James Gunn Just Canceled One of the DCU’s New Movies

It’s been over two years since James Gunn‘s announcement video for the DCU‘s first slate of movies, titled “Gods & Monsters.” 2025 marks a big year for the rebooted DC Studios, as Superman marks the DCU’s first big-screen release. But, the year comes as a double-edged sword, as it’s also the first time one of the previously announced projects has been shelved by Gunn and the studio. DC Studios currently has several movies in development, including The Brave and the Bold, The Authority, a Swamp Thing horror movie, and the recently announced Wonder Woman reboot film. Many of those will likely make it to the big screen. But Gunn is standing strong as DC Studios’ last line of defense against underwhelming scripts, and DC’s first cancellation is proof of that.

As part of the cover feature for the latest issue of Rolling Stone, James Gunn addressed everything DC Studios, including Superman, and the high standards he is holding every new script to. The director and co-president revealed that DC Studios has already claimed its first casualty. “We just killed a project,” Gunn said. “Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go.” However, the film’s script wasn’t up to DC Studios’ standards, and James Gunn didn’t want to rush the project to production if it wasn’t ready yet. He continued:

“The screenplay wasn’t ready. And I couldn’t do a movie where the screenplay’s not good.”

James Gunn Reveals Which Beloved DC Character Helped Him “Crack” ‘Superman’

The writer and director of ‘Superman’ discovered that one DC character provided a surprising entry point into the story of his film.

James Gunn didn’t reveal which project had been shelved due to its underwhelming script. We already know it’s not Supergirl, as the movie recently wrapped production. James Gunn also confirmed that it wasn’t Clayface, as its script is “so f*cking good.” Many believe the project in question is The Authority, as rumors have spread online regarding behind-the-scenes issues with the movie’s development, but that is purely speculation at the moment.

James Gunn Says DC Studios’ Upcoming Movies Are “F*cking Good”

Someone should give James Gunn his own bleep machine. As the co-president of DC Studios and the writer/director of Superman, James Gunn understandably wants to hype up the other upcoming DCU projects. But, DC Studios’ new projects aren’t just good… they’re “so f*cking good.” Gunn said:

“And we’ve been really lucky so far, because Supergirl’s script was so f*cking good off the bat. And then Lanterns came in, and the script was so f*cking good. Clayface, same thing. So f*cking good. So we have these scripts that we’ve been really lucky with or wise in our choices or whatever the combination is.”

Before any of those movies are released, Superman first has to pass the box office test. The film opens in theaters on July 11. Things are already looking promising for the David Corenswet-led movie, as it recently broke the record for the highest first-day ticket sales of any movie in 2025, and that was from its Amazon Prime exclusive early screenings, not even the regular theatrical release. Following Superman, Supergirl is the DCU’s next movie, which releases in theaters on June 26, 2026.

Source: Rolling Stone