Henry Cavill and James Gunn. (courtesy: henrycavill) (courtesy: jamesgunn)
James Gunn, the new CEO of DC Studios, issued a statement on Monday, addressing the backlash and the outcry of fans after the announcement of Henry Cavill's exit as Superman. A few days ago, Henry Cavill announced that he will not be wearing that red cape in the DC Universe anymore. James Gunn had too, along with revealing a few changes in DC projects, confirmed that a new Superman film is in the works but it doesn't feature Henry Cavill. This led to a huge backlash on social media, where James Gunn and his co-CEO Peter Safran were also “harassed” by users. Now, in a series of tweets, the actor-filmmaker has said that their choices “for the DCU are based upon what (they) believe is best for the story and best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years.” He also added that the decision they have taken for DCU stories might not be “great” but “they are made with sincere hearts and integrity and always with the story in mind.”
“One of the things Peter Safran and 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 and unkind, to say the least. Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story and best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years. Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts and integrity and always with the story in mind,” tweeted James Gunn.
James Gunn added that the resentment and “disrespectful outcry” they are facing from a group of people on social media “will never, ever affect (their) actions” as they already knew about the consequences when they “took this gig.”
James Gunn wrote, “No one loves to be harassed or called names — but, to be frank, we've been through significantly worse. The disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions. We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, and we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult and not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us. But this means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists and custodians in helping to create a wide and wonderful future for DC.”
James Gunn's statement arrived after several users expressed their anger over DC Studios cancelling Wonder Woman 3 and concluding Henry Cavill's journey as Superman, among other issues. People demanded the Suicide Squad director's resignation and trended #FireJamesGunn on Twitter. “Absolutely #FireJamesGunn #BoycottWBD,” wrote one user.
Another tweeted, “Make it make sense #FireJamesGunn.”
“Don't lose hope Superman fans, we are still on track. Henry Cavill will always be Superman. #FireJamesGunn. Fans can do it all,” read a tweet.
James Gunn, earlier, tweeted about the new “DC slate,” where he revealed that a new Superman film “will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman's life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill.” However, he had also stated, “But we just had a great meeting with Henry Cavill and we're big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”
Among other changes in DC films, it has also been reported that Jason Momoa will no longer play Aquaman but will stay with DC as a new character.