Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige shared his honest thoughts about James Gunn’s role at DC Studios.
It seems that since James Gunn accepted his co-CEO promotion for DC Studios, comic book film fans imagined the director’s MCU departure as a studio civil war.
While it’s true that Marvel and DC have been rivals in print and now on-screen for years, real-world names have added an extra layer of supposed drama.
However, Kevin Feige’s latest comments suggest that any tension or conflict between himself and the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director is merely fan fiction.
Kevin Feige Talks James Gunn’s DC Jump
Kevin Feige & James Gunn
In talking with Entertainment Weekly, Kevin Feige addressed James Gunn’s jump to DC, his love for Superman, and what he told the Guardians director.
In his comments, Feige claims to have told James Gunn “That’s awesome, and I can’t wait to see it:”
“It was not dissimilar to when we talked about him doing ‘The Suicide Squad’. I said, ‘That’s awesome, and I can’t wait to see it.’ I’ve never been shy about loving those characters. I had Superman posters all over my walls in my childhood bedroom, and I went to work for the Donners, [film producers] Richard Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner, because of ‘Superman’.”
Feige was also honest in expressing his excitement about DC characters “being in such good hands with James [Gunn]:”
“The notion of those characters being in such good hands with James is exciting, and it’s very cool — after he finishes ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ of course.”
Feige’s support is something that James Gunn has also discussed in the past.
Back when the director was helming The Suicide Squad, Gunn said he “told Kevin Feige before I took the job,” saying that the MCU boss wasn’t just “cool and supportive,” but “just wanted me to make a good movie:”
I told Kevin Feige before I took the job and he was very cool and supportive as he always is. He just wanted me to make a good movie. He and Lou D’Esposito even came to visit the set and watched us shoot. There isn’t the enmity behind the scenes like there is in the fan community.
Kevin Feige was equally supportive of Gunn in the early days of his DC promotion, telling the press that “I speak to James almost every day,” while also promising to “be first in line” for whatever the director has planned for the blue brand:
“I speak to James almost every day. We have a wonderful thing called the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ coming out. We have a wonderful thing called ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ coming out in May. How he’ll have any time to work on DC until May I don’t know, but once he does have the time I’ll be very excited. I’ll be first in line.”
Kevin Feige & James Gunn Just Want Good Movies
While the rivalry between Marvel Studios and DC Studios is sure to increase in the coming years, like the director said, “There isn’t the enmity behind the scenes like there is the fan community.”
Long before the existence of the MCU and the DCU, Gunn and Feige were comic book fans, and both just want good comic book movies.
It’s also worth noting that competition is good for both studios.
At the moment, there isn’t a modern-day movie franchise that even compares to the MCU. But the better the DCU gets, the more it will challenge Marvel Studios to continue to improve and expand.
While no doubt its a bit awkward for Gunn to be promoting DC’s The Flash and Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it’s great to see Feige continuing to be both genuine and classy in his excitement for what Gunn and Peter Safran have in store, as well as his own love for DC’s Superman.
