James Gunn is one of the only filmmakers to have dipped a toe into the Marvel and DC Universes. After completing his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy with the recently released Vol. 3, he'll now shift focus to running DC Studios and helming Superman: Legacy.
That's going to keep Gunn busy for the next decade or more, and while DC Studios may well eventually be competition for Marvel Studios, the writer, director, and studio executive doesn't look at it in those terms.
"People have this weird belief that Marvel and DC hate each other or somehow are polar opposites," Gunn tells Yahoo Entertainment. "But it’s just not the truth. I mean, listen, man, our job is the same. We want to get people into the theaters to see movies. That’s what matters."
"And I think that we work together to do that. And the more good Marvel movies are, the better it is for DC movies. The more good DC movies, the better it is for Marvel movies."
This echoes recent comments from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and it's clear neither company is looking to put the other out of business. "There’s not only one winner," Gunn added on that note. "There can be two winners because it matters who goes to see your movies and who enjoys 'em."
Flops like Morbius and Shazam! Fury of the Gods only hurt the genre as a whole more than they harm specific studios and regimes fans may or may not like. After all, if regular moviegoers see enough bad superhero movies, then they won't watch to watch any at all.
The Marvel vs. DC rivalry has died down in recent years, though mostly because the fandoms themselves have been split, with the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse movement an example of that.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters.