James Gunn let the cat out of the bag shortly after Pacific Rim Uprising hit theaters. The Guardians of the Galaxy shepherd was lending his talents for an on-screen cameo in Steven S. DeKnight's high-powered sequel. And yet, no sooner did Gunn reveal it, then he also shared that the scene in question had been cut. So, with Pacific Rim Uprising hitting DVD this week (today, to be specific), we hopped on the phone with DeKnight and asked if Gunn's cameo would be made available as a deleted scene, and he graciously confirmed:
I got to tell you, that was the first thing I insisted on being on the DVD. Yes, you get to see James Gunn as the deejay, which broke my heart that it got cut out because it just delighted me every time I saw it. We were shooting this party scene as part of the pickups for the movie, and it was in Malibu. And I thought, I know James kind of socially. We're like admirers of each other. He was a big fan of Spartacus and I met him at the premiere of Guardians of the galaxy when I was working on daredevil and we have a bunch of mutual friends.So I thought I needed a DJ. We actually first went out to Guillermo [Del Toro]. But Guillermo was out of the country. So I thought, 'Ugh, Malibu. Who do I know?' And I thought, 'James Gunn lives in Malibu! It'd be a short drive.' So I reached out to James, and frankly he was available. It was just such a gas. I mean, he really threw himself into it and it still makes me laugh. I'm so glad it's on the DVD.
As much as I love the idea of James Gunn playing a Malibu deejay at a house party hosted by John Boyega's spoiled military brat, Jake Pentecost, I will say that the sight of original Pacific Rim helmer Guillermo Del Toro behind the turntables would have been a clever cameo, and a sweet passing of the baton from the first director to his successor. Still, the Gunn cameo will be a nice treat once we pop the DVD into a nearby player. Want a tease? Gunn tweeted this shot of him in character earlier this year:
Now we're eager to see the scene in full, to see how James Gunn would tear it up as SoCal's nasty record-spinner. The rest of the movie's pretty great, too, so this is just colorful gravy. Pacific Rim Uprising is available on digital, 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, and DVD as we speak, and is absolutely worth a pick up.
