A new report by Variety on Paramount chief David Ellison confirms a major shift: Paramount wants “America-centric” content aimed at the middle of the country.
World of Reel notes that the report even frames the future Paramount as potentially MAGA-friendly.
Paramount is also positioned to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
If that happens, and the new leadership wants patriotic, traditional-values content, James Gunn’s DCU doesn’t fit. Gunn has openly fought with conservatives on social media and built a divisive style. That’s the opposite of what this new direction signals.
Paramount’s Shift Toward Middle-America Audiences
Variety highlights Ellison moving the studio toward content for people who “live outside coastal bubbles.” UFC at the White House, patriotic action-driven franchise focus, and “middle America” priorities all align with a right-leaning, flag-forward tone.
If Paramount buys WBD, as we suggested, that tone would carry over to Warner Bros. and DC.
In that environment, they won’t want a DC leader known for clashing with conservatives and turning superhero stories into political commentary.
Gunn’s Politics Clash With the Reported New Direction
Gunn has a long history of arguing with conservative audiences online, which ended up with Gunn getting fired by Disney in 2018 over resurfaced tweets dealing with joking about pedophilia and rape.
But right now the bigger problem is the tone in his DC work.
Peacemaker Season 2 featured a storyline equating our world and a Nazi universe.
"Superman leads into this show and then we have the setting up of all of the rest of the DCU in this season of Peacemaker, it's incredibly important," – James Gunn
— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) October 3, 2025
James Gunn's DCU pic.twitter.com/MKYmpJOWuf
It also featured LGBTQ+ characters mocking Jesus Christ. Fans pushed back, calling it divisive and insulting to anyone tired of political moral-equivalence messaging. Peacemaker Season 2 ended up losing nearly 40% of its audience and has since been canceled.
In his DCU Peacemaker episode ‘Like a Thief in the Night,’ @JamesGunn mocks faith — equating love for Jesus Christ with Nazis. pic.twitter.com/BQOjFW09eb
— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) October 3, 2025
Gunn’s Superman also sparked debate about possible Israel-Palestine parallels, with Variety covering the controversy. That’s not neutral storytelling. Creature Commandos featured similar themes, as will the upcoming Supergirl movie and the Lanterns TV series.
A studio moving toward patriotic, traditional themes isn’t going to hand its flagship superhero to someone generating culture-war backlash.
Performance and Timing Aren’t on Gunn’s Side
Beyond politics, Gunn’s DC rollout hasn’t been strong enough to withstand a regime change:
- Superman reportedly underperformed financially (which we were the first to report)
- Peacemaker Season 2 fell off the radar, again losing nearly 40% of viewers
- No new DCU projects officially moving forward other than those already announced
- Gunn publicly admitted he may not stay after Man of Tomorrow, meaning the head of the studio doesn’t even know his own future
James Gunn admits his DCU future is in doubt pic.twitter.com/Wgo6Lx6CfO
— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) October 22, 2025
When studios change leaders, they bring in talent that fits their vision. Look at Taylor Sheridan. He basically built Paramount+, left for NBCUniversal, and still, Ellison made sure he came back — not to run TV there, but to write the Call of Duty movie.
That’s important.
It shows Ellison still values Sheridan’s middle-America, patriotic style, even after a split. The message is pretty clear: creators who speak to that audience stay in the mix, one way or another.
Gunn is the opposite. He fights conservatives online, mocks that audience, and has leaned into political themes that alienate “middle-of-the-country” viewers.
If Sheridan — someone whose brand already fits Ellison’s vision — has limits on how he’s used, then Gunn, who clashes with that audience, has no shot staying in charge of DC.
DC Needs Mainstream Appeal — Not Division
DC is a legacy American brand. Superman is the most American superhero ever created. He’s the American Way, not Gunn’s “human way.” If Paramount pushes an America-first content strategy, they will want DC aligned with that message (and that includes the comics).
Gunn’s tone is sarcastic, ideological, and often confrontational. It doesn’t fit this new strategy, and it doesn’t match the audience Paramount is signaling they want to serve.
With Gunn’s contract ending in 2026 and his future already uncertain, the writing is clear: a Paramount-run WBD isn’t going to keep Gunn in charge of DC.
Gunn out
If Paramount buys Warner Bros. Discovery and shifts the studio MAGA/middle-America, James Gunn’s DCU era ends. His output hasn’t won over audiences, his politics clash with the direction, and he already hinted he may not stay.
A reset is the logical outcome, and that’s exactly what we have been told.
