But I\u2019m told that once this deal closes \u2014 and it will \u2014 it\u2019s over: the Paramount board wants both of them out ASAP, their contracts will not be renewed, and \u2014 as one source puts it \u2014 there is blood in the water. <\/p>\n
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RELATED<\/p>\n
It\u2019s open season on Gunn and Safran, especially Gunn, and it\u2019s coming from the top of WBD itself.<\/p>\n Before we get into it: Cosmic Book News<\/strong> publishes this as HBO Max and Warner Bros. Discovery entities carpet-bomb this site\u2019s social media accounts \u2014 which reach upwards of 40 million+ views a month \u2014 with DMCA takedowns simply for discussing alleged Lanterns spoilers. <\/p>\n Our Facebook page is dark for 30 days, right through San Diego Comic-Con. Every takedown has been formally contested via counter-notification, and yes, attorneys are involved. The full rundown of the takedown campaign is below \u2014 because we\u2019re publishing anyway.<\/p>\n The Receipts<\/p>\n Last October, I exclusively revealed<\/a> that James Gunn would be out at DC Studios once the Paramount-WBD merger happened. <\/p>\n The usual access-media suspects rushed to \u201cdebunk\u201d it, including \u201cscooper\u201d Jeff Sneider who declared the whole thing \u201csimply doesn\u2019t exist\u201d and insisted the Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. had already fallen apart. <\/p>\n Following my report, Gunn himself ran to his shill YouTubers and Bloomberg in a desperate attempt to save his job. Then, in December, when Netflix briefly won the bidding war, the same crowd took victory laps: Gunn and Safran \u201clocked in,\u201d contracts extended into Spring 2027, nothing to see here.<\/p>\n Except Paramount came back and outbid Netflix at $110 billion. WBD shareholders approved the deal on April 23, and the deal \u2014 backed by a personal guarantee from Larry Ellison \u2014 was expected to close within weeks. Exactly as I told you. Check the receipts<\/a>.<\/p>\n And about those contracts: Gunn and Safran got an extension after the Superman \u2014 or as one source calls it, \u201cDomestic Man\u201d \u2014 debacle, and The Hollywood Reporter noted just last week that the deals expire<\/a> at the end of 2026 or the end of 2027. My sources say flatly: they will not be renewed<\/strong>. Bet your house on it.<\/p>\n Payback Time: De Luca and Abdy Take It All<\/p>\n Warner Bros. film co-heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy just got their contracts renewed. They are safe with the Ellisons coming in, and I\u2019m told that once the merger closes, they get the whole thing \u2014 with DC under their complete umbrella.<\/p>\n Remember last year\u2019s trade stories putting De Luca and Abdy \u201cunder fire\u201d amid WB\u2019s flops? <\/p>\n My sources say that campaign came out of DC Studios, the same playbook Geoff Johns ran back in the day, slipping rumors to the trades against Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and his own co-heads Diane Nelson and Greg Silverman. <\/p>\n And De Luca and Abdy know exactly where those stories came from. Now it\u2019s payback time.<\/p>\n Recall that De Luca and Abdy already had a plan to salvage DC before Gunn torched it: Black Adam vs. Superman, Patty Jenkins\u2019 Wonder Woman 3, and a Man of Steel 2 developed by Christopher McQuarrie and Henry Cavill that featured Green Lantern. <\/p>\n The original cuts of The Flash and Aquaman 2 featured Ben Affleck and pointed to the future, with Batgirl following The Flash and leading into Batman Beyond with Michael Keaton, and initial talks with Zack Snyder were about The Dark Knight Returns as the wrap-up to that universe. <\/p>\n Gunn scrapped the footage and oversaw the reshoots. Recall also what I told you about the real ending of The Flash under De Luca<\/a>, nixed by Gunn and Safran because they had David Zaslav\u2019s ear. <\/p>\n Once this deal closes, Zaslav won\u2019t be running anything.<\/p>\n What comes next, per an outside source with connections to WBD: expect Gunn and Safran to \u201cstep down to focus on Man of Tomorrow<\/a>\u201d \u2014 the face-saving version \u2014 and find jobs elsewhere soon after Paramount takes over. <\/p>\n DC Studios as a standalone entity shuts down. No more \u201cunified universe.\u201d De Luca and Abdy oversee theatrical. HBO\u2019s Casey Bloys oversees streaming. Animation and games get parceled out.<\/p>\n I\u2019m further told De Luca and Abdy will organize the studio with in-house and outside production and post-production teams built to maximize the use of AI on tentpole films. <\/p>\n DC goes project by project: individual characters, possible team-up events, with universe-building allowed to happen organically \u2014 because DC simply doesn\u2019t have the pipeline or the producer infrastructure to support a Marvel-style universe of films. <\/p>\n Gunn never had the support producers Kevin Feige has leaned on, like Louis D\u2019Esposito and Victoria Alonso \u2014 veteran line producers with TV and effects experience. <\/p>\n Back in the day, Bryan Singer had Ralph Winter on the X-Men films. The lack of that infrastructure is exactly why Sony\u2019s Spider-Man spinoffs failed. <\/p>\n Notably, the new approach still leaves room for The Dark Knight Returns and a Zack Snyder Justice League movie done the way WB did Watchmen: a standalone film with a fully formed universe. <\/p>\n I\u2019m told Disney is eyeing a similar plan for Star Wars.