It appears that Warner Bros. has found their Zack Snyder replacement. After kickstarting the DC Extended Universe with 2013's Man of Steel and following it up with 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as well as 2017's Justice League, which was later re-released in 2021 to be more in line with his original vision, Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder partner ways, with the latter working with Netflix. Unfortunately, Snyder's departure meant that his original plans for the DCEU is all but canceled, leaving the future of the cinematic universe in limbo with no architect overseeing everything.
Although Warner Bros. hasn't officially confirmed a successor, it appears that James Gunn is taking Snyder's place.
After wowing audiences and critics with last year's The Suicide Squad, Gunn got a chance to work on a spin-off show, Peacemaker, which centered on John Cena's character from the film. As it turns out, Peacemaker enjoyed more success on HBO Max than The Suicide Squad, with a second season already confirmed. Now, Gunn just confirmed that he's working on more projects for DC going forward.
According to an interview with Neil Vagg, Gunn is "working on another DC thing, and maybe another one," adding that there's a "couple of different things that we're balancing with the stories."
Just had the immense pleasure of talking with @JamesGunn ahead of the UK premiere of #Peacemaker. The series streams 22 March via @skytv and @NOW.
Full interview coming soon. For now here’s a snippet looking to the future of the character. pic.twitter.com/1082Ee7ZoH
— Neil Vagg (@neilvagg) March 20, 2022
The writer-director has carved out a niche for himself as the go-to guy for superhero team-ups. After finding success with 2010's Super, Gunn solidified his status with 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy along with its sequel in 2017 and an upcoming threequel next year. In an alternate universe, Gunn probably wouldn't have gone to DC's camp in the first place. In 2018, Disney fired Gunn only to bring him back a year later but not before Gunn could sign a deal with the DCEU, culminating in the aforementioned projects and more potentially in the pipeline.
Even if Warner Bros. won't outright confirm that Gunn is going to be Snyder's replacement, he's the closest thing that DC has to Kevin Feige right now. We wouldn't be surprised if Gunn ends up getting the gig in a few years. Until then, Gunn is content playing for both sides. In addition to Peacemaker season 2 and the other DC projects, Gunn is also busy with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
Speaking of comic book films and shows, the next few months are going to be huge for fans all over the world. Moon Knight will hit Disney+ on March 30, followed by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in theaters on May 6 with Ms. Marvel and Thor: Love and Thunder up next on June 8 and July 8, respectively. Afterward, it's DC's turn following delays with Black Adam coming on October 21, 2022.
