Marc Guggenheim, co-creator of the popular CW Arrowverse franchise, has expressed frustration with the unfolding DCEU reboot put forth by DC Studio co-CEOs Peter Safran and James Gunn.
Based on DC Comics, the Arrowverse kicked off with 2012’s Arrow, which chronicled the (at first) standalone origins and adventure of the eponymous character, known to the public as Oliver Queen. The show was a massive hit with CW viewers and was soon followed by the equally successful Flash show, Supergirl, Black Lightning, Batwoman, and Legends of Tomorrow. With Arrow over and the Flash series winding down with its final season, the man responsible for many of the franchise’s best moments seems to have done some thinking about the results of his work.
Guggenheim took to his Legal Dispatch newsletter to express his disappointment that Gunn and Safran had not reached out to him after taking over as CEOs of the DC film division and then announcing a grand plan to restructure the entire thing, including small-screen content for HBO Max. “Not a job, mind you,” Guggenheim clarified, discussing his displeasure. “A meeting. A conversation. A small recognition of what I’d tried to contribute to the grand tapestry that is the DC Universe. I’d only spent nine years toiling in that vineyard, after all.”
Other contributors to the DC universe have made similar comments, such as Wonder Woman star Robin Wright's assertion that she wasn’t reached out to for the upcoming Amazon-centric DCEU project. The Arrowverse creator clarified his view on his time working on the franchise. “Although working for DC had been creatively fulfilling, it involved a lot of adversity, challenges, and personal sacrifices — none of which seem to have accrued to any professional benefit. Simply put, the Arrowverse hasn’t led to any other gigs, so it feels — at least on a career level — that I really wasted my time.”
While a change on the scale of Gunn and Safran was needed at Warner Bros. Discovery, their tenure has been turbulent. While the case for a clean break when rebooting a franchise as potentially iconic as the DCU is clear, the duo has seemingly put a lot of fan goodwill on the chopping block with certain decisions ranging from cancelling anticipated projects to removing Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot's The Flash cameos. It’s not clear if these cuts and inconveniences will be worth it, but Gunn and Safran have put a lot on the line banking on that.
Source: Legal Dispatch