It’s fairly safe to say that the majority of the internet (or, at the very least, an extremely loud minority) is quite cranky with James Gunn and his lesser-known, lesser-flamed, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran at the moment.
It’s fairly easy to understand why that is, given that no more than two months after taking the reins of the studio, the entire future of the DC film franchise was upended, upcoming projects were scrapped, and most devastatingly to many, Henry Cavill was ripped from the role of Superman just as quickly as it was returned to him.
Folks who came to know and love Zack Snyder’s characters over the past decade are feeling pretty burned by these drastic measures, but there was one fan over on Reddit ready and waiting to defend James Gunn on the DC_Cinematic subreddit, and he’s backing the director up with eight hours of critically acclaimed television, by way of Peacemaker.
Responses to the post are mixed, and it’s fairly safe to say that not everyone is sharing u/Retributor_Astartes optimism, quickly pointing to the fact that the man is now responsible for all of the most recognizable faces in the DC franchise, and not just outlying characters which he can put his own ‘goofy’ spin on (think Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Suicide Squad) and get away with it.
What needs to be kept in mind is that Gunn has a pretty high hit rate when it comes to his superhero flicks, even if they are generally about lesser-known outliers. The lowest-rated superhero film in his somewhat recent back catalog according to Rotten Tomatoes is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which critics and audiences rate at 85 percent and 87 percent, respectively. Clearly, the man has some semblance of an idea about what he is doing.
We find ourselves in the camp who ultimately appreciate the band-aid-ripping approach Gunn and Safran have taken, and perhaps so will other fans once the sting from losing the DC Extended Universe as we know it wears off.
Zack Snyder was way too overrated, anyway.
