James Gunn Opens Up About The First DCU Movie He Had to Cancel

James Gunn, the director behind the new “Superman” movie, recently talked about a film project he had to cancel. Gunn opened up about how important it is to have a good script before making a movie. He explained that they had a project ready to go, with a director and writer attached, but the script just wasn’t working.

“We had a screenplay that was greenlit. We went about. We got second draft and third draft, and it just wasn’t changing. It wasn’t getting better. It was staying in the same place,” Gunn said.

He realized that even with talented people involved, if the script isn’t strong, the movie won’t be good. “We know it’s not good. Just because we have a good director attached and a good screenwriter, it doesn’t mean the script is working.”

Because of this, Gunn decided to stop the project before it moved any further. “We can’t make this film. It’s going to come out, the movie’s not going to be good. Director’s going to look bad, screenwriter’s going to look bad and we’re going to look bad. So I don’t want to have this. We’re not going to make the movie. And so we killed it.”

He also said that it’s rare for studios to cancel projects once they’re greenlit, because people don’t want to disappoint others or say no. But Gunn believed it was the right choice.

This honest take on the movie business came during a conversation about his new “Superman” film and the challenges Hollywood faces today. Gunn talked about how often movies rush to meet release dates without finished scripts. “They set up a release date. They don’t have a script. And then they try to write the script to back into that date.” He says this leads to many bad movies because the story isn’t fully planned out.

Gunn emphasized how important writers are and how the industry has overlooked them. He said many good writers now work in TV because they have more freedom and control. Shows like “Peacemaker” and “Severance” have allowed writers to be creative and successful in ways movies no longer do.

The canceled project shows Gunn’s commitment to quality and his unwillingness to settle for less. It’s clear that for him, the script is the foundation of a good film, and if it’s not there, the movie shouldn’t move forward.

You’re probably wondering which movie James Gunn was talking about. The truth is, he hasn’t confirmed it, and likely won’t for a while. However, it could be The Authority, a film that was announced years ago as part of Chapter 1: Gods & Monsters.

Since its announcement, updates on the project have been almost nonexistent. Recently, Gunn admitted that while the film is still on his radar, it hasn’t been an easy journey. “Yeah, but that’s been a rough road,” he said.

Gunn also revealed that the writer originally working on The Authority has been reassigned to another DCU movie. He didn’t name the new project but praised the writer’s work, saying, “I moved the writer on to another project in the DCU that I think he’s really killing right now.”

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