James Gunn Reminds His Followers That He Is a Fan Just Like They Are
Marvel and DC have been rivals in the comic book industry for a long time, and a side effect of that competition is a similar rivalry between Marvel Cinematic Universe fans and DCEU fans.
The rivalry between the two companies is usually not that intense, and sometimes, the two may even collaborate with one another. However, just like in sports, the rivalry between their fans is usually more intense, and that often rears its ugly head in the form of angry comments.
James Gunn, who directed the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, recently talked about the difference between those two rivalries, and some fans didn’t take it too kindly. Here’s a look at how James Gunn reminded everyone that he is a fan, just like the fans that he critiqued.
The context behind the drama
In 2018, after people found some old controversial tweets from Gunn’s Twitter account, Disney quickly fired Gunn from working in the MCU. Gunn apologized for those old tweets, and many people in the MCU supported him. Regardless, Disney stuck to its guns.
Not long after this firing, DC hired Gunn to direct The Suicide Squad. Some fans saw this move as Gunn betraying Marvel for DC, but since he was fired from the MCU, this move made a lot of sense.
But of course, after a long campaign from fans and Gunn’s colleagues, Disney finally rehired Gunn in 2019.
That said, despite working with DC, Gunn maintained a strong relationship with the people he worked with on Marvel. In an Instagram post, Gunn talked about how Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, even visited him on set when he was filming The Suicide Squad.
Gunn said on that post that, unlike fans, “there isn’t enmity behind the scenes.”
Did James Gunn insult fans?
Like fans talked about on Reddit, this caused some fans to get mad. One fan in particular accused Gunn of insulting fans. That fan also went as far as to say that, “you big whigs is why your audience is dwindling.”
Gunn replied to that fan by saying that, “I didn’t insult the fans. I AM a fan.” Gunn went on to defend his statement by pointing out that although most fans are great people, there’s still “a lot of unnecessary fractiousness” between some Marvel and DC fans.
Fans on Reddit generally supported Gunn and made fun of the angry fans that Gunn was talking about. One fan simply asked, “How is it insulting to say there is a rivalry between Marvel and DC fanboys?”
Most fans of either franchises, including Gunn, agree that there simply are a few fans who absolutely hate the other franchise for bad reasons. As such, most Marvel fans don’t think that Gunn insulted anyone.
James Gunn doubles down on the friendly relationship between Marvel and DC
Not long after this small incident, Gunn doubled down on Twitter when a fan asked if Zack Snyder could visit a Marvel set. In response, Gunn invited Snyder, Patty Jenkins, James Wan, and many other people who’ve worked on DC movies onto the set of the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
One fan replied to Gunn on Twitter by asking if Feige “would allow it.” In response, Gunn said, “Of course he would.”
While Gunn has done a lot of leg work in order to show fans that, behind the scenes, Marvel and DC people get along really well, some fans still aren’t convinced. One Marvel fan on Reddit talked about how they weren’t interested in any DC movies except The Suicide Squad, and they were only interested because Gunn was directing it.
That said, most Marvel fans were more welcoming towards DC and its movies.
