman’s box office. Has a ton of competition and I’m not so confident that Superman is popular with the general audience. I would have preferred Superman coming out this past Christmas time where the only real competition would have been wicked.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 5/4/2025, 9:24 AM
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HammerLegFoot
HammerLegFoot - 5/4/2025, 9:29 AM
When Sgt. Rock was announced the first thing I thought was "That's definitely a Gunn move." When I heard it was cancelled/postponed, I thought "Of course, cause no one asked for this." thats like Kevin Feige announcing and freaking American Eagle movie.
RockBottom
RockBottom - 5/4/2025, 9:31 AM
Dude, lol. Y’all are practically begging on your knees praying to the gods of heaven for failure at this point. It’s actually kinda sick. And sad. Can you just for once [frick]ing chill out and wait and see how it’s gonna play out before you make your final assumptions on this man’s take on this franchise? It doesn’t help your case.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 5/4/2025, 9:38 AM
@RockBottom -
Pattern recognition of problems is something most people have. At the moment the Gunn-verse is just the DCEU + Sony's Villain universe.
RockBottom
RockBottom - 5/4/2025, 9:46 AM
@Scarilian - in what evidence? Enlighten me. I’ll wait.
epc1122
epc1122 - 5/4/2025, 10:57 AM
@RockBottom - absolutely don’t want Gunn to fail and I’m a huge dc/superman fanatic. I guess I just don’t care for blind faith that some people have. When the project was announced, it was great, and now that it may be canceled, “good thing it’s canceled”. Would love to wait and see how it plans out and I’m just glad we’re getting a new Superman movie but i also want a sequel and I’m not sure if that will happen. Fingers crossed this universe flourishes 👍
Scarilian
Scarilian - 5/4/2025, 9:35 AM
It is all reliant on Superman, and Superman at the moment is not generating the level of interest they wanted so they are quietly cancelling or delaying projects.

It's also worth noting that James Gunn has been vocal about all his projects being in varying stages of failure. The Waller live-action series did not happen, The Authority they cannot agree on a script, Sgt.Rock gets announced then cancelled, Clayface they are scrapping the script and starting over.

None of his universe felt consistent, a lot of the projects are just stolen from the Reeves-verse such as Clayface or the idea of doing Batman villain-focused movies because Joker 1 was popular (mirroring the decisions by Sony)
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/4/2025, 10:06 AM
@Scarilian - Superman has great general audience response in social media. The GA will support this movie along with Gunn supoorters like me.
AllsGood
AllsGood - 5/4/2025, 9:39 AM
WARNER BROS. and DCU been in trouble for a LONGTIME. Never got out of trouble. Still in Trouble Today.

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TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 5/4/2025, 9:43 AM
Whether or not things work out for Gunn and the DCU will all depend on whether or not Superman lives up to expectations at the box office this summer.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/4/2025, 10:31 AM
@TheJok3r - general audience response has been really great. The GA will show up for this.
JobinJ
JobinJ - 5/4/2025, 9:53 AM
What a Stupid article.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/4/2025, 10:08 AM
@JobinJ - i agree.

Marvel has box office flops (might be 2 in a row now and i loved thunderbolts) and you wont see the question "are they in trouble?" being asked by the author here
JobinJ
JobinJ - 5/4/2025, 10:15 AM
@vectorsigma - I don’t think thunderbolt is a flop. It didn’t make $1 billion and it’s not going to but it was successful and it’s opening weekend. I wouldn’t call it a flop. We tend to think everything that doesn’t make $10 billion is now a flop.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/4/2025, 10:19 AM
@JobinJ - tracking is lower than BNW which was a flop. I guess it all depends on the true budgets of these movies. The studios arent that honest about those.

U think For Marvel, everything below between 600-800M is bad
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/4/2025, 10:19 AM
*I
thedrudo
thedrudo - 5/4/2025, 9:55 AM
If this universe is going to succeed, they need the DC heavy hitters.

I’m sorry, Sgt Rock and Clayface aren’t getting me excited.
AllsGood
AllsGood - 5/4/2025, 9:56 AM
The Day WB/DC Died. AT&T Inc. has closed the deal to combine its content unit WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc., creating a global media and entertainment giant called Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

I Celebrated when I heard Disney the Family Studios bought Marvel Comics rights and gave us Marvel Studios.

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DarkOak
DarkOak - 5/4/2025, 9:57 AM
Ya we'll let Superman come out first amd then bitch and moan
Mulanzo
Mulanzo - 5/4/2025, 9:59 AM
Who is this Josh Wilding guy?
THEKENDOMAN
THEKENDOMAN - 5/4/2025, 10:01 AM
For [frick]s Sake

@JoshWilding WTF mate.

For [frick]s Sakes
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 5/4/2025, 10:06 AM
Josh, IIRC, you hail from across the pond. It would seem that you appear ‘unenthused’ by the weather remark almost at ‘national slight’ level. Not doubting the veracity of your article, because that has been apparent for a long time that everything hinges on Superman. If Gunn cannot or does not deliver, then every one of his decisions going forward will be micromanaged, questioned, second-guessed, and subject to executive level intervention and right now, the buzz has been tepid
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/4/2025, 10:11 AM
Tbf, Josh gas tagged this as an opinion piece and not news which he usually does
MaxPaint
MaxPaint - 5/4/2025, 10:13 AM
Douche Wilding being who he is, should not surprise anyone in this site.
BillyBatson1000
BillyBatson1000 - 5/4/2025, 10:15 AM
The Wilding strategy:

In the absence of FACT/Real News, I'll generate ad revenue by chipping away daily at DC with rumours and poorly reasoned opinion posts.

"We can see you!"
Vigor
Vigor - 5/4/2025, 10:25 AM
@BillyBatson1000 - hey. Content comes in all shapes and sizes
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