James Gunn Addresses Current State Of DC, Knows It's Pretty Tough Right Now

I won't flatter the malcontents by linking to their petulant posts, but I'll gladly share Gunn's weighted five-tweet thread. He began by noting, "One of the things that Peter and I were aware of when we took over as DC Studios directors was a certain minority of people online who could be, well, rowdy and mean, that's is the least we can say." I have been an online journalist for 22 years. I know. I really, really, know.

Gunn goes on to assure fans that they respect DC Comics' 85-year history and have made their decisions "with honest hearts and integrity and always with the story in mind. 'mind". He then acknowledges that while they don't like being called names, they've been "been through much worse" and won't give in to such childish fury - or, as he put it, "the restless nature of what preceded us." He concludes by saying "[T]his means little to us compared to our jobs as entertainers and caretakers to help create a wide and wonderful future for DC."

It's bizarre to treat such a sensible statement as worthy of a standalone report, but in my more than two decades of covering this beat, I've never encountered a rebuttal more deftly formulated from a toxic fandom. I wish Zack Snyder had done this years ago instead of, according to Rolling Stone, arming the worst elements of his fan base. I wish with all my heart that Kathleen Kennedy had supported Rian Johnson with a statement of support like this when a group of rabid misogynists and racists freaked out over Rose Tico's portrayal of Kelly Marie Tran in 'Star Wars : Episode VIII - The Last Jedi" (before J.J. Abrams practically erased the character from "The Rise of Skywalker", but, hey, the cowards will let go). Tran still has an Instagram account, but she hasn't posted anything since these fanatics chased her offline.