The loss of James Gunn — the talented writer/director behind the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films who will now oversee the newly formed DC Studios (along with partner Peter Safran) at Warner Bros. Discovery — is obviously a huge blow to the wildly successful Marvel Studios movies (and Disney’s larger streaming output), but it also serves as perhaps a less obvious blow to the company’s Parks division, which lost one of its most enthusiastic and innovative champions.
In an unstable and volatile market, with the movie industry still recovering following COVID and streaming facing an uncertain future, Disney’s theme park division is increasingly important — and profitable — to the company.