Posted in: CW, DC Universe, HBO, streaming, TV | Tagged: arrowverse, dc studios, dcu, james gunn, marc guggenheim, peter safran

Marc Guggenheim on Reactions to Arrowverse, DCU, Gunn/Safran Comments

Marc Guggenheim briefly addressed the media reaction to his previous comments regarding the Arrowverse, DCU, James Gunn/Peter Safran & more.

A little more than a week after Marc Guggenheim, one of the founding forces behind The CW's "Arrowverse" (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, etc.), posted an update on Substack expressing his feelings about not getting "at least a meeting" with DC Studios' co-heads James Gunn & Peter Safran re new DCU and how that's impacted his feelings on his time spent working in the DCU (more on that below). Well, it's no surprise that the post definitely got a lot of folks' attention, and now Guggenheim has updated his newsletter, briefly addressing the reaction that it received from other media and how it was reported.

Noting that his February 3rd newsletter "NO GOOD DEED…" had seen "a lot of increased engagement," Guggenheim wrote that he "had no idea what was coming." From there, he addresses how Deadline Hollywood and other outlets ran with it (though, to be fair, Bleeding Cool actually ran the story before DH and others did). Noting the expression, "there's no such thing as bad publicity," Guggenheim argues that "with virtually no exceptions" (we take exception with that), the reporting on his comments focused too much on his line, "I really wasted my time" regarding his run on The CW's Arrowverse without adding that he was speaking only from a career-level standpoint.

Before continuing on with his newsletter, Guggenheim shared his "only regret" on the matter. "My only regret is that articles like these give aid and comfort to the Arrowverse's small contingent of trolls. (As if Mr. Gunn cares a whit about their objections to character romances or deaths.)," Guggenheim wrote. "Then again, such folk have always insisted on making themselves the subject of the narrative, and that's not likely to change anytime soon."

Previously on… Marc Guggenheim & DCU Studios' DCU

In an update from February 3rd entitled "NO GOOD DEED…" (which was finding new life on social media as The CW's The Flash and the "Arrowverse" nears its end), Guggenheim revealed that he had considered ending his newsletter. To explain his reasoning, Guggenheim offered what he described as "a truncated version of what I'd originally written" for the update but didn't run. Over the course of what follows, Guggenheim highlights his time in the "Arrowverse," focusing on "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and the five-part crossover's ability to interconnect various universes (even the 1990 The Flash and 1966 Batman series) "years before 'Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness'":

"The project, a live action adaptation of a seminal comic book series that made a significant impression on my psyche, was more than a labor of love — it was a labor in every respect and a project where I spent every ounce of capitol I'd amassed in developing DC Comics-related shows for Warner Bros. over an eight-year period. I called in every favor. I used every chit. I burned every bridge. I even spent $10,000 of my own money."

Yet, Guggenheim reveals that he wasn't contacted when the plans for Gunn's & Safran's new DCU began coming together. And though he understands and appreciates the duo wanting to start fresh with a vision "as ambitious as the DC Universe deserves," Guggenheim also added, "I would have liked to have gotten at least a meeting." As he saw it, the gesture would've been "a small recognition" of his efforts to influence "the grand tapestry that is the DC Universe." Guggenheim ended the excerpt with, "I'd only spent nine years toiling in that vineyard, after all. (Not including many more years co-writing the 'Green Lantern' movie, a 'Green Lantern streaming series, and comic books like 'The Flash,' 'Batman Confidential,' 'Adventures of Superman,' and 'Justice Society of America.')."

Shifting back to the update he did write & post, Guggenheim continued by adding that the original update would've had "some other stuff which basically boiled down to me lamenting that although working for DC had been creatively fulfilling, it involved a lot of adversity, challenges, and personal sacrifices — none of which seem to have accrued to any professional benefit. Simply put, the Arrowverse hasn't led to any other gigs, so it feels — at least on a career level — that I really wasted my time." But in the original, scrapped post that Guggenheim shared, he added that he was "deeply grateful" for how the fans supported the "Arowverse" over the years. "I don't mean to belittle this in the slightest – fans loved what we did. There were Tweets. There were posts. There were memes. There was much discussion. All of which I was – and remain – deeply grateful for. Working on these shows, we always reminded ourselves that the opposite of love was not hate; it was apathy, and no matter what, there was never any apathy."

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