Lanterns, the upcoming superhero television series for HBO Max, has quickly become a flashpoint among DC fans. Many were already concerned after the R-rated trailer suggested a grounded tone. Comments from writer and producer Damon Lindelof sparked further backlash. Now, star Nathan Fillion and head of DC Studios James Gunn have come out in his support.
James Gunn just can’t help himself. Just days after calling fans “racists” in an interview with GQ, the latest episode of Peacemaker doubled down with a storyline that many are calling flat-out offensive — this time targeting Christians.
James Gunn called fans “racists” in a recent interview while admitting that he has no oversight from WB on DCU projects.
James Gunn seemingly can’t help himself. The man who was hired to “save” DC has instead made himself its unofficial mascot — and not in a good way. Every announcement, every casting, every costume reveal, every social media fight… there he is. Gunn has wedged himself into every facet of the DCU, and audiences are starting to notice.
There’s no denying that anime is on the rise at the global box office. But just how fast it’s climbing remains a matter of debate—and sometimes, outright confusion. Starting Sunday afternoon, fan accounts were proclaiming that by its third weekend in U.S. theaters, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle had a higher worldwide total than Superman managed in its entire theatrical run.
Even though Man of Tomorrow, James Gunn’s follow-up to this year’s Superman, won’t fly into theaters until summer 2027, the writer/director is already drawing comparisons between the two films. In his appearance on the Ringer-Verse podcast he said that Superman “is more comic booky in some ways,” than the Superman/Lex Luthor duality he wants to explore in the next movie.
James Gunn’s Superman released back in July, and while audiences praised the action and visuals, one subplot has sparked unending controversy. The film introduces Boravia, a fictional U.S. ally that launches an invasion of its weaker neighbor, Jarhanpur. For many viewers, the parallels drawn by James Gunn to Israel and Palestine were immediate. Yet Gunn has brushed off the comparison, laughing at the idea and insisting that he completed the script “before the conflict began.”
James Gunn isn’t just overseeing Batman and the future of DC Studios — it seems as though he’s shaping it in ways that go beyond the usual role of a studio head.
James Gunn started the week by posting on X that he’s finished the first draft of his Man of Tomorrow script, and dropped a hint that Brainiac is indeed the villain.
The DCU’s long-gestating Batman: The Brave and The Bold project is once again mired in uncertainty. Rumors are swirling that Andy Muschietti, director of the disastrous The Flash, may no longer be steering the first Batman outing in James Gunn’s rebooted universe. Yet Gunn himself has insisted Muschietti is still attached.
The Batman 2 writer/director Matt Reeves gave reporters an update while at the Emmy Awards Sunday night. He was there supporting The Penguin, the HBO Max limited series set in his DC Elseworlds, which earned 24 nominations and won nine. But it was the sequel to his 2022 The Batman that was on everyone’s mind.
Could the next Superman movie feature Brainiac? Gary Buechler, host of Nerdrotic on YouTube, thinks so. In a conversation with Chris Gore of Film Threat, Buechler said he’d heard from a source that an earlier cut of Superman featured two post-credits scenes, one of which wasn’t used. “And one was Brainiac,” Buechler said. “So maybe… they moved that to Supergirl.”
Perhaps someday we’ll see the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) crossover with the DC Universe (DCU). But over on X, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu is already giving Superman the stare-down. While a sequel to this year’s Superman has the green light just months after the film’s debut, a follow-up to 2021’s Shang-Chi has yet to be confirmed.