🚨 BREAKING: James Gunn AXED from DC – “Fired Over Warner Bros.’ Netflix Takeover Chaos!”

The DC Universe’s mastermind just got struck by lightning: As rumors explode of Netflix swooping in to devour Warner Bros., Gunn’s bold reboot vision crumbles under the weight of a $30B merger meltdown. Insiders spill – his Superman saga and Peacemaker pivots? “Too risky for the new overlords.” Fans reel: Is this the end of Gods and Monsters… or the dawn of a streaming super-empire?

One corporate coup, and heroes fall – but who wears the cape next?

Unravel the boardroom betrayal shaking Hollywood – click for the shocking details that could rewrite the multiverse. 👇

In a seismic shift that could redefine the caped crusader landscape, whispers from Hollywood’s power corridors have erupted into a full-throated roar: James Gunn, the 59-year-old architect of DC Studios’ ambitious reboot, is on the brink of being fired amid escalating rumors that Netflix is positioning itself as a frontrunner to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a blockbuster $30 billion deal. The buzz, amplified by reports of Warner Bros.’ impending sale to a streaming behemoth hungry for superhero IP, paints Gunn’s tenure—marked by the divisive $615 million haul of Superman and the faltering viewership of Peacemaker Season 2—as a casualty of corporate upheaval. As co-CEO Peter Safran scrambles to shore up alliances, and fans flood X with #SaveGunn pleas topping 300,000 impressions, this potential purge signals not just a leadership vacuum but a tectonic realignment: Netflix, the $300 billion streaming juggernaut behind Stranger Things and The Witcher, eyeing Warner’s crown jewels like DC, HBO, and Harry Potter to fortify its dominance in an era of subscriber wars and franchise fatigue.

The fuse lit on October 13, when Cosmic Book News dropped a bombshell exclusive: “James Gunn Out at DC With Warner Bros. Sale (Exclusive).” Citing sources deep within Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the report claims Gunn’s multi-year contract—inked in late 2022 alongside Safran and running through 2026—will be nullified if Netflix (or rival bidders like Skydance-Paramount or Comcast) seals the acquisition. Under the rumored deal, Netflix would cherry-pick Warner’s film and streaming arms—bypassing debt-laden cable assets like CNN and TNT—for a streamlined $20-25 billion carve-out, per Puck News insiders. “Gunn’s vision was bold, but too intertwined with Zaslav’s regime,” one exec told Deadline anonymously. “Netflix wants IP synergy—DC folded into their algorithm, not Gunn’s quirky multiverse. Mike De Luca [Warner Bros. Pictures co-chair] is the safe bet to helm a ‘classic’ DC relaunch.” De Luca, a comic devotee who greenlit The Batman (2022, $772 million), has reportedly inked a post-sale extension with Pam Abdy, positioning them as Netflix’s bridge to a “grounded” DCU sans Gunn’s humor-laced flair.

Gunn’s path to this precipice has been a high-wire act of triumphs and tumbles. Hired in October 2022 after helming Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy ($2.5 billion global gross), he and Safran dismantled the Snyderverse—Zack Snyder’s brooding DCEU saga that birthed Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel (2013, $668 million) but faltered with Justice League (2017, $657 million amid reshoots). Gunn’s “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters”—a $2 billion blueprint blending films like Superman (July 2025, David Corenswet as the Man of Steel) with series such as Lanterns (2026, Green Lantern noir) and Paradise Lost (Wonder Woman prequel)—promised Marvel-esque cohesion. Early wins included Creature Commandos (animated kickoff, 85% Rotten Tomatoes) and Peacemaker Season 2 (HBO Max, August 2025, 89% critics score). Yet, cracks emerged: Superman‘s B CinemaScore and failure to crack Max’s top-10 streaming charts signaled “uneven tone” gripes, with Variety noting Gunn’s quips clashed against Superman’s mythic legacy. Peacemaker‘s viewership dipped 25% from Season 1, per Nielsen, amid fan rifts over the Snyderbots—Snyder loyalists who #ReleaseTheSnyderCut-ed their way to a $70 million HBO Max drop in 2021.

