James Gunn “Didn’t Feel Guilt At All” Leaving MCU To Direct For DC

[ad_1] As James Gunn‘s DCU launches with the premiere of Superman, his Marvel days look like previously for now.

Following the director’s 2018 ousting from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Gunn admitted he “thought my profession was over,” however fortunately he and Peter Safran have been tapped to co-head DC Studios in 2022, opening the door for his subsequent superhero undertaking.

“Toby Emmerich from Warner Bros. on the time got here to me. He’s like, ‘James Gunn’s Superman?'” he recalled on the Armchair Knowledgeable podcast. “I stated, ‘I don’t know, man.’ After which he was like, ‘Effectively, what about Suicide Squad?’ So I got here up with an thought. I went and pitched it. They have been like, ‘Sure, let’s do it.'”

The identical day, Gunn stated he obtained a name from then-Disney CCO Alan Horn after Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige had campaigned to get the director his job again.

“I went over to Kevin’s home. I went into his basement the place he’s obtained all his Star Wars figures like a bit museum and he stated, ‘That is superb.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s good, however I've to do one thing else first.’ And — oh my God, I didn’t keep in mind this till proper now — Kevin goes, ‘Ugh, are you doing Superman?'”

<img decoding="async" class="c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto" src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/themes/pmc-deadline-2019/assets/public/lazyload-fallback.jpg" data-lazy-src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?w=300" alt="David Corenswet in a scene from Superman" data-lazy-srcset="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg 4096w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=150,83 150w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=300,167 300w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=1024,569 1024w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=1536,853 1536w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=2048,1137 2048w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=180,100 180w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=125,70 125w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=660,370 660w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=910,511 910w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=250,140 250w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=380,212 380w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=296,166 296w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=248,139 248w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=200,112 200w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=60,33 60w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=352,195 352w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=110,61 110w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=285,158 285w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=320,178 320w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=640,355 640w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=800,444 800w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rev-1-SPMN-CC-TRL-0027_High_Res_JPEG.jpeg?resize=1280,711 1280w" data-lazy-sizes="(min-width: 87.5rem) 1000px, (min-width: 78.75rem) 681px, (min-width: 48rem) 450px, (max-width: 48rem) 250px" height="569" width="1024"/> David Corenswet in ‘Superman’ Warner Bros.

The undertaking was really his 2021 sequel The Suicide Squad, which he directed earlier than returning to Marvel for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).

When requested if he felt an “moral dilemma” leaping ship for DC, Gunn stated, “No, I simply shook my head. I didn’t really feel that means as a result of I used to be fired.”

“Hear, there are folks that I’m not that pleased with over there [at Disney], however that definitely wasn’t the Marvel guys, you realize?” defined Gunn. “They have been fully supportive. [Marvel Studios Co-President] Louis D’Esposito known as me on a regular basis. Lou and Kevin have been nice. So it definitely wasn’t them. However I didn’t really feel guilt in any respect. I imply, I needed to take a job! I took a job [with] folks that I additionally actually appreciated, and that was it.”

Since taking up DC Studios with Safran, Superman marks the primary entry in his new DCU franchise, which begins with the ‘Gods and Monsters’ part.

In theaters July 11, Superman stars David Corenswet within the titular position. Along with Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, the solid additionally consists of Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer, in addition to Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, Sean Gunn, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Isabel Merced and Nathan Fillion as some acquainted DC faces.