There’s always someone to blame in the eyes of any given fandom when decisions don’t go their way, and when it comes to any and all things relating to DC, that person is now James Gunn.
Previously, Walter Hamada was the number one target for the furious subset who constantly found their demands and campaigns being ignored, with the former DC Films boss occupying a position similar to that of Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilm, who inevitably tends to get blasted online whenever Star Wars drops the ball.
Even though The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker creator has reiterated several times over that he had nothing to do with either Titans or Doom Patrol being axed after their respective fourth seasons wrap up, the filmmaker and executive has nonetheless doubled down on offering an explainer to his detractors over the inner workings of the entertainment industry.
As Gunn says, DC Studios produce TV shows and feature films, leaving them at the mercy of the powers-that-be when it comes to the fate of such things as additional seasons and feature-length sequels. If HBO Max doesn’t want to make Titans or Doom Patrol anymore, then there’s nothing the co-CEO can do to influence that call when it comes from well beyond his pay grade.
It’s a more elegant summation than Netflix boss Ted Sarandos claiming he’d never canceled any series he deemed as being popular, but there’s little chance of Gunn’s fiercest critics accepting that it was a business decision, and not a creative one made by the shared universe’s new commander in chief.