James Gunn Hits Back At SnyderVerse Trolls; Addresses Rumor That DCU's Future Hinges On SUPERMAN's Success

James Gunn Hits Back At SnyderVerse Trolls; Addresses Rumor That DCU's Future Hinges On SUPERMAN's Success

DC Studios co-CEO and Superman director James Gunn has shared his take on the continued negativity from SnyderVerse loyalists and breaks his silence on claims the DCU's future hinges on Superman's success.

By JoshWilding - Jun 16, 2025 12:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Superman
Source: Rolling Stone

Over the weekend, we told you about one SnyderVerse loyalist's dastardly plan to ruin Superman's opening weekend. However, that level of negativity is nothing new for those unhappy they're getting the DCU rather than Zack Snyder's Justice League sequels.

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has no intention of giving the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse movement what it wants, and addressed the continued backlash from that sect of fans in an interview with Rolling Stone

"I’m trying to think of how to say this best. I don’t mind it. I think it’s good," he revealed. "I think you don’t wanna have everybody root for you. And I have an actor who reads everything online."

"I won’t say who it is, but he’ll read this article, and he’ll know who it is. It’s one of the top five in Superman. And this actor gets so upset over things that people say," Gunn continued. "I said, 'First of all, you realize that the trailer came out and [reaction] was 97, 98 percent positive. These people help us, because you don’t want everything to seem 100 percent positive.'"

"It’s all right to have an opposing force every once in a while. Some of the things get ridiculous — I just know that every time something comes out, it doesn’t matter how positively received, there’s gonna be something that is of great controversy," he said, addressing complaints from the wider fanbase as well as those from Snyder's supporters. "It was great controversy that the sun caused Superman pain."

The site wondered if Superman was screaming in that scene, simply because his bones are snapping back together after a brutal fight. "It’s like when a doctor resets your bone, you scream, but it doesn’t f***ing matter," Gunn argued. "Because is that really a controversy? Is that really something that you’re upset about? Or did you have a hard time finding something to be upset about?"

"There’s always going to be that. There’s going to be something that people are upset about, and it’s OK ... [There are people] who make their livings by hating us. That’s how they make all their money. But you don’t have to watch their videos where they’re talking about how you’re awful. You can’t be reading it all the time. It’ll f***ing murder you. It’s a terrible thing to do to your soul."

While Warner Bros. eventually gave in to the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement with the 2021 release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, the intention was to end things there so the focus could shift to future DC releases. However, Snyder included several sequel teases with reshoots that ultimately added further fuel to the fire. 

Moving away from the SnyderVerse for a moment, much has been said that the DCU's future hinges on Superman's success. While projects already in development like Supergirl and Lanterns will come to fruition no matter what happens, we've repeatedly heard that the wider franchise rests on Clark Kent's shoulders. 

No so, according to the man calling the shots with Peter Safran at DC Studios. 

"That’s not the truth for me. My truth is this is the first movie out of DC Studios. Other people may say, 'It’s gotta be a home run, nothing else.' I’m like, 'No, I’d be very happy with a double,'" Gunn admitted. "F***ing Iron Man wasn’t the be-all and end-all. It wasn’t Avatar. We are doing something that’s a piece of the puzzle. It’s not the puzzle itself. It’s just this one movie. It’s not everything."

"I hate it when there’s a f***ing article and it’s going on about all the problems and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and 'that means even more pressure on James Gunn and Superman.' I’m like, 'Guys, I’m not responsible for all that. I’m responsible for my piece of the pie. I’ve gotta make my budget back. I’ll be very happy with that.'"

Elaborating on how DC Studios' approach to filmmaking differs from other studios, Gunn pointed to Sgt. Rock (without ever naming the movie) as a project he pulled the plug on when it became clear it wouldn't live up to the high standards he's setting for the DCU. 

"We just killed a project. Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go. The screenplay wasn’t ready. And I couldn’t do a movie where the screenplay’s not good," Gunn reaffirmed. "And we’ve been really lucky so far, because Supergirl’s script was so f***ing good off the bat. And then Lanterns came in, and the script was so f***ing good. Clayface, same thing. So f***ing good."

Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.

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Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 12:10 PM
@NateBest - This intentionally inflammatory "article" should embarrass everyone associated with this website.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 12:15 PM
Gunn certainly didn't call them "SnyderVerse Trolls". @JoshWilding is (poorly) editorializing in his thirst for clicks. This site deserves better.
OptimusInTime
OptimusInTime - 6/16/2025, 12:16 PM
@Lisa89 - a lot of this type thing nowadays isn't it
JFerguson
JFerguson - 6/16/2025, 12:22 PM
@Lisa89 - journalism is dead

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McMurdo
McMurdo - 6/16/2025, 12:26 PM
@Lisa89 - LOL outted yourself on this one.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 12:29 PM
@McMurdo - As a fan of respectful journalism, ma'am?
Rpendo
Rpendo - 6/16/2025, 12:54 PM
@Lisa89 - It’s a blog site about comic book movies, not the New York Times.

