Movies
James Gunn‘s shocking statement announcing his DCU exit noticeably omitted Supergirl. In the statement, almost every single project that the filmmaker has worked on in the shared universe got a shoutout, except for the recent box-office bomb.
In the message shared on his Threads handle, the 60-year-old announced that he and Peter Safran, the CEOs of DC Studios before their recent resignation, will step down after four stunning years.
Expressing gratitude for the time and sharing what went wrong along the ride, Gunn then gave a shoutout to the projects he has worked on in the DCU: “There have been so many highs along the way – releasing Superman and Clayface, making Peacemaker, reading the scripts to The People Vs, the entire process of Man of Tomorrow, which thus far has been the best filmmaking experience of my life, and numerous other moments.”
Besides Supergirl, he also didn’t mention Creature Commandos and Lanterns (which he co-executive-produced). But while more Creature Commandos are coming, the omission of Millie Alcock‘s movie is now being linked to its disastrous box-office performance.
Supergirl was a massive bomb for DC Studios when it hit theaters
Despite the marketing and buzz, Supergirl turned out to be a debacle for DC Studios. On a reported production budget of around $170–186 million, per Deadline, the movie brought in less than $126.4 million at the worldwide box office (via The Numbers).
Supergirl had its world premiere at the Plaza at 300 Ashland in Brooklyn in June this year, four days before its theatrical release by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on June 26 in IMAX. Just a month later, it was released for digital download on July 28, 2026, before heading to HBO Max for streaming on September 10, 2026.
Despite being an essential part of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, the movie received conflicting critical reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes alone, it currently holds a rotten 52% Tomatometer score. In essence, Supergirl’s critical box office performance may have contributed to its absence from Gunn’s retirement message.
Originally reported on SuperHeroHype.
