Superman director James Gunn says he "didn't feel guilt" for leaving the MCU for DC: "I didn’t feel that way because I was fired"

James Gunn’s Superman has hit the big screen, firmly closing the door on his Marvel days, something which the director doesn't feel guilty about at all.

"No, I just shook my head. I didn’t feel that way because I was fired," said Gunn in response to whether he felt bad for jumping ship from Marvel to DC, on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd. "I didn’t feel guilt at all. I mean, I had to take a job! I took a job [with] people that I also really liked, and that was it."

James Gunn served as a Marvel director for many years, helming the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy as well as the Thor: The Dark World mid-credits scene. However, in 2018, Gunn was fired from Marvel and Disney over some resurfaced offensive Tweets.

At that point, Gunn admitted he "thought my career was over," although Marvel boss Kevin Feige was campaigning to get his job back. But then, Warner Bros. reached out to him about writing and directing a new Superman movie. However, Gunn pitched his 2021 movie The Suicide Squad, instead.

Funnily enough, on the same day, Gunn said he got a call from Disney seemingly offering him his job back. The director then went over to Feige’s house, where the Marvel boss asked him if he was doing a new Superman movie. After The Suicide Squad, Gunn returned to Marvel to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Then in 2022, he jumped ship and became co-head of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran.

"Listen, there are people that I’m not that happy with over there [at Disney], but that certainly wasn’t the Marvel guys, you know?" explained Gunn. "They were completely supportive. [Marvel Studios Co-President] Louis D’Esposito called me all the time. Lou and Kevin were great. So it certainly wasn’t them."

Gunn’s new DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters was years in the making, but kicked off late last year with Creature Commandoes, followed by Superman. The Studio has Supergirl, Peacemaker season 2, and Lanterns coming next, alongside a whole host of already announced projects. In fact, DC plans to continuously release two movies, multiple TV shows, and an animated show each year for the foreseeable future.

Superman is out in theaters now. For more, read our Superman review, and check out our guides to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows. And if you've seen the movie check out our Superman ending explained.