“I’ll never do it again”: Trainload of Work James Gunn Did on Superman, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker Simultaneously Proves He’s a Real Superhero

The world of DCEU ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom after going through mostly misses and fewer hits. Following that, James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired by Warner Bros. Discovery as the co-CEOs of the new DC Studios.

Gunn, who has previously worked in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy series and also proven his worth in DC with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, knows how things are done in such a passion-driven landscape. However, his recent revelation hints at what he has been through to build up the new DCU.

James Gunn on His Hectic Schedule to Build Up DCU

It is never easy to build a cinematic universe, especially when its previous trial failed miserably. The new one is bound to carry the expectations of fans and also needs to be ready to take on the criticisms and comparisons with its predecessor.

The new DC Universe was announced in 2023, where James Gunn talked about the future plans, phases, and projects that will unveil the DCU. Among them, Creature Commandos has already made its entry as the first DCU installment.

In a recent interview on Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gunn’s words reflected what it takes to build a cinematic universe from scratch that is holding a lot of expectations. When Josh Horowitz asked him about how his life has been in the last two years and whether he was able to maintain a “balance,” Gunn replied,

I find it difficult. My wife is right over here, and I know she’s giggling even using the word ‘balancing’ regards to me because it’s not a part of what’s happening these days. I think I wrote 650 pages one year, and this year, we produced 650 pages of material. So that’s Superman, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker Season 2.

It’s been busy, it’s productive, I’m really excited about everything coming up. So that’s all have been worth it. I’ll never do it again.

Apart from Superman, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker, Gunn had to work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which was released in May 2023. So, Gunn was leading both the creative and production process of four completely different projects within two years, which is probably hard to comprehend even for those who are in the business.

How James Gunn Managed Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Simultaneously

Gunn announced Creature Commandos during his public announcement of the first chapter of DCU, Gods and Monsters. The animated show is set after the events of Peacemaker. Gunn revealed on X that the casting was almost over by the end of February 2023.

By the end of August 2023, the voice acting wrapped up, as revealed by Gunn’s fan interaction on Threads. Gunn later revealed that the initial animations were completed by February 2024 and his other fan interaction revealed that the work on music and score began by August 2024. The show has already been premiered on Max on December 6.

Gunn had already started working on all the DCU projects in late 2022 after he was hired. He began filming Superman on February 29, 2024, which happens to be Superman’s birthday as well, as Gunn shared on Threads. Later, Gunn posted on Instagram the news of wrapping up filming Superman on July 31, 2024, and the movie is currently in its postproduction phase.

As for Peacemaker Season 2, Gunn confirmed finishing the writing process by February 2024. The filming began in April 2024 as Gunn shared on Threads that he would be directing “some of the episodes,” most probably because of his Superman commitments.

By November 26, 2024, Peacemaker Season 2’s filming was done, as revealed by Gunn on X, and the show is now in the post-production stage. Judging by the timing of hectic schedules, it won’t be wrong to say that James Gunn is the superhero of DCU in real life.

Superman will be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.

Peacemaker Season 2 is scheduled to be premiered on Max in August 2025.