DC Studios CEO James Gunn is under fire for name-dropping India in a derogatory remark while promoting his upcoming directorial, the 2025 live-action Superman. Over a week ahead of the big-screen release of his first film in the DC Universe (DCU), starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult, the former Marvel director has been accused of being “racist” after one of his responses from an interview went viral on social media.

Sitting down for yet another pre-premiere promotion event for the DCU movie, Gunn was asked about how he dealt with online hate. The question especially carried heavy connotations given the vehement criticism he’s been treated to at the hands of “Snyder cultists,” aka the die-hard fans of Man of Steel director Zack Snyder, ever since he took over the cinematic DC Universe reins in his hands.

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What James Gunn said

Responding to the question popped by Reel Rejects’ Greg Alba about how he tackles negativity at large, Gunn said, “I do tune out most of social media, but every once in a while someone will say something, it’s always the weirdest stuff.” Relating to how the character Superman also responds to online criticism, he weighed in, “…and then I go, ‘I think I might be upset about something a 12-year-old in India is saying’… You know what I mean? and I’m like, ‘let it go.'”

On one side, the filmmaker was possibly addressing how it was better to let go of what someone from the opposite side of the globe was writing about him online. On the other, Gunn’s reply expectedly put the spotlight on his DC rival Zack Snyder’s immensely grand and passionate fan-following in India.

‘James Gunn is racist’: Boycott calls and more hate emerges online

Nonetheless, no explanation was needed further by a certain group of Indian fans, who quickly jumped to their own conclusions and branded his remarks as “racist,” “disrespectful” and dismissive.

“People from India who are defending @JamesGunn regarding his remark about India,” began a user on X. “Grow a spin. This is casual racism. What he did was wrong. He has no right. He should apologise or we’re boycotting superman and DCU all together. We’re not tolerating this nonsense.”

Although someone else tried to reason with the person, he did not budge, adding that Gunn’s comments as a public figure carried weight and would encourage online harassment. Refuting “racism” accusations, another netizen commented, “It’s a fact that the majority of Snyderbots are from India & the cultists act like 12 year olds. This observation has been mentioned in past multiple times.”

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Yet another person wrote, “It ain’t racism lol. Majority of fans(Snyder) are from India only so he took India’s name. It’s not that hard to Understand..you guys are proving him Right (that 12 years old remark) lmfaooo.” A fourth X user called it ironic how he was “dismissing child audiences in India while promoting Superman as a kids’ movie.” They added, “I bet many indians will still watch this sh*t because no self respect and a big ass inferiority complex..they are literally defending him.”

Another chimed in, “If you don’t like his movies, you’re labeled a 12-year-old from India — this is the kind of racist mindset these people have. Racist to the core, yet they try to preach hope and love through Superman.”

Is James Gunn racist?

Whether certain netizens like to hear it or not, calling James Gunn “racist” without a second thought may not exactly be warranted. The Guardians of the Galaxy director is no stranger to the Indian circle. In a 2023 interview with the Hindustan Times, the American storyteller confessed that Indian films have “been a big influence” on him, and it reflects in his Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana-led GOTG film franchise.

“I have always been attracted to Indian films and towards Asian cinema more than the ways that I am attracted to European or American cinema,” he told the outlet at the time. Opening up why Indian films in particular had snatched his heart, James turned his focus to how they often spotlight genre-bending content as their subject matter.

He went on: “The boundaries are much broader (in Indian projects) than an American project, which are more confined. A lot of time you are only allowed to have one genre, like this movie must be a comedy only, or it must be only an action film, or a drama, or only a science fiction movie. That’s not true for Indian films.”

That said, the American filmmaker even respectfully praised Indian films’ beauty, attributing his love for them to how “they allow the full human experience in one movie” wherein one can encounter comedy with drama, action and even dancing and music. “And all of these things I have put in the Guardians films, just through a slightly more Western lens. I have grown up watching those types of films from India, Korea, Japan and other places,” he added back then.

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Superman director actually loves Bollywood

The underlying irony deepens even further as these severe accusations against Gunn made headlines on the Internet on Wednesday — the same day HT shared a fresh exclusive chat with the director. Once again, the DCU icon reiterated the same sentiments, foregrounding the importance of Bollywood films in his life.

“What those films give to me is that they aren’t afraid of making a movie that has heart, that has drama, but that’s also funny, there’s music, and all of those things are beautiful. That is what life is right? Life isn’t just one genre, and that’s where I take my inspiration from,” he said.

Given the expansive depths of any superhero universe, Gunn revealed that he would not only love to see an Indian actor join the global cinematic banner, but he was also looking forward to collaborating with Indian filmmaking execs.

“Who’s our Indian superhero, and who are the Indian filmmakers that want to be a part of this universe, that’s important to us. We’ve already got things started in Korea, Japan and Brazil. So, it would be great to collaborate with some Indians,” he shared.

It’s debatable that he may have said all those things to stay on the good side of a major fanbase, considering India is, after all, the most populated country in the world. However, a downright racist person would have never feigned considering joining forces with people from the South Asian nation, let alone fall in love with an indispensable element of the country’s mainstream pop-culture, or even devote any amount of time consuming it.