Summary

James Gunn criticizes “cameo porn” in superhero movies, emphasizing that characters should serve a real purpose in the story. Gunn may have already broken his own rule with unnecessary cameos in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. Fans hope that the characters in Superman: Legacy will have a meaningful impact on the movie and bring success to the DCU franchise.

Superman: Legacy has assembled an impressive roster of comic-book characters over the last couple of months, and this has led to many speculating on whether the movie is taking away its emphasis from the Man of Steel himself. However, James Gunn is standing by his ensemble introductory to the new live-action DCU by hitting out at what he calls “cameo porn” in recent superhero movies.

When building a universe of interconnected movies, there are often characters that come and go at will, but Gunn doesn’t believe that this should include a procession of fleeting appearances just for the sake of it. Whether in reference to the many single-scene cameos that litter the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s post-credits scenes, or the arrival of Superman in Black Adam and Wonder Woman in Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash, Gunn wasn’t holding back when addressing his belief that characters should be there to serve a real purpose.

In a recent Threads post, Gunn explained that it is quite normal to surround a movie’s protagonist with supporting characters that enhance the story. Directly replying to one user’s comment that it is good to see someone not “having [a] character appear on screen for 10 seconds to mark a checkbox,” Gunn said:

“I call that “Cameo Porn” and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films. If a character is in a film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise.”

Via James Gunn/Threads

Related: James Gunn Fires Back at Complaints Over Pedro Pascal’s Replacement as DCU Villain

Has James Gunn Already Broken His Own Cameo Rule?

Although it is reassuring to know that all the characters set to appear in Superman: Legacy will have a purpose being there, it is hard to ignore the fact that Gunn may have already broken his own rule about unnecessary cameos on more than one occasion.

In The Suicide Squad, the entire opening sequence introduced a huge number of obscure characters from DC Comics, only to see them all being slaughtered within minutes. While the scene did serve the purpose of setting up the arrival of the “real” Suicide Squad of the movie, whether it was a requirement to have, what amounted to, so many cameo appearances to do it, or just Gunn flexing his muscles as a lover of lesser-known comic book character is debatable.

The Suicide Squad Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Release Date August 5, 2021 Rating R Runtime 2hr 12min

However, in Gunn’s follow-up Max series, Peacemaker, the finale brought with it the kind of cameo that Gunn has called out. Towards the end of the episode, John Cena’s Christopher Smith is met by the Justice League, with Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller making appearances as Aquaman and The Flash. Although the very brief appearance does generate a laugh and pay off an earlier joke, the moment does feel like the kind of fan-service, box-tick moment that Gunn has claimed to be unnecessary.

When it comes to the many characters announced for Superman: Legacy, there is a chance that some of them will not make much of an impact on the movie itself, but will have their moment to shine further down the line. For now, fans can only trust in Gunn and his collaborator Peter Safran to craft a world that will put the old DCEU to bed and finally bring some success to the beleaguered franchise.