After a meeting with DC Studios that presumably included James Gunn, a pair of YouTubers turned A24 directors are the latest to part ways with the studio after being offered a movie to direct in the DCU reboot.Gunn diverged from the Snyderverse storylines and characters for his DCU reboot but left the door open to Ben Affleck, who the DC Studios CEO met with and expressed that Affleck “really wants to direct one of our projects.” However, while discussing his toxic experience during the Justice League re-shoots under Joss Whedon, Affleck stated "absolutely not" when asked if he would be part of Gunn's DC reboot. History repeats as a new pair of up-and-coming directors decide against the DCU after their meeting.Directors Danny and Michael Philippou met with DC Studios, which they said went “amazing” on their Instagram, and admitted to being offered a project. Despite the good news, they turned it down to stick with “original material for the time being.” Unlike Affleck, they leave the door open for future endeavors. “You never know. I’m keen to see what James Gunn does with the universe. I’m excited to see it.” The directing brothers have an Australian YouTube channel called RackaRacka and recently made their theatrical debut with the upcoming horror A24 film Talk To Me. Seeing as how A24 is known to be a director-driven studio, it is no surprise that they may have been put off by the possible constraints put on by the DC Studios machine.
Gunn has experience directing for Marvel and DC and, by contrast, has expressed issues with how Warner Bros. has managed its creatives. Now that he is director turned CEO, some believe Peter Safran and Gunn want to run DC Studios like Kevin Feige does the MCU, despite Gunn insisting they want filmmakers to bring their vision to each project. This business strategy may result in a more cohesive franchise - but it can be at the expense of artistic integrity, like what happened to Justice League director Zack Snyder and Suicide Squad director David Ayer when Warner Bros. tried the same thing. Affleck may have seen these patterns during his DC Studios meeting, reminding him of those prior toxic Warner Bros. experiences, and the Phillipou brothers may have also caught wind of that.
Luckily, Matt Reeves benefits from his Batman franchise being under the DC Elseworlds label, which may be what directors like Affleck and the Phillipou brothers are after when considering such an opportunity. When Affleck said there would be no chance of him working under Gunn, he was referring to the DCU specifically, potentially providing credence to issues in the DC Studios meetings regarding creative control for Affleck and the Phillipou brothers. Although the studio has Logan director James Mangold for a Swamp Thing movie, this does not bode well for a franchise already in hot water with some but not all DC fans.
Source: The Direct