MarvelBlog News for July 13th, 2025
James Gunn is talking, and rumors are abounding. Sadly, those statements are not connected.
Still, we’ve got some fun stuff to discuss in this week’s MarvelBlog News.
The Gunn Run
Oreo the Raccoon and James Gunn. Photo: AFP/Getty/BBC
In the lead-up to the DC Studios release, Superman, director James Gunn has been doing plenty of press.
I mentioned this recently, but it’s even more accurate this week due to the film’s weekend release.
Source: @JamesGunn
Gunn is currently celebrating a VERY successful opening weekend as expected, and it’s a strange situation.
By any reasonable standard, Gunn is now the enemy of the MCU in that he’s running the competition.
Thus far, Marvel has never really had to compete with DC, though. The latter company fails more often than a Jets quarterback*.
To his credit, Gunn has largely played friendly, understanding that the odds are stacked against him.
Photo: Handout/Getty Images
The DC movie universe graveyard is running out of space after so many careers have died there.
Never ask The Rock about Black Adam. Trust me on this. Dude’s lost his ever-loving mind about the movie’s failures.
Anyway, as part of the media frenzy I’m calling the Gunn Run, the director revealed a couple of Marvel tidbits.
For starters, Gunn states he felt no guilt about abandoning the company that made him for DC.
Photo: James Gunn’s Twitter Account
Apparently, “dance with who brought you” isn’t a thing for Mr. Gunn. In his defense, he has a decent reason, though.
In case you’ve forgotten, Disney, the owner of Marvel, fired Gunn due to old but provocative social media posts he’d made.
Photo: The New York Times
So, when asked about switching teams and taking his talents to DC, Gunn refuted any feelings of guilt:
“No, I just shook my head. I didn’t feel that way because I was fired.”
Marvel
This seems like a good time to mention that Marvel had already re-hired him for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
He didn’t care, as he was still rather bitter about the firing. And I think we all get that.
More from the Gunn Run
Getty Images
To Gunn’s mind, Disney didn’t need to fire him, but the company felt pressure for other reasons.
Disney had recently terminated a different Hollywood talent who had done something much worse.
Source: @JamesGunn
However, since that person’s politics ran opposite to Gunn’s, Disney absorbed criticism from some about political bias.
Thus, Gunn became something of a fall guy, even though he’d be the first to tell you that his old social media posts were ill-considered.
Source: Marvel Studios
Now, karma has boomeranged on Disney, with Gunn giving DC its first real hope since, I dunno, when did The Dark Knight come out?
No, don’t try to tell me that The Dark Knight Rises was real hope. We both know better. But I digress.
Source: Marvel Studios
The point is that the Gunn Run has doubled as a victory lap for Gunn, who knows he has made a good movie.
Superman currently hovers in the mid-80s on Rotten Tomatoes, and it has opened to more than $122 million domestically.
Source: @Jamesgunn
Marvel will NEVER hear the end of it if The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens lower than Superman, either.
So, the stakes are seemingly high, although none of this really matters in the greater scheme of movie-making.
Photo: Marvel
It’s just temporary drama with Gunn throwing in a few behind-the-scenes tidbits to boot.
For example, the director revealed that he had no interest in meeting with Chris Pratt.
Photo: Marvel
Gunn had no power at the time, as his only major movie was something called Slither.
So, he had no choice in the matter, and I guess he hadn’t watched Everwood, where Pratt was excellent.
Source: ComicBook.com
Thankfully, the director got tricked into meeting Pratt and realized in “12 seconds” that the actor was perfect.
The reason was Marvel history right up until Gunn defected to the enemy.
Marvel Miscellany
Photo: Marvel
The Pratt story came from Entertainment Weekly, and it’s not the only Marvel tidbit of note. Watch this:
Yes, the most viral actress on TikTok right now doesn’t even have TikTok installed on her phone.
By the way, as I type this, First Steps is tracking for $130-$140 million.
Image: Marvel
While I trust tracking less than Atlanta Braves pitching, that’s the range Marvel wants/needs to see.
On the Disney+ front, Daredevil season two has finished filming, with actor Vincent D’Onofrio spitting hard truths.
Source: Marvel Studios
Wilson Fisk himself stated that there’s a plan for season three, but people need to watch the show to make it happen.
Based on Daredevil season one never reaching the Nielsen charts, the odds of another renewal are currently grim.
Photo: New York Times
On the bright side, Krysten Ritter sounds delighted to be back as Jessica Jones. In a ScreenRant interview, she states:
“It’s very exciting. I am very thrilled to be back in Jessica’s boots. There’s more story for her and it’s really exciting.”
Source: Marvel Studios/ Disney+
Speaking of unlikely renewals, Regan Aliyah, the actress who plays Zelma on Ironheart is hoping for Strange Academy.
My understanding is that there has been movement on that front despite Marvel’s earlier report that the show was on hold.
Source: Marvel Studios
If you’ve watched the entire season of Ironheart, you understand why this is now a pressing matter.
Aliyah has a marketing angle figured out. She believes that Strange Academy could become the new Harry Potter.
Strange Academy #2 by Skottie Young, Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado, and Clayton Cowles. Photo: Marvel Comics
Many have tried but failed in that regard. Still, that’s the right way to try to sell Disney on a project greenlight.
* = not counting Flash Gordon
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