Pop culture really doesn’t deserve James Gunn. First, the writer and director breathed new life into the MCU with Guardians of the Galaxy, paving the way for weirder fare like Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. Then, after being scorned by Disney over some bad-faith trolling, he agreed to cross over to the other side to helm a Suicide Squad quasi-reboot for the floundering DCEU. Once Disney saw the error of their ways, Gunn had no hard feelings at all, promptly returning to his post on Guardians Vol. 3 while continuing to salvage the franchise appeal of Suicide Squad.
All of this is to say that, while everything else is going to hell, it’s comforting to know that Gunn’s peacekeeping mission to the perilous gulf separating the MCU/DCEU territories continues unabated. Earlier this week, Gunn served—once again—as a negotiator between the warring comic book movie factions, bravely entering into a discussion regarding the ongoing, largely irrelevant, often manufactured (and thoroughly exhausting) “beef” between Marvel and DC film studios.
After getting asked whether or not DC execs and directors could be allowed on a Marvel movie set, Gunn responded with a succinct, “Sure,” before casually tossing out an invite to basically everyone currently involved in the DCEU, including Zack Snyder, Patty Jenkins, James Wan, David Ayer, and DC Chief Creative Officer/Publisher, Jim Lee. “They’re invited for sure!” he added, which is objectively very cute.
So, here’s to hoping some lovely behind-the-scenes photos arrive soon of Gunn throwing up “hang loose” hands with Jason Momoa, or of he and Patty Jenkins theatrically throwing up their fists. Of course, Gunn’s phrasing of “any of the people I really dig from the DC side of my life” sort of implies that there are people he doesn’t dig within DC, which is sure to get some people talking. (It’s probably Joss Whedon.)
Send Great Job, Internet olive branches to gji@theonion.com