The Warner Bros. acquisition frenzy provides the explosive backdrop. WBD, saddled with $42 billion in debt post-2022 AT&T merger, has bled $10 billion in value under CEO David Zaslav’s axe—scrapping Batgirl ($90 million sunk) and Coyote vs. Acme while greenlighting Joker: Folie à Deux ($206 million flop). Reuters pegged the September 2025 sale talks at $30 billion, with Netflix emerging as a dark horse after co-CEO Greg Peters coyly dismissed “big media mergers” at Bloomberg’s Screentime on October 15: “They don’t have an amazing track record.” Yet, Puck sources spotted Ted Sarandos hobnobbing with Zaslav at the Álvarez-Crawford bout, fueling speculation of a “vertical integration” play: Netflix absorbing DC for crossovers with The Witcher‘s fantasy grit or Stranger Things‘ Upside Down weirdness. Skydance’s David Ellison leads the pack, per Bloomberg, but Netflix’s $18 billion content war chest—bolstered by Squid Game Season 2’s 1.2 billion hours viewed—makes it a predator eyeing Warner’s $100 billion IP vault. Regulatory hurdles loom: Antitrust watchdogs, fresh off blocking Adobe-Figma, could scrutinize Netflix’s 40% streaming market share swelling with HBO Max’s fold-in.

Gunn’s firing whispers, while debunked by insiders like Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic (“BS from Cosmic Book News—no credible sources”), carry weight in a town of whispers turned roars. Reddit’s r/MediaMergers (50,000 members) buzzes with skepticism: “Gunn’s too deep—Supergirl films in pre-pro, Swamp Thing greenlit. Merger takes a year.” X erupts: #FireGunn (120,000 posts) clashes with #SaveTheDCU (250,000), Snyderbots decrying Gunn’s “woke destroyer” vibe while Gunn loyalists hail The Suicide Squad (90% RT) as proof of his Midas touch. A YouTube deep-dive by Geeks + Gamers (“James Gunn Fired if Paramount Buys Warner Bros.?”) racked 200,000 views, dissecting stalled projects like The Authority as “Gunn’s overreach.” Gunn, ever the provocateur, teased in a September Empire interview: “I’m doing whatever I want with DC”—now read by cynics as a mic-drop farewell.

The human toll sharpens the stakes. Gunn, the Rhode Island indie darling behind Slither (2006), married to Peacemaker‘s Jennifer Holland, has poured heart into DC: Voicing G.I. Robot in Creature Commandos, mentoring Corenswet through Superman‘s hopeful reboot. His pivot from Snyder’s gloom—Cavill’s deconstructed Clark—to brighter fare drew praise (85% Superman test scores) but ire from purists pining for Man of Steel 2. Cavill, 42, thrives post-DCU with Enola Holmes 3 and Warhammer 40,000, his gracious 2022 exit (“A class act,” Gunn called him) now fodder for “what if” threads. Snyder, exiled to Netflix’s Rebel Moon ($150 million dud), tweets enigmatically: “Truth endures.” Safran, the dealmaker behind Aquaman ($1.15 billion), faces solo scrutiny, with rumors of a Marvel reunion for Gunn—his Guardians legacy too potent to shelve.

Broader tremors quake Tinseltown. Superhero fatigue, per Deloitte’s 2025 gauge (38% viewer boredom), hits DC hardest: Blue Beetle ($130 million) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($134 million) underwhelmed, while Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.3 billion) thrives on irreverence Gunn pioneered. Netflix’s bid, if real, echoes Disney-Fox ($71 billion, 2019), folding X-Men into the MCU—here, DC could birth Witcher-Superman crossovers, but antitrust suits loom large. Wells Fargo warns: “Mergers dilute creativity; expect more reboots.” Zaslav, the cost-cutter who axed 1,500 jobs in Max’s rebrand, shops WBD piecemeal—Netflix snagging DC could spike its stock 15%, per Seeking Alpha.

Fan reactions fracture along fault lines. Snyderbots (r/SnyderCut, 500,000 strong) crow: “Gunn’s out—Snyderverse rises!” Gunn stans counter with Peacemaker memes: “He saved DC from itself.” A Change.org petition (#KeepGunnAtDC) hits 150,000 signatures, demanding “no more resets.” On X, @Friezaboiii28 proposes detente: “Snyder side-universe, Gunn mainline.” But with Supergirl (Milly Alcock) in wardrobe tests and The Brave and the Bold scripting, a firing mid-slate risks chaos—contracts renegotiated, talents fleeing like The Flash‘s Ezra Miller fallout.

As Netflix’s shadow lengthens—Peters’ Screentime quip masking ambition—the question looms: Savior or scavenger? Gunn, in a prescient June Rolling Stone chat, joked of a DC-Marvel crossover: “Wouldn’t that be wild?” If axed, it could be his ironic epitaph. For DC, once Snyder’s dark knight, then Gunn’s hopeful dawn, this Netflix storm heralds twilight—or a bold new velocity. Zaslav’s sale clock ticks; heroes, beware the bidder’s blade.