James Gunn responds to backlash at Henry Cavill's Superman exit, says 'no one loves to be harassed'

James Gunn upset fans when he announced that the Hollywood actor Henry Cavill will not return as Superman. In a series of tweets, Gunn addressed the future of DCU and cleared the air about Henry not playing the lead anymore. Following which, he was slammed by Henry's fans and admirers. Now, DC CEO and filmmaker finally addressed the backlash against the new direction the production company has aimed to take. 

Taking to Instagram, Gunn posted a picture with a message stating his response to the whole situation. "One of the things Peter & I were aware of when we took the job as heads of DC Studios was a certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least. Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story & best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years. Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts & integrity & always with the story in mind,” Gunn explained.

"No one loves to be harassed or called names — but, to be frank, we’ve been through significantly worse. Disrespectful outcry will never, ever affect our actions. We were aware there would be a period of turbulence when we took this gig, & we knew we would sometimes have to make difficult & not-so-obvious choices, especially in the wake of the fractious nature of what came before us. But this means little to us in comparison to our jobs as artists & custodians in helping to create a wide & wonderful future for DC."

Gunn's response received support by several Hollywood actors in the comment section of his post. Actor Michael B. Jordan shared clapping emojis. He had worked with the studio in the animated film 'Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'.

For the unversed, James Gunn and Peter Safran, the recently appointed CEOs of DC Studios, recently made major changes to the production and presentation of the studio's film lineup, particularly the 'Superman' and the 'Wonder Woman' franchises.

Henry Cavill dropped as Superman!

Earlier, in a series of tweets, Gunn said that Henry will not be playing the lead anymore. Gunn also clarified that he has been writing the project for a while but isn’t sure who will direct the movie yet. Taking to Twitter Gunn wrote, “Peter & I have a DC slate ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to share some exciting information about our first projects at the beginning of the new year."

Gunn revealed that Henry Cavill will not take up the cape as the film will focus on an earlier part of Superman’s life. “Among those on the slate is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill," Gunn added. "But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked about a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future."