Superman Flops & Peacemaker Fades: Why James Gunn’s DC Dreams are Going Up in Smoke

James Gunn was supposed to fix the DC Universe. Instead, he might have finished what was left of it. Two years ago, Hollywood trade outlets treated him like a savior. Fans hoped his work on Guardians of the Galaxy would revive a franchise that had been stumbling since the Zack Snyder era. What followed looks less like a rebirth and more like a slow unraveling.

The numbers tell the story. Superman, the most recognizable superhero in the world, was meant to relaunch everything. Forbes reported earlier this month that it grossed $615 million worldwide. After distributor cuts, DC’s share came to about $300 million, far short of the $350 million needed to break even. When your centerpiece can’t even clear costs, that’s not a misstep. That’s a failure at the top.

Worse, the Superman flop proves that audiences aren’t buying what Gunn is selling. You can’t chalk it up to fatigue or streaming habits when both Marvel and smaller independent films are holding steady. People still show up for what they care about. They just don’t care about this.

That lack of interest runs straight through Gunn’s television experiments. Creature Commandos, an animated series meant to set the stage for his new DC universe, barely made a ripple. The follow-up, Peacemaker Season 2, which stars John Cena and James Gunn’s wife, and was promoted as key to DC’s future,never landed in the Nielsen Top 10. And despite controversial moments like male nudity and gay orgies, each episode vanished from the conversation a week after release. When your own “flagship” show gets ignored by the same fans who built DC’s legacy, the message is obvious: they’ve moved on.

And the more people look at how Gunn manages the franchise, the more they see a pattern. He fired Henry Cavill just weeks after promising to bring him back as Superman. He canceled nearly every major project that had traction while keeping the smaller ones that involved his friends and family. His brother landed another big part. His wife kept her role front and center. It’s hard to rebuild a billion‑dollar brand when viewers think you’re using it to hand out family favors.

The real issue, though, is creative leadership. When Gunn stepped in, you couldn’t tell where the “DC Extended Universe” started or ended. There were three different Batmen, two Jokers, and enough conflicting storylines to confuse anyone. What the franchise needed was a full stop, a clean break, a two‑year rest, and then a fresh start. Instead, Gunn shredded half of it, glued together the pieces he liked, and pretended it was a reboot. He kept The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker in his new version but left the other projects scattered across separate continuities. It’s disjointed and confusing.

And Gunn keeps repeating the same creative trick that worked ten years ago. Every script he touches revolves around a group of wise‑cracking outcasts who have to work together against an over‑the‑top villain. It worked in Guardians of the Galaxy, but not every story or superhero fits that mold. Superman doesn’t function as a snark machine backed by a rock playlist. He’s supposed to stand for hope and integrity, not awkward banter and pop songs. Gunn tried to bend the character into his own style, and it didn’t land.

At this point, DC feels less like a shared cinematic universe and more like the James Gunn Extended Universe. The studio needed fresh energy; what it got was Gunn’s personal taste on repeat. There’s no sign that he plans to change course, even as the brand loses ground with fans. The next two films, Supergirl and Clayface, are set for release next year, but if Superman can’t draw crowds, it’s hard to imagine those titles reversing the decline.

Behind the scenes, there’s talk that Warner Bros. could merge or be bought by Paramount. If that happens, insiders suggest Gunn’s DC division would likely be among the first to go. Studios don’t hesitate to cut loose expensive experiments when the numbers don’t work.

Were old tweets like these trying to tell us something?

Gunn’s defenders call him bold and misunderstood. What looks more likely is that he was simply the wrong man for this job. You can praise his humor and style, but leading a multibillion‑dollar franchise requires more than personal charm and a single creative formula. It requires stepping aside when your approach doesn’t fit the characters, and the audience decides when that happens.

Hollywood loves to talk about first impressions. James Gunn made his, and the results are plain. The DC brand is weaker. The audience is smaller. The future is uncertain. Superman is supposed to inspire hope, but under Gunn’s leadership, he’s become a symbol of how far this studio has fallen. Maybe it’s time for someone else to take the cape before there’s nothing left to save.

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