Now that Netflix is about to buy Warner Bros. (something that once seemed impossible), everyone has been speculating about the possible consequences of such a buyout, including the potential collapse of movie theaters all around the country. Even if that doesn’t happen, though, it’s clear that some aspects of our entertainment landscape will never be the same.
For example, one way or another, Netflix buying out the WB means that James Gunn’s DCU will dwindle and ultimately die.
Meet The New Boss
James Gunn
The most obvious way this could happen (and the one fans are most nervous about) is that James Gunn could get fired. Right now, as co-CEO of DC Studios, he wields plenty of power at Warner Bros., creative and otherwise. But if Netflix’s purchase goes through (something that may take two or three years to finalize if it gets held up in court), he would have entirely new bosses to report to, and they may want to install their own geeky guru to oversee the DCU.
In such a scenario, the DCU would still be around, but it could very well collapse without Gunn at the helm. Much like Kevin Feige does for Marvel, Gunn is responsible for weaving all of the various DC movie and film projects into a cohesive creative tapestry. As I have recently written about, he remains personally involved in the production of everything from Clayface to The Batman 2, all while working on The Man of Tomorrow, the cinematic sequel to his hit film Superman (2025).
The DCEU Failure All Over Again
Without Gunn, the DCU would mostly be a collection of assorted superhero films from creatives who may not have that much investment in the comic book source material. This is what happened with the DCEU, which transformed Superman into a bored god, Aquaman into a surfer bro, and Batman into a murderer. From flying cars to wandering kaiju, Gunn’s Superman arguably captured the comic book vibe better than any film before, and I worry that losing this visionary creative guru would be like Kryptonite for the DCU, resulting in a slow, painful, and downright ugly death.
However, even if James Gunn keeps his job, the DCU is still likely to die if Netflix buys Warner Bros. That’s because for all of its success, the Netflix model basically boils down to “quantity over quality,” and the streamer has a well-earned reputation for pumping out one crappy film after another in an attempt to increase their library of exclusive content. Netflix has historically had success with original shows (just look at the meteoric success of Stranger Things), but their attempts at creating big, DCU-style tentpole films have been particularly bad.
Netflix: Where Good Ideas Go To Die
Netflix’s Red Notice
If you’ve never had the displeasure of watching them, Netflix is home to one failed blockbuster after another: Red Notice, an insanely expensive film starring Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot, was an utterly forgettable flop that currently has a 37 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the two Rebel Moon films from divisive DCEU director Zack Snyder are pure sci-fi slop (the first film has a 23 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and the second has 16 percent) that will leave you wanting to watch some vintage Star Wars as a palate cleanser. Meanwhile, The Electric State (which came from Avengers: Endgame directors, the Russo brothers) was a high-profile bomb that currently has a 16 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
As you can see, Netflix is where successful comic directors come to put out absolute crap. Zack Snyder, the director behind beloved superhero movies like Watchmen and Justice League, released some of the worst sci-fi blockbusters of the last decade on the streamer, while the Russo brothers, Marvel’s wunderkinds, made an original movie so terrible that it cast doubt on how bad their upcoming Avengers movies will actually be. Netflix is also a terrible home for superhero stars, as Red Notice (which had three of the highest-profile Marvel and DC stars in the form of Reynolds, Johnson, and Gadot) ended up being a nothingburger of a film that arguably hurt their careers far more than it helped.
A scene from Netflix’s Rebel Moon
As a huge comics nerd, I really love the DCU, and I’m excited to see what James Gunn (perhaps the biggest comics nerd of them all) will do next with this colorful cinematic universe. But Netflix buying Warner Bros. is the ultimate kiss of death for the DCU: whether Gunn gets fired or not, Netflix will neuter these ambitious films until they are as bland, inoffensive, and utterly boring as flops like Red Notice and The Electric State. In the meantime, all geeks like me can do is dig out our old longboxes, because back issues may be the only way we get decent DC movies for the next few decades.