Credit: Inside the MagicDespite concerns about “superhero fatigue” and the firing of Jonathan Majors, who previously portrayed Kang the Conqueror, Marvel President Kevin Feige appears to be considering a transition from the Multiverse Saga to a new “Mutant Saga” centered around X-Men characters.
Avengers 5 (formerly titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) is still in development, though on a smaller scale compared to previous installments.
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With Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man/Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Captain America/Steve Rogers stepping down, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has struggled to recapture the same fervor from Marvel fans and general public since the beginning of their Multiverse Saga.
On the other side of the superhero coin, DC Studios has undergone major changes. Following the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) merger, Warner Media underwent significant restructuring, resulting in the departure of key executives, including Walter Hamada, the former head of WB’s DC film division.
The changes went beyond simply rebranding the streaming service HBO Max to “Max” and adding the Discovery Channel to WBD’s brand lineup. Several in-progress and even completed films and television shows were shelved indefinitely for tax reasons as the company shifted its focus toward maximizing profits.
This strategy ignited widespread fan boycotts, accusations of insider trading against WBD CEO David Zaslav, and public outrage over the erasure of beloved film history. One of the most prominent scandals was the sudden cancellation of Leslie Grace’s Batgirl film, which was part of the (former) DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and included the return of legendary Batman actor Michael Keaton.
Will WB Succeed Where Disney Failed?
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Previously involved in DCEU projects such as The Suicide Squad (2021) (distinct from the 2016 Suicide Squad featuring Jared Leto as the Joker), Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn has risen to a position of true creative leadership within DC Studios.
In this role as co-CEO alongside Peter Safran, Gunn serves as a counterpart to Kevin Feige’s position at Marvel, responsible for guiding the creative trajectory of the DC Universe (DCU). Currently, DC Studios is gearing up for something entirely unique, representing even a departure from the offerings presented by Marvel Studios.
According to Gunn, changes are afoot as the DC CEO makes subtle (or not-so-subtle) jibes at The Walt Disney Company-owned Marvel Studios, notorious for exploiting workers — in particular, the artists and crew who work on the VFX that make these superheroes truly super.
Now, fans are praising this new approach, as VFX workers themselves reach out to thank Gunn on Threads. User @mykeprime shared the following response to Gunn’s declaration, with Gunn himself expressing gratitude and acknowledging this reply:
Speaking as one of those VFX artists, thank you for being one of the seemingly few not throwing us under the bus and pushing the ‘no vfx/everything is practical’ bullshit
Another fan, @nedwins, reiterated this:
So happy that you get to bring this culture into a major studio system. A patient steady loving hand is what this industry so desperately needs and deserves.
The general public has also drawn the connection between Marvel’s fast-paced, quick results-oriented workflow and DC’s more careful, quality-focused one, as @harleyflow_13 writes:
I noticed that recently. The week after SDCC, I heard that Marvel had announced the release of Fantastic four in July 2025 as well as the fact they were going to start shooting that week/weekend.I iimmediately thought about Superman which would be coming out the same month and how filming for it had already finished and what that meant.It was so obvious that the people working on Superman were being given the respect they deserved.