DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has pledged to give VFX artists enough time to carry out their work post-production.
As the beginning of Chapter One: Gods and Monsters fast approaches with Creature Commandos set to premiere in December, some people have grown concerned about the ongoing issue of VFX workers in Hollywood being overworked and underpaid, prompting Gunn to jump on Threads to assure fans of their plans.
“If you do some research you’ll see my films have always taken a different approach and I’ve always given my VFX artist-collaborators time to do their jobs properly, and the respect they deserve,” Gunn said in response to a fan on Threads. “And the quality of the VFX in those films is uniformly great because of it (and because my friends at Weta and Framestore and ILM and more are amazingly talented).”
The first movie in the new slate is Superman, helmed by Gunn, which wrapped production last month, one year out from its release date on July 11, 2025. Gunn followed up on his Threads post to explain that the gap is all part of DC Studios’ strategy to ensure VFX workers won’t have to feel the crunch.
“This is why we wrapped on Superman a year before release and why they’ve been hard at work on many shots for months before that,” Gunn said. “This is why we start heartily editing during the shoot. It’s why I prepare so vigorously and why we only shoot finished screenplays. And Supergirl, which I’m not directing, is being handled the same way. I can’t praise the VFX artists that help us create magic enough.”
The struggles of VFX work have been well-documented over recent years. Specific complaints have been lobbied at Marvel’s treatment of VFX artists, with many voting to unionize. One anonymous VFX worker previously told IGN that Marvel projects tend to run to the wire, causing long hours and stressful working conditions.
It sounds like DC Studios is trying to avoid replicating these problems and is still on track to release Superman on schedule.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
