James Gunn Hates Burton’s Batman, Isn’t Crazy About Nolan’s Either
James Gunn’s DC Universe has a lot of hurdles to overcome, and another one has just been added. A Twitter user named XsnyderverseX has unearthed old social media posts in which Gunn heavily criticized Tim Burton’s Batman, as well as Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight – some of the most beloved superhero movies ever made. (He doesn’t mention Batman Returns, but it’s safe to assume he’s not a fan.) You can see his comments in the tweet below:
Well.
After reading this…#FireJamesGunn , @JamesGunn deserves nothing. pic.twitter.com/4LvhT5XWSj
— #SNYDERVERSE (@XsnyderverseX) August 28, 2023
I held off talking about this because there was some confusion about whether these were real; some others going around Twitter, which must have been fakes, had him trashing Richard Donner’s Superman. But these appear to be genuine. It also feels a little shady to judge him on posts he made eleven years ago, well before he was in charge of making DC films. And he’s perfectly entitled to like or dislike any movie, and some of his criticisms are valid, even if I don’t agree with them. (Although I have to say, he used to be one angry guy; I don’t know if he’s mellowed since then or just gotten better at hiding his rage, but he needed a stress ball back in the day.) On the other hand, he is the guy in charge of DC now, and that includes Batman, and many – perhaps most – are apprehensive about his reboot of the DC Universe for various reasons. Maybe it’s fair to take into account that he hates Batman, dislikes Batman Begins, and doesn’t seem overly big on The Dark Knight, but he’s a huge Damien Wayne fan and seems all too happy to skip over the many great stories that lead to Damien.
His defense of The Flash is also coming up in light of these comments surfacing, and that’s a big deal because it just came out. The Flash was a terrible film, and James Gunn called it one of the best superhero movies ever made. At the time, I figured it was just Hollywood business – of course he was going to praise the new movie from the studio he just took over – and took his words with a grain of salt. But then, he hired The Flash’s director, Andy Muschietti, to helm Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which seems like confirmation that he really did like The Flash. All these things taken in tandem are worrying, and they don’t point to a particularly bright future for Batman in Gunn’s DC Universe. I’m not calling time of death, and I’m perfectly willing to give Gunn and even Muschietti (I loved his version of It) a chance, but I’m not going to pretend there are no red flags either. It also convinces me that Gunn had a lot to do with the revised ending of The Flash, where, being vague for anyone who hasn’t seen it, Michael Keaton is snubbed for a stupid joke. I’m rooting for Gunn, mostly because I want good DC movies, but he makes it a challenge sometimes.
Comments (1)
I honestly was rooting for DC until they kept going Woke with all their content. After the blue beetle fiasco, I have no respect the directors or James Gunn involved.
It just appears he wants regurgitate leftist leaning ideologues into the DCEU which has already fully poisoned the comics. I don’t trust James Gunn in the same way I don’t trust Disney/marvel at this point. Because all they do is make it about their agendas and not the comic book characters.
Sure, you could say there was always messaging in comics, but back then they were about doing the right thing, making sure to help those in need, and making sacrifices to help those who need it or for a greater good. In other words: truth, justice, and The American Way.
Now it’s about characters being nasty to those you disagree with, gender ideology, and raping the old heroes (literally and figuratively).
It’s sad, it’s sad to think that good storytelling is dead and I’m praising the death of DC just so it can be sold to someone who could take better care of these stories than the current owners.
I’m never going to give these movies a chance, I’m going to just enjoy reading the Rippaverse and wait for them to burn out. At this point any self respecting comic book fan wont stand for these Hollywood shenanigans and just let DC and Marvel die.
Good riddance, woke culture ruined two big comic book giants and I don’t feel bad that they died out.