The Hollywood rumor mill is nothing new, especially when it comes to high-profile projects, but social media can encourage speculation to spiral out of control. While DC’s James Gunn is no stranger to chaos, one recent rumor prompted him to take to social media to warn against believing things that don’t come through verified channels—a position Gunn can take, being the rare studio head who’s terminally online enough to nip disinformation in the bud.
Gunn put his foot down regarding the speculation surrounding the inclusion of Robin in the script for director Matt Reeves and co-writer Mattson Tomlin’s highly anticipated sequel, The Batman Part II, starring Robert Pattinson. This clarification came today in a reply on Threads to a post from a verified DC fan account. Gunn explicitly addressed the rumors, writing the following:
“Guys please stop believing this nonsense. I think six of us have read the script. No one knows anything about the Batman 2.”
Gunn’s proactive approach to shutting down rumors before they are mistaken for professional wrestling-style behind-the-scenes truths is one of his more unique qualities since becoming head of DC back in 2022. Divorced from his numerous media tour interviews for projects like Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, and Superman, DC fans will routinely find Gunn in the replies of seemingly random posts to either give more color to a behind-the-scenes detail about a project or to shut down a rumor with his titular preface, “Nope.” Other times, he’s cheekily not provided enough information on his posts, as was the case with the Easter egg-filled Hall of Justice Mural from Superman seen a couple of weeks ago.
While certainly not on the same level, Gunn’s social media presence during media tours makes him someone worth following, much like Geoff Keighley, the creator of the Game Awards. In addition to hosting Summer Game Fest and providing commentary on topics related to gaming—such as explaining to Fox News why the sexual themes in Mass Effect aren’t worth Satanic panic—Keighley has significantly increased his social media activity on both his personal and Game Awards accounts. While Keighley has indeed fallen short on addressing industry facing issues with his platform, his accounts doubling as a newswire are close to what Gunn is doing with his social media (only trade Muppets and Hideo Kojima oomfie posts with behind the scene set videos and clips of Gunn’s dog, Ozu).
Keighley’s posts help disseminate information quickly, but they also position him as a central hub for updates on significant developments in the industry. Gunn’s approach to social media reflects this same strategy. Given that he has creative input and authority over all matters related to DC, his becoming a de facto source for breaking news (some of which is ostensibly aggregated from his social media posts) is a no-brainer.
The significant aspect of this whole first-world phenomenon is that Gunn’s position as an accessible mouthpiece for all things DC is unique compared to how other studio heads operate. Fans don’t see studio heads like Kathleen Kennedy or Kevin Feige jumping on an Instagram story or BlueSky post to tell fans to “stop listening to these rumors” about Star Wars or Marvel. Similarly, studio heads don’t expect fans to attend quarterly earnings meetings to gain insight into the status or studio backing of a new project.
Gunn’s constant online presence as a source for most things DC—filtering out truth from fiction—is something uniquely his. As annoying as it may be for him to take breaks from writing scripts to reassure fans, it’s a distinctive approach that sets him apart from others in the industry. However, any alternative would be preferable to David Zaslav attempting to explain all the changes and shake-ups at Warner Bros. and why shows are no longer on HBO Max in a tweet for all affected parties.
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