James Gunn Issues Statement Addressing DCU Future & Harassment

James Gunn has issued a statement addressing fan concerns over the direction of the DC Universe after the announcement of Henry Cavill’s exit as Superman and the harassment he and co-head Peter Safran have received online.

“One of the things Peter & I were aware of when we took the job as heads of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least. Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story & best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years. Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts & integrity & always with the story in mind,” Gunn explained.

“No one loves to be harassed or called names — but, to be frank, we’ve been through significantly worse. Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions. We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, & we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult & not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us. But this means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists & custodians in helping to create a wide & wonderful future for DC.”

While much of the DCU’s future remains a mystery, Gunn recently announced that Cavill would be exiting the role and that he would be writing a new Superman movie, several notable cameos have been nixed from The Flash, and that Wonder Woman 3 is no longer in development. There are also reports that Jason Momoa will no longer be Aquaman and will be recast as another DC character.

We’ll have more on the future of the DC Universe as DC Studios continues to make their plans public and reports surface.