James Gunn is sitting comfortably atop the superhero movie throne as the new co-president of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran. Gunn is also the director of the upcoming Superman, redeemer of The Suicide Squad, writer of Creature Commandos and Peacemaker, and has one of the MCU’s most successful trilogies – Guardians of the Galaxy – under his belt. But cast your mind back a few years, and you might remember things weren’t always so peachy for James Gunn. In between his long string of successes, the filmmaker’s career was nearly destroyed overnight.
Gunn’s brother and frequent collaborator, Sean Gunn, recently spoke with Kristian Harloff about his upcoming roles in the DC Universe, including playing Maxwell Lord in Superman. During the conversation, the pair discussed James Gunn’s brief stint in the Phantom Zone (or, as the kids call it, “getting canceled”). “It was really devastating to me, personally, but I also was more worried about my brother, who I know, he thought his career was over for a minute,” Sean Gunn said. In 2018, Gunn was fired by Marvel Studios after an alt-right internet personality dredged up 10-year-old tweets in which Gunn made several jokes in bad taste. Disney, the parent company of Marvel Studios, quickly cut ties with the director. Thankfully for all the fans, Gunn was re-instated as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 a year later, after many of his co-stars came to his defense online.
“What he was going through, I know, was incredibly difficult,” Sean Gunn continued. When Gunn got the ax from Disney, Warner Bros. quickly ushered him in to the DCEU, where he helmed the studio’s second attempt at The Suicide Squad (following David Ayer’s divisive version in 2016). While some put James Gunn’s career resurgence down to The Suicide Squad’s success, his brother believes it is due to James’ hardworking nature and talent. Sean Gunn explained:

“But I also think that people in the business of making movies recognize talent, and they know how to not pass up an opportunity. And so my understanding is that Warner Bros. contacted him pretty quickly and said, ‘We want you to come do something here.’”

James Gunn Didn’t Expect to Remake ‘Suicide Squad’

Retconning one of its own movies just five years after the release of the original may seem like a strange decision for Warner Bros. to make, and James Gunn reportedly never thought it would happen. Sean Gunn divulged that Warner Bros. hired James Gunn without an exact project in mind. When they asked him what he wanted to make, Gunn replied, “‘Well, I’m just going to tell you what I’d like to do, which is … my first choice would be Suicide Squad, but I know you just made a Suicide Squad movie. So maybe you don’t want me to do that.'” Sean Gunn continued:

“And they were like, ‘If you want to make another one, let’s just do it.'”

Related

James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Reportedly Hit With Negative Reactions at Test Screenings

“The buzz is not good. I’m hearing ‘you should be worried’ things.”

James Gunn’s career has shot through the stratosphere over the last few years. Following his appointment as DC Studios’ co-president, Gunn announced a whole host of upcoming projects for the DCU. Some he will be directly involved with, like 2025’s Superman, while others, like Mike Flanagan’s Clayface film, will see him in an executive producer role.

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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

Runtime

2hr 12min