James Gunn’s DCU decision to put writers front and center stems from the fact that he dislikes the way many movies are shot these days. In fact, he feels that movies in general aren’t as good as they used to be, due to the tendency to lock them into a date, which can easily lead to rushed writing when the filming commences before the final act of the script is even ready. Instead of taking that approach with the DCU, he has chosen to elevate writers again.
It makes sense that Gunn, a writer and a director himself, would want to avoid shooting huge movies without a properly prepared script. In fact, he’s given similar statements in the past. In September 2022, he wrote a Twitter missive about this exact subject.
“Movie studios lock in release dates early on, often years in advance, &, desperate to make that date, often start shooting whether the script is ready or not,” Gunn stated in a reply to a fan’s question about lack of great scripts in major movies. “At the end of the day I agree with you — it’s a massive waste of money & an impediment to quality.”
Now that Gunn’s a studio executive himself, he clearly seems determined to put writing first — and it’ll be interesting to see what results his approach will achieve.