<\/a><\/p>\n Open for Business: Snyder, Affleck, McQuarrie, Jenkins<\/p>\n De Luca and Abdy are already taking BIG pitches. <\/p>\n I\u2019m told Zack Snyder, Matt Reeves, Ben Affleck, Christopher McQuarrie, and Patty Jenkins have all been approached to submit specs and pitches. <\/p>\n As one source bluntly put it: no goofy stuff \u2014 real stuff, like Dark Knight, the SnyderVerse, and Wonder Woman.<\/p>\n That lines up with what I previously reported: Snyder has been approached about a SnyderVerse return<\/a>, backed by his Saudi friends, the same money backing the Paramount-WBD deal. <\/p>\n And with directors around town sick to death of superhero movies, Snyder is one of only a handful \u2014 the Russo Brothers among them \u2014 who remain genuinely passionate about the genre AND have the award-winning teams and relationships to deliver a big superhero movie. <\/p>\n As for the current regime? One source put it bluntly: there is ZERO chance A-list or B-list directors line up to work for DC Studios as currently run. <\/p>\n You don\u2019t think Reeves, Craig Gillespie, and Casey Bloys have told everyone in town<\/a> what working with Gunn and Safran is like?<\/p>\n
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The Reeves Rift \u2014 and Arkham Is Back<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one that should raise eyebrows. <\/p>\n The narrative that Matt Reeves \u201ctook two years\u201d to turn in The Batman Part II script? My sources say it\u2019s backwards: Gunn delayed and delayed \u2014 and then had the nerve to offer notes. That went about as well as you\u2019d expect. <\/p>\n Reeves, I\u2019m told, decided to wait it out with De Luca\u2019s full blessing. They want nothing to do with Gunn when the movie comes out. They want him gone and far away from it \u2014 from his \u201cuniverse\u201d and from his flops.<\/p>\n And the Arkham Asylum series at HBO that Gunn killed? I\u2019m told it\u2019s back in play<\/a>, and Reeves remains very much interested.<\/p>\n This also tracks with the CineSource X account\u2019s claim that The Penguin Season 2 was supposed to be in full swing \u2014 with David Ellison reportedly pleased with Season 1\u2019s numbers and on board to continue \u2014 before the season was put on ice by DCU executives, causing major issues between Gunn and Reeves. <\/p>\n I can\u2019t independently verify that one, but it fits everything I\u2019m hearing.<\/p>\n Which brings us to those Batman-in-Man of Tomorrow leaks<\/a>. I\u2019m hearing Gunn himself is the one putting them out to justify shoehorning Batman, or some sort of cameo, into the movie. <\/p>\n He can\u2019t afford another failure, so he\u2019s willing to gamble and burn Reeves in the process.<\/p>\n Man of Tomorrow: Winging It<\/p>\n When the initial cuts of Supergirl tested as a disaster \u2014 and yes, Warners screened a Gunn-Safran cut against a Craig Gillespie cut, exactly as I reported<\/a> and as The Hollywood Reporter first confirmed \u2014 Gunn knew his time was short. <\/p>\n I have been told Gunn knew Supergirl was going to be a complete disaster, that he knew how bad the script was, and that\u2019s a reason he pivoted away from the greater DCU \u2014 shelving The Authority \u2014 and went all-in on the Super Family: the one corner of the DCU he could control. <\/p>\n The turnaround on Man of Tomorrow was so fast that there was no time to put a proper production and art department together, which is why, I\u2019m told, the costumes still look scrappy.<\/p>\n The script, I\u2019m told, is \u201cFrankensteined\u201d together from previous ideas: Bryan Singer\u2019s abandoned Superman Returns sequel with Brainiac, Zack Snyder\u2019s Man of Steel 2 Brainiac concepts, and elements of the Krypton TV series that David Goyer conceived as a Man of Steel spinoff (a show that, ironically, featured Lobo in two episodes). <\/p>\n Gunn is shooting it Marvel-style: a general outline, pre-vized action sequences built around a list of money shots, forced comedy, and manipulative emotional beats \u2014 a structure that lets him keep bolting on DC characters as a reaction to the Supergirl backlash. <\/p>\n What was originally a Superman sequel is now a mini-Justice League \u201cGang\u201d movie<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be surprised if he pulls the same move he did at Marvel with Ego \u2014 using what he wants and daring the studio to object \u2014 now that he\u2019s the one running the studio. And he\u2019s fortunate to have AI now, so he won\u2019t face the last-minute VFX fires Marvel became notorious for.<\/p>\n Even the Jimmy Olsen series, I\u2019m told, was conceived as a facade<\/a>, cheap proof that Gunn is \u201cbuilding the universe.\u201d It\u2019s a mockumentary-style investigative crime series; one person described it to me as \u201ca superhero Spinal Tap.\u201d (And don\u2019t expect the Mister Miracle animated project \u2014 based on Tom King\u2019s run, not Kirby\u2019s \u2014 to lead to a live-action Darkseid.)