James Gunn, the filmmaker-turned-DC Studios co-CEO, has dropped a bombshell that’s got the superhero world buzzing. In a candid interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn didn’t hold back, declaring that Marvel Studios has “tạch”—a Vietnamese slang term implying a crash in quality—due to Disney’s suffocating demands for more content. Quoting a private conversation with longtime Marvel executive Louis D’Esposito, Gunn said, “I don’t even know if it’s really their fault. That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. And it killed them.” This blunt assessment from the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy director, now steering DC’s cinematic universe, has reignited debates about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) struggles and what it means for the future of blockbuster filmmaking.

Gunn’s comments come as Marvel grapples with a rocky post-Endgame era. Since Disney+ launched in 2019, the MCU’s output exploded, with Disney pushing for up to four films and four TV series annually to feed the streaming beast. This frenzy, Gunn argues, diluted quality, echoing sentiments from Disney CEO Bob Iger, who admitted in 2024 to overextending Marvel. “They went from three movies a year to tripling their workload during a pandemic,” one X user noted, pointing to the chaos of producing shows like Agatha All Along and Ironheart under tight deadlines. Gunn’s sympathy for Marvel is clear—he blames Disney’s corporate mandate, not the creatives like D’Esposito or Kevin Feige, for the MCU’s stumbles.

The numbers tell a grim story. Since 2020, Marvel released 11 films and 13 Disney+ series, but only Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine crossed $1 billion at the box office, a far cry from the MCU’s Avengers-era dominance. Critics panned films like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (46% on Rotten Tomatoes) and The Marvels (62%), with audiences complaining of rushed scripts and muddled narratives. Gunn, who directed three MCU hits before jumping to DC, pinpointed the root issue: studios greenlighting projects without finished screenplays. “The number-one reason the movie industry is dying is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay,” he told Rolling Stone, a practice he’s vowed to avoid at DC Studios.

At DC, Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran are taking a deliberate approach, prioritizing quality over quantity. Unlike Marvel’s mandate-driven churn, DC has no fixed quota for releases. “We treat every project as if we’re lucky,” Gunn said, emphasizing that no DC film, like the upcoming Superman (set for July 11, 2025), moves forward without a polished script. He recently axed a greenlit DC project because its screenplay wasn’t ready, a stark contrast to Marvel’s reported habit of filming with incomplete drafts, often leaving VFX artists scrambling to fix last-minute changes. This rushed process, SlashFilm noted, has led to visually sloppy MCU films despite massive budgets.

Gunn’s critique isn’t just a jab at his former employer; it’s a warning for Hollywood. He dismisses excuses like declining theater attendance or better home viewing, insisting that poor planning, not audience disinterest, is tanking blockbusters. His experience at Marvel, where he turned obscure characters like Rocket Raccoon into household names, gives his words weight. Yet, he’s quick to clarify on Threads that the MCU isn’t “dead” but was “screwed by a situation they had no control over.” Marvel’s now scaling back, with Iger confirming a 2024 plan to cap output at two to three films and two series annually, a move Gunn sees as a step toward recovery.

The timing of Gunn’s remarks, just weeks before Superman’s release, adds fuel to the DC-Marvel rivalry. While Marvel gears up for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025, DC’s Superman aims to set a new tone with a focus on emotional depth and a cohesive universe. Gunn’s insistence on quality control—evident in his hands-on work with Batman and Wonder Woman scripts—suggests DC’s learning from Marvel’s missteps. “We’re not Marvel 2.0,” Gunn told HighQMag in 2023, emphasizing a planned, interconnected DCU narrative. Fans on X are divided, with some praising Gunn’s candor (“He’s spilling the tea on Disney’s mess!”) and others defending Marvel’s recent hits like Deadpool & Wolverine.

As Pierre steps into Bond’s shoes and Gunn steers DC, the contrast with Marvel’s past excesses is stark. Whether Marvel can rebound with a leaner slate or DC will outshine its rival remains to be seen, but Gunn’s warning is clear: quality, not quantity, is the key to survival. For now, the industry watches as Superman and Fantastic Four prepare to battle it out, each hoping to prove their studio’s vision is the one to beat.