James Gunn’s Involvement in ‘Joker 2’ Clarified in Report on Box Office Disaster

A new report details James Gunn’s involvement in Joker: Foley for two and who is to blame for the film’s disastrous opening weekend box office performance. First Joker was an unexpected success, grossing over $1 billion on a relatively small budget. Unfortunately, Joker 2 it performed well below expectations in its opening weekend and could lose money on its $200 million budget. It only grossed $37.8 million domestically and $114.8 million worldwide, but word of mouth is so low that it probably won’t get any better.

Although Gunn and Peter Safran run DC Studios, the pair are not to blame for the Joker 2failure. According to Hollywood ReporterGunn and director Todd Phillips emphasized: “they didn’t work together on the projectGunn clarified on social media that the DC logo did not appear in the film’s opening credits.”because it’s not a DC Studios movieIt seems like the DC Studios co-CEO is separating from this project, and that’s probably the right decision before the DCU begins.

Gunn clarifies that Joker 2 is not his fault

The DCU will officially begin in 2025 with James Gunn’s film. SupermanAnd Joker 2 is the last remnant of the old DC regime. It would be wise for Gunn and Safran to distance themselves from this failure, since it was given the green light before they were even hired. Joker 2 was announced in July 2022, with Gunn and Safran only becoming co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios in October of that year. This was stated by The Hollywood Reporter. When Joker 2 there was a green light”Washington was in a state of near chaos.” as the DCEU slowly imploded.

First Joker The film was originally supposed to be a one-off, but the sequel was greenlit after earning $1 billion. The report states that the studio gave Phillips full creative control with little feedback from Gunn or anyone else at Warner Bros. Joker 2 exists as an Elseworlds project, meaning it is not part of the DCU or Matt Reeves’ Batman universe. Gunn’s comments indicate that this will not affect his vision for the DCU, and he also did not have any creative input on the project.

Gunn wants the DCU to be a clean slate

Under their regime, Gunn and Safran had several bombs, but they were all projects that were completed or in development before they were brought on board. Movies like Flash, Shazam: Fury of the GodsAnd Blue Beetle all were part of the DCEU and were released after Gunn announced the end of the DCEU. Their failures along with Joker 2It’s not Gunn’s fault, but rather the blame should be placed on the studio executives who mishandled all of these projects.

Gunn’s comments are an attempt to distance his DCU from Joker 2, as he wants the DCU to begin without any controversy. Superman is incredibly important to DC’s future success, and audiences can’t let the stench of this film bleed into another. Joker 2 wouldn’t impact the DCU no matter how good it is, but Gunn clearly wants nothing to do with it.

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Source: Hollywood Reporter