<\/p>\n Sources describe Gunn with a reputation as the \u201cclass clown\u201d who does his homework at the last minute and charms and BS\u2019s his way to what he wants. <\/p>\n My sources note that there were limitations put on him, sure, but he never had a real plan and wasn\u2019t smart enough to game the system. He has burned a lot of bridges with creatives, and word has gotten out. Not as toxic as Geoff Johns and Dan DiDio, I\u2019m told, but close.<\/p>\n Supergirl: A Historic Bomb<\/p>\n Supergirl is performing as one of the worst comic book movies of all time. It\u2019s being compared to Catwoman. It just lost 1,018 theaters<\/a>. It sits at roughly $111 million worldwide and is heading for a finish around $130 million, below The Marvels\u2018 $206 million, the MCU\u2019s lowest-grossing movie of all time. <\/p>\n Variety pegged the theatrical loss<\/a> at $80 million to $120 million \u2014 and that math assumed a $200 million finish it now won\u2019t come close to. <\/p>\n Word is out internationally<\/a> about how badly Supergirl and DC have performed; recall that Gunn\u2019s Superman underperformed internationally, too. It\u2019s embarrassing for WB, and it has made Gunn and Safran the biggest losers of 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, exactly as insiders have said, Michael just crossed $1 billion<\/a> worldwide, the first biopic in history to do it. A film that resonates with the SnyderVerse approach: larger-than-life, epic, mythic characters that everyone loves. Audiences haven\u2019t gone anywhere. They\u2019re just done with what Gunn is selling.<\/p>\n The Lawsuit Lands \u2014 One Day After Ellison\u2019s Nuke<\/p>\n And then, as I was finishing this article, it happened: California Attorney General Rob Bonta and eleven other state AGs filed an antitrust lawsuit Monday<\/a> to block the merger, one day after Semafor reported that David Ellison\u2019s inner circle has been urging him to pull Paramount\u2019s headquarters, and roughly $30 billion in annual content spending, out of California if Bonta sued. Bonta sued anyway. <\/p>\n The states have asked Paramount and WBD not to close while the case plays out and say they\u2019ll seek a restraining order if the companies refuse.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what should tell you everything: the DOJ already cleared this deal last month, along with regulators around the world. Twelve state AGs are now defying the federal government\u2019s own antitrust review. <\/p>\n From what I am told, the states\u2019 effort has nothing to do with what\u2019s best for the business \u2014 it\u2019s all about politics, as David Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison, are aligned with Donald Trump. <\/p>\n Paramount says it will fight, and Ellison is not messing around anymore, as Paramount already signed a 10-year lease on production space in New Jersey. <\/p>\n The lawsuit only delays the inevitable.<\/p>\n The Takedown Campaign<\/p>\n Now, about those DMCA takedowns. As all of this has unfolded, HBO Max<\/a> and WBD\u2019s \u201ccontent protection\u201d operations<\/a> have fired takedown notices at Cosmic Book News accounts across X<\/a>, YouTube, and Facebook<\/a> \u2014 not for posting footage, but for discussing alleged Lanterns spoilers, including the Hal Jordan Episode 1 leak<\/a> and even a meme<\/a>.<\/p>\n The result: CBN\u2019s Facebook page and its 666,000 followers are restricted for 30 days \u2014 through August 11 \u2014 right through Comic-Con. <\/p>\n We have contested every single takedown via counter-notification, the entire campaign is documented step by step in the links above, and attorneys have been engaged.<\/p>\n Draw your own conclusions about a studio that spends the run-up to its Lanterns Hall H panel<\/a> trying to muzzle the outlet reporting that its leadership is on the way out.<\/p>\n And note who\u2019s footing the bill for that panel and the Lanterns promotion at next week\u2019s San Diego Comic-Con: HBO \u2014 not Gunn\u2019s DC Studios. Just like Peacemaker at last year\u2019s show, which was all HBO. Which means Gunn skips the biggest comic book event of the year. Again.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Next<\/p>\n
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\n James Gunn Teases Nathan Fillion\u2019s Guy Gardner In Man of Tomorrow \u2014 Middle Finger Included
\n James Gunn posted a video from the Man of Tomorrow set Monday: a lighter built like a Green Lantern power battery, glowing…
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Zack Snyder IG: \u201cI\u00a0feel like the number of f*cks I\u2019m giving in this photo is very close to zero.\u201d \u2013 November 7, 2025<\/p>\n
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\n Zack Snyder Drops Justice League Sequel Bombshells\u2014And a Rare Look at Ezra Miller\u2019s Flash
\n Zack Snyder just shared another treasure trove from his time in the DCEU, and this time it\u2019s loaded with deep cuts. Over…
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Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison<\/p>\n![\"WBD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/wb-contention-protection-lanterns-cosmicbooknews.webp\")
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