DC Studios will shape the future of an entire franchise with James Gunn and producer Peter Safran at the steering wheel. It’s an exciting prospect to see what the future has in store for the franchise, even as they leave behind some of the landmarks that defined the franchise throughout the last few years. Yet, it seems that they almost weren’t in the leading position as Warner Bros. Discovery had their eyes set on someone else.
As it turns out, their big hope was for Todd Phillips, the director behind the surprise billion dollar box office hit, Joker, and The Hangover trilogy. An insider shared just how far they went in trying to get him involved with the project, after “the whole town turned the job down. It was almost Todd Phillips. They begged him.”
Everyone was aware of the impossible task set upon them taking over a role that Kevin Feige managed to master against all odds. Gunn was a fitting choice considering he’s worked under Marvel Studios’ leadership to get a glimpse at what it means to run a cinematic franchise. Still, there does seem to be some concern, especially with him not having been in such a position before.
I wonder if big filmmakers will work for another director with zero experience guiding movies through a huge grinder of a system. He’s not Kevin Feige [of Marvel].
Though it should be noted that the same issue also would’ve been with Phillips if he was given the position. He only has the additional caveat of having no real interest in the DC universe or any understanding of what makes it tick. Yes, Joker was a success but that doesn’t mean every film he touches would have the same effect. Plus, he has openly mocked the genre in the past and who knows how the DC Cinematic Universe would look like under his leadership.
Source: New York Post
