As the resident Superhero Junkie at CinemaBlend, I can’t get enough of the ins and outs, and behind-the-scenes stories involving the creation of the best comic book movies of our generation. It has been jaw-dropping, the films that Marvel Studios and DC Films have worked to bring to life for comic fans over the past 30 years. And by all indications, 2025 is going to mark a significant turning point in the genre, as Kevin Feige pilots the MCU toward Avengers: Doomsday and James Gunn preps the skies for the return of Superman.
But as James Gunn pulls back the curtain on the development of the new DCU, which officially kicked off with the animated series Creature Commandos, It’s hard not to marvel over the fact that the writer-director almost lost his career, and likely wouldn’t be working in Hollywood if not for his rare talents, and a few lucky breaks. Speaking with Kristian Harloff, James’s brother and frequent collaborator Sean Gunn opened up about James getting fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – he’d eventually be re-hired – and the door it eventually opened at DC and Warner Bros. And when he talks about it, you realize just how rare off an opportunity this has been for the gifted storyteller.
Sean Gunn told Harloff:
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. What he was going through, I know, was incredibly difficult. 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.’
The “something” that they talked about would grow to become the co-head of DC Films, alongside producer Peter Safran. James Gunn has talked at length about their collaboration, with Gunn handling the creative aspects, and Safran drilling down on the business specifics. So far, it’s been off to a strong start, as both Creature Commandos and the initial Superman trailer have been well received by critics and fans.
First, though, Gunn had to prove himself. And that meant finding a sweet spot at DC. As Sean Gunn explained:
They might have had their ideas about, ‘We can tell you what we’d most like you to do.’ And he’s like, ‘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 I know you just made a Suicide Squad movie. So maybe you don’t want me to do that.’ And they were like, ‘If you want to make another one, let’s just do it.’
There are so many fascinating elements to that decision. It’s so rare that a studio would greenlight another version of a story that they’d recently told… and botched, severely. Then, the second movie worked so well that they kept James Gunn in the fold, giving him a Peacemaker spinoff while he returned to Marvel Studios to wrap his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. For a while, Gunn was straddling the imaginary line that separates Marvel and DC – one of the precious few, so far, to try such a feat. The fact that he pulled it off, and parlayed it into his new DC position, is nothing short of amazing.
As Sean Gunn points out, talent still goes a long way in Hollywood. DC wouldn’t turn their operations over to just anyone. And Marvel Studios knew that only James Gunn could have concluded a trilogy as personal as the Guardians, so they made amends and brought him back into the family.
I, personally, am amazed at the journey James Gunn has taken through the trenches of the comic-book movie landscape, and I’m thrilled by his slate of upcoming DC movies, which includes Superman in 2025 and continues to add exciting pieces such as Jason Momoa’s Lobo, with more to come.
