Before David F. Sandberg took his stand against toxic online attitudes, DC Studios figurehead James Gunn did the same in December 2022. Shortly after taking up his post as one of the division’s leaders — alongside Peter Safran — he hopped on Twitter to spread awareness of internet negativity. “One of the things Peter & I were aware of when we took the job as heads of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least,” Gunn tweeted, going on to reassure everyone that he and Safran only have the best in mind for the DC brand.
Gunn continued, “No one loves to be harassed or called names – but, to be frank, we’ve been through significantly worse. Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions.” He adds that they were certainly aware that there would be a “period of turbulence” following their hiring, but they’re prepared to weather the storm and cultivate the best version of the DC universe they possibly can. As one could imagine, Gunn received a range of responses to this chain of tweets, and in the months following it, folks online have continued to fill his social media feed with comments and questions of all kinds.
