While James Gunn has made it clear that he’s been in contact with many past, present, and potentially future elements of the rebranded DCU, an online hornet’s nest was stirred up when it transpired that Arrowverse co-creator Marc Guggenheim wasn’t one of them.
The producer and filmmaker may not have a vested stake in the feature film side of the comic book company’s output, but he’s been an integral part of the wider DC universe for a decade, having shepherded the sprawling small screen universe to its status as a deeply interconnected raft of popular TV shows that featured a countless number of favorites, icons, and deep cuts alike.
In his last Legal Dispatch letter, Guggenheim revealed that he hadn’t heard a peep from either Gunn or Safran since they assumed control of DC Studios, lamenting whether or not he’d wasted a decade of his life. Seeking to clear the air in the latest edition, he instead opted to aim both barrels on trolls and clickbait headlines for focusing on the negative aspects of his statement, while largely ignoring the positives.
“It’s taken as an axiom that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” but the problem is that with virtually no exceptions, the coverage focused on my statement that “I really wasted my time” with the Arrowverse while conveniently leaving out the important modifier “at least on a career level.”
They also managed to leave out how I was explicit in being “deeply grateful” for all the fan engagement over the years. Ah well. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story (or clickbait headlines), I guess. My only regret is that articles like these give aid and comfort to the Arrowverse’s small contingent of trolls. (As if Mr. Gunn cares a whit about their objections to character romances or deaths.) Then again, such folk have always insisted on making themselves the subject of the narrative and that’s not likely to change anytime soon.”
Like he says, Gunn doesn’t care what social media naysayers have to say when he spends so much of his time debunking their rumors, but Guggenheim is evidently bristling that his gratefulness for the Arrowverse and its fans has been overlooked in favor of making it sounds like it was all for nothing.