James Gunn's DCU Ignites Backlash After 'Supergirl' BTS Video Shows AI Use

The DCU has had a roller-coaster week. With the premiere of Lanterns just on the horizon, news recently broke that the DCU series Waller and Paradise Lost were scrapped by Warner Bros. This all comes after the release of Supergirl, which bombed at the box office and was dismissed by critics and general audiences. After a poor theatrical run, Supergirl has been made available for video rental and purchase, and a behind-the-scenes clip appears to reveal that it may have used generative AI artwork during pre-production.

A newly released video titled “Jason Momoa as Lobo” features Supergirl director Craig Gillespie showing Jason Momoa what appears to be AI-generated concept art for Lobo. The featurette has since been removed from the Warner Bros. official YouTube page. James Gunn, Gillespie, and Warner Bros. have not commented yet. Check out the video below:

The apparent use of generative AI artwork in Supergirl‘s development process has been widely criticized. User StephanGailW replied with a simple “ew.” Kirby, the host of the YouTube series Comic Krakle, said, “It’s not too much to ask the people adapting these books to respect the artists, but y’know, it’s not surprising considering how Gunn is able to speak more about writers’ contributions than the artists.”Meanwhile, Captaincupkirk discussed how the terrible optics of a movie with a budget as big as Supergirl not paying a concept artist: “Any use of generative AI is awful, but it’s especially insulting when you have a $180M budget and still don’t pay someone to make concept art. Incredibly disappointing to see it used and promoted in such a soulless way.”

Many have also used this to criticize James Gunn, who has been vocally anti-AI and called out an AI-generated Superman trailer back in 2024. Despite saying “no way” to use AI in the DCU back in 2023, it was apparently used on Supergirl. TheSmartAlex1 said, “So like when Jimmy was making posts about AI art not being real art did he know about this or.” It should be noted that Supergirl was not directed by Gunn, though he serves as a producer and had a say in the final cut.

Nevertheless, film commentator John Rocha is still holding DC Studios presidents James Gunn and Peter Safran accountable, suggesting the studio released the video to distance itself from Supergirl’s box-office performance and place the blame solely at Gillespie’s feet. “It’s almost like WB and the DC Studios co-heads don’t want the #Supergirl stink on them and are throwing Craig Gillespie under the bus like this. I hope any filmmaker thinking of working for DC in the future sees this and knows what they’re signing up for if their film bombs.”