James Gunn ‘Really Understood the Assignment’ With ‘Superman’ Relaunch and ‘New Version of DC,’ WB Studio Heads Say

Warner Bros. Studio heads Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca teased Monday that the early cut they have seen of James Gunn’s “Superman” relaunch assured them that the franchise is in good hands and is worth the wait.

Interviewing together on the “SmartLess” podcast with hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes on Monday’s episode, the longtime studio executives said that Gunn — previously of Marvel fame with “The Guardians of the Galaxy” trio of films — “really understood the assignment” when it came to relaunching a “new version of DC” and its most iconic character.

“I used to chase James as a producer when he did ‘Slither’ and started with his low-budget movies. He’s really unique and I think DC is in great hands with the two of them,” De Luca said of Gunn and his DC Studios co-head Peter Safran. “We’ve seen an early cut of ‘Superman,’ and I don’t want to bury the lead, there’s a lot of marketing about to roll out ahead of its release, but he really understood the assignment.”

“His heart’s in the right place, his aim is true, and we’re really excited about their new version of DC,” De Luca added.

“Yeah, James is great,” Abdy said.

Reflecting on Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s 2022 decision to hire Gunn and Safran to co-lead DC Studios through its next chapter, De Luca said he and Abdy were “big supporters” of them taking the job — in part because of the successes they saw at another major studio.

“We actually have to stipulate: DC reports directly to David Zaslav, we don’t oversee it, but we were big supporters of Peter and James taking the job,” he said. “Our advice when we were asked was it doesn’t need another career executive, it needs a storyteller in charge. We were really impressed with Pixar — they brought Pete Docter, who’s a filmmaker in from the field, to be chief content officer and preside over their slate of movies.”

Listen to the two executives’ full “Smartless” interview here.

Sitting with reporters last summer on the Cleveland set of the film, Gunn talked through some of his inspiration for his new vision of the Man of Steel, here played by David Corenswet.

“All previous DC media influenced me,” Gunn said. “I think that obviously the original Donner movie influenced me, but there’s also a lot of things that this isn’t, like I’m not just making a Donner type movie. It’s very different from that.” Gunn specifically cited “All-Star Superman” as a major comic book influence, noting its Silver Age feel and science fiction approach, while adding that more contemporary films like “Top Gun: Maverick” inspired some of the feature’s high-octane action sequences.

“Superman” opens in theaters worldwide on July 11.

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