James Gunn on why ‘movie industry is dying,' what ‘killed' Marvel and ‘The Batman' sequel's status

Los Angeles Times

4 hours ago

James Gunn has his own theory about why the movie industry is 'dying.'
The filmmaker, screenwriter and co-head of DC Studios contends that the reason for bad movies is Hollywood's tendency to begin productions before screenplays are complete, he told Rolling Stone in a new interview.
'I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies. It's not because of home screens getting so good,' Gunn said. 'The number one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.'
That's why one of his main rules at DC Studios is that movies must have finished scripts before they go into production. In fact, Gunn just scrapped a project because the screenplay wasn't ready, he said. On the other hand, he described the scripts for the upcoming DC films 'Supergirl,' 'Lanterns' and 'Clayface' as 'so f—-ing good.'
Before taking the reins of DC Studios in 2022, Gunn co-wrote and directed three 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movies for now-competitor Marvel Studios, which he said has been 'killed' by Disney's directive to increase output.
'We don't have the mandate to have a certain amount of movies and TV shows every year,' Gunn said of DC Studios. 'So we're going to put out everything that we think is of the highest quality.'
During the interview, Gunn also addressed rumors that Matt Reeves' sequel to 'The Batman,' starring Robert Pattinson, has been axed. The film, which Gunn confirmed is still titled 'The Brave and the Bold,' has been delayed a year and is now expected in October 2027.
'That's the other thing I hear all the time — that 'Batman Part II' is canceled. It's not canceled,' Gunn said. 'We don't have a script. Matt's slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he's doing. God, people are mean. Let him do his thing, man.'
Finishing the scripts for the 'The Batman' sequel and 'Wonder Woman' are among DC Studios' top priorities, Gunn noted.
Additionally, Gunn reflected on the 2018 scandal that saw him briefly fired from 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' when tweets resurfaced of him joking about pedophilia and rape. He said without that experience, his script for 'Superman' — hitting theaters July 11 — would have been much different.
'That opened the door for me to stop creating so that people would like me. That's downplaying it — so people would love me,' Gunn said. 'I think on some level, everything I had done came from a pleasing place.'
When asked if he's worried about ever running out of ideas, Gunn didn't seem too concerned.
'If I do, then I'll go raise goats,' he said. 'I really am fine. There's a lot of directors who get worse as they get older, and I don't wanna do that. Or maybe I do — I don't know. It's like, if it runs out — it hasn't so far. But who knows?'