DCU Boss Refuses Batman Blunder That Destroyed Spider-Man Films
The DC Universe head reveals his strategic approach to avoid a costly scheduling mistake that severely damaged Sony's superhero franchise performance at the box office.
DC Universe architect James Gunn has drawn a hard line against repeating Sony's catastrophic scheduling error that damaged their Spider-Man properties. The filmmaker made his position crystal clear when addressing fan concerns about Batman's role in the revamped DC landscape.
A fan questioned whether Gunn was "undervaluing the importance of Bruce Wayne being involved in the DCU" on social media. His response cut straight to the point: "I'm not at all. I think both Batman and WW are incredibly important. But I'm also not going to have two Batman movies come out in the same year."
Sony's Costly Release Strategy Backfired
The reference points to Sony's 2021 decision to release both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom: Let There Be Carnage within months of each other. The results tell a stark story of market cannibalization.
No Way Home dominated theaters with $1.9 billion worldwide against its $200 million budget. Meanwhile, Let There Be Carnage struggled to reach $501.5 million on a $110 million investment. The Venom sequel earned just 58% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, though audiences rated it 83%.
Quality issues aside, having two Spider-Man universe films compete for the same audience clearly hurt the weaker entry's performance. Gunn apparently studied this case closely.
Batman Plans Remain Fluid
The DCU chief provided additional context about his upcoming Batman project, The Brave and the Bold. Script development continues to dictate the timeline rather than arbitrary release dates.
"I'm dependent on when there's an actionable script ready so there is no way of me guessing this," Gunn explained. "Also, frankly, we're well into Batman 2, and I wouldn't want to cloud the Batsphere until after that."
He described the writing process as deceptively challenging. Scripts can seem nearly finished before revealing they need substantial additional work. "It's one draft away and then you get the next draft and go, 'You know what? I still think it needs one more draft to get there.'"
This measured approach suggests Gunn prioritizes long-term franchise health over quick profits. Matt Reeves' The Batman: Part II will have breathing room before Gunn's version enters the marketplace.