Get a grip.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 6/16/2025, 1:01 PM
Must have struck a nerve lmao.
"Because is that really a controversy? Is that really something that you’re upset about? Or did you have a hard time finding something to be upset about?"
And this is the majority of this site, and most internet holes. Some people are so miserable they need to make others feel bad about themselves. [frick] em
mountainman
mountainman - 6/16/2025, 1:08 PM
@Rpendo - Yes the New York Times is far less respectable.
foreverintheway
foreverintheway - 6/16/2025, 1:10 PM
@Lisa89 - Headlines aren't always a direct quote. Last week there was a SnyderBro claiming that Gunn SA'd Snyders daughter on the set of Dawn of the Dead, contributing to her suicide - would you call that inflammatory or trolling? What level of respect does someone who makes something like that up?
AllsGood
AllsGood - 6/16/2025, 1:11 PM
@Lisa89 - No Big Movie Studio will even hirer Zack Snyder. Now Netflix has fired Snyder.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 1:15 PM
@foreverintheway - That was reported here?? Link please.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 6/16/2025, 1:22 PM
@Lisa89 - Damn, you really never have a good take on anything do you?
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 1:23 PM
@Rpendo - You're right. Everything should just be garbage. Cool.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 1:25 PM
@Urubrodi - I'm glad you enjoy all of Josh's "work" here.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 6/16/2025, 1:28 PM
@Lisa89 - As someone already pointed out to you I don't pretend CBM.com is a place for professional journalism. This is no "Hollywood Reporter" and out of all of Josh's clickbait articles this one was really not that forced. Like you and everyone else here knows that this site is not gonna change, so to keep crying in every article while still giving it audience is quite futile and ironic.
Rpendo
Rpendo - 6/16/2025, 1:30 PM
@bobevanz - yeah, he kind of hit the nail on the head, there.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 1:31 PM
@Urubrodi - It changed before, ipso facto, it could change again.
Rpendo
Rpendo - 6/16/2025, 1:36 PM
@Lisa89 - once again, it’s a blog site. My standards for what I read on here are exactly where they should be.

You, on the other hand, make a big show of repeatedly clicking on the posts of a writer you do not like and then whining about how much you don’t like him. Cool.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 1:44 PM
@Rpendo - Yeah. Shame on me for wanting to nudge this site in the direction of the respectable site it once was. Cool.
foreverintheway
foreverintheway - 6/16/2025, 1:50 PM
@Lisa89 - Yeah things happen on the internet OUTSIDE of the website. This site isn't going to tell you ALL of the deranged shit the extremist snyderbros get up to, nor should they. One of them was reported to the FBI for making terrorist threats - they don't need any more attention. They should be shamed and shunned.
SATW42
SATW42 - 6/16/2025, 2:06 PM
@Lisa89 - No but, what do you call a group of people purposefully trying to sink a project? Rational normal people they are not
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 2:16 PM
@foreverintheway - I hear you, but how is that an example of THIS site lowering its standards?
Rpendo
Rpendo - 6/16/2025, 2:28 PM
@Lisa89 - yeah. You whining in a comments section is going to “nudge this site in the direction of respectable” blah blah.

Get a life, dude.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 2:45 PM
@Rpendo - I’ll get right on that, lady.
foreverintheway
foreverintheway - 6/16/2025, 3:18 PM
@Lisa89 - that isn't really the argument I was making. I don't know this site can lower it's standards much further 😅
BigPhilbowski
BigPhilbowski - 6/16/2025, 3:42 PM
@Lisa89 - it's intentionally inflammatory to call people trolling the movie trolls?
bcom
bcom - 6/16/2025, 5:02 PM
@Lisa89 - If you haven't noticed already, a good chunk of the articles on this site are given headlines and sometimes skewed in a way purely to entice a flame war in the comments section.
Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/16/2025, 5:11 PM
@bcom - That wasn’t always the case. This site used to be a lot more professional and even keeled. I guess I’m wrong for having the gall to occasionally point this fact out. 🤷🏻‍♀️
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 6/16/2025, 12:23 PM
To the actor that reads this, i just want you to know that the suit is trash and film looks cheap 😌🤣
bobevanz
bobevanz - 6/16/2025, 1:02 PM
@JurassicClunge - bad Porg
JurassicClunge
JurassicClunge - 6/16/2025, 1:32 PM
@bobevanz - only if this site wasn't so basic I could prove I'm not the porg 🤣 i went to war with him!

McMurdo
McMurdo - 6/16/2025, 12:27 PM
It's 1000 percent Corenswet who reads everything. He cares a lot. Based on a couple of his interviews, I'm just positive he's the one reading EVERYTHING.
abd00bie
abd00bie - 6/16/2025, 1:12 PM
@McMurdo - Nathan Fillion, he's super narcissistic lmao
spr0cks
spr0cks - 6/16/2025, 4:05 PM
@McMurdo -
LOL!!!
It's James Gunn.
Everyone knows that that guy can't keep off social media or resist from commenting on everything everyone says about his movie online.

This is like the time Trump claimed he was looking at lowering prices for fat-treatment pills because,..."(he) had this rich New Yorker Real estate businessman friend who was on the pill and was telling (him...Trump) that the pills were too expensive"

Yeah.
Right.
Like we all don't know that that was Trump himself.
Or should I say...."John Barron".
jst5
jst5 - 6/16/2025, 5:26 PM
@McMurdo - I bet it's Fillion.....I don't think folks understand just how huge of a DC fan he is.The movie being good matters to him.
Bond
Bond - 6/16/2025, 12:28 PM
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Haha. I'm so excited to see this movie even more now. So many have booked my 1st day screening.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 6/16/2025, 12:29 PM
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He’s right…

There’s always going to be some degree of controversy nowadays because outrage sells today and there are people out there who make money off of that unfortunately.

I get if these are genuine criticisms or if people just aren’t feeling this take on Superman for example but there are those that have their idiotic agenda that we need to keep an an eye on.

Also negativity can be draining so I’m glad he’s ignoring it as much as he can and just moving forward with the work because that’s what he needs to do.
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 6/16/2025, 12:32 PM
I'm 100 percent certain Snyder made an anon reddit account to talk some sense into r/Snydercut and was mod banned in less than five minutes.

They're not interested in listening.
Arthorious
Arthorious - 6/16/2025, 3:27 PM
@UltimaRex - they just wanna watch the world burn
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