The Suicide Squad Producer Says Marvel Made a Mistake Firing James Gunn in 2018

James Gunn's newsmaking firing from Marvel Studios in 2018 over his controversial Twitter posts seemingly signaled a changing of the guard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and in the end, Disney reinstated the Guardians of the Galaxy director. But before they could get him back, Gunn did the unthinkable and accepted a project in the DC Extended Universe and whether people would like to admit it or not, his arrival to the franchise is definitely a game-changer.

If it wasn't obvious enough, James is having such a good time doing projects over at the DCEU and it's safe to assume that the best is yet to come for him. Now, The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran says that Gunn's initial firing from Disney was a huge blessing in disguise for Warner Bros., and truth be told, he just might be the guy they need to bring some much-needed change to the divisive franchise.

In a recent interview on Deadline's Hero Nation podcast, Safran claims that Marvel made a huge mistake by letting Gunn go in the first place and allowing WB to get his services. He also believes that Marvel overreacted when they ousted James from the MCU. He explains: "I think that people felt that it was an overreaction from Disney and Marvel, and I think ultimately Disney and Marvel felt it was an overreaction from Disney and Marvel. Because not that long after he signed on to do Suicide Squad — and by the way, the two are not related — but not long after he signed on to do it, they reversed their decision and they invited him to come back and finish his [Guardians] trilogy."

He continued: "So I think that people realize that he was maybe caught up in forces that were much bigger than he was and beyond his control, and the fact that he had both apologized for many years before those tweets and had also lived a pretty exemplary life since his apology for it."

Also Read: James Gunn Shockingly Criticizes Superhero Films, Calls Most of Them 'Boring'

I have to say, Gunn made the right call by "jumping ship" to Marvel's ultimate rival and the favorable response The Suicide Squad has been getting ahead of its actual release goes to show that the director can succeed in both Marvel and DC. We still don't know what the future holds for the director but I have a good feeling he'll retract his previous statement about calling it quits in the world of filmmaking.

The Suicide Squad is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on August 5, 2021. It will also be available on the same day on HBO Max.