Could we be heading towards another DC reboot? It's looking more and more likely.
As we're sure you're all aware by now, James Gunn and Peter Safran have been removed from their positions as DC Studios co-CEOs, with former Marvel Studios executive producer Jeremy Latcham enlisted to take over.
Despite Gunn indicating that he voluntarily stepped away in his statement, it seems pretty clear that Skydance's David Ellison was the one who made the call - although a report from The Wall Street Journal claimed that the Superman director may have had one foot out the door, anyway.
"What only the closest people to me have known over the past four years is my time at DC Studios has been trying, to say the least," wrote Gunn. "I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job (thanks to Peter for taking the brunt of that)."
"I’m always a very hard worker, but as a filmmaker I would at least get to take short breaks to unwind, and I’ve stolen even that time from both myself and my loved ones over the past four years (Jenn, I love you and I’m sorry and you don’t need to feel guilty for being the happiest of all people that I’m no longer doing this job)."
In his recent newsletter, Jeff Sneider said he believes that it was Supergirl, in particular, that “really soured him on the job in general.”
"The job being Studio Boss who has to give notes to another filmmaker (Craig Gillespie), effectively telling him what to do. We all knew this would be a problem. I predicted as much when Gunn took the job — not only would directors resist notes from someone they view as a fellow filmmaker, but as a fellow filmmaker, Gunn may be reluctant to give them."
So, assuming they didn't have much say in the matter, why exactly were Gunn and Safran fired?
Superman was a box office success (maybe not quite as big as it really should have been), the likes of Peacemaker Season 2 and Lanterns were streaming hits, and even Clayface looks set to turn a modest profit. Supergirl was a costly flop, but would that alone have been enough to lose them the gig?
Sneider believes Ellison's decision had more to do with what the pair had planned than the projects that had already been released.
"I’m told that more than anything, the decision was a reflection on what DC has in development — which isn’t much. Ellison and Skydance’s film chiefs, Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, probably got a look under the hood and said to themselves, ‘Oh, no…’"
"I spoke to one veteran comic book editor who said, 'I guess playing in the obscure character toy chest isn’t the best foundation for a universe. I mean, why are we seeing Mr. Terrific and Guy Gardner before Batman? And now they want to make a Bane and Deathstroke movie? That’s an HBO show, at best.'”
We had been led to believe that Ellison liked what he saw when he visited the Man of Tomorrow set, but there's every chance the Skydance boss was simply stringing Gunn and Safran along until the hammer fell. Now, there are rumors that Gunn's Superman sequel could be significantly altered by the time it arrives in theaters.
From Variety's latest report:
"The question of why, exactly, David Ellison decided to relieve Gunn and Safran of their positions probably relates to a number of inside-baseball questions. One contributing rumor is that the studio was less than enthusiastic with how Man of Tomorrow was shaping up, and now wants to edit out a lot of Gunn’s Easter-egg ephemera. And when you look at who Ellison has chosen to replace Gunn and Safran, there’s a clear directive there: Jeremy Latcham is a Marvel veteran who, by his own description, now leans toward a faith-based vision, one that’s wholesomely heroic and upbeat. In other words, say goodbye to any vestige of the James Gunn “edge.”
Is there a chance MOT doesn't make it to the big screen at all?
The notion of dumping a $250 million movie on a streaming platform may seem ridiculous, but if Man of Tomorrow really is going to be the final film of the current DCU era, Ellison may already view it as a "lame duck."
We'd be very surprised if this happened, but we can't completely discount the possibility. If Ellison and co. really are adamant that every last trace of Gunn and Safran's fingerprints should be wiped from the DCU, they may decide that taking the financial hit is worth it.