James Gunn just hit a major milestone in his career as principal photography has wrapped on Superman, the first big screen adventure in the first chapter of the new DCU. However, that’s not the only thing in Gunn’s career worth celebrating. This week is also the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, the film that catapulted Gunn into the mainstream. It’s been a wild ride for the writer/director, and he’s celebrating all of it.
James Gunn posted an Instagram image showing the director, with much less white hair, alongside Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista as they were doing press in Europe for Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s where he was a decade ago, and now he's running an entire studio. He's in a place he certainly would not have been had that first Guardians movie not been a massive hit, and even Gunn can’t believe how far he’s come. The director said…
Yesterday Superman wrapped. And today is the ten year anniversary of Guardians of the Galaxy being released in theaters in Europe (we were on the road promoting and freaking out with joy as the reviews rolled in). What an astounding ten years it’s been.
It was a bit of a coup when James Gunn was tapped to direct Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn had made a handful of independent movies, that were generally well-regarded if not massive mainstream hits. He had come up through Lloyd Kaufman’s Troma Entertainment, making movies that can only be described, lovingly, as schlock.
It made Gunn an interesting choice to direct a Marvel movie, but it may have made sense since he was directing a movie based on the Guardians of the Galaxy, a comic book franchise that wasn’t that big a deal, even among comic book fans at the time. Many critics didn’t expect much from Guardians of the Galaxy. Even James Gunn wasn't sold on it at first. Little did they know it would arguably become the most important franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe with some truly special characters.
Now James Gunn is the co-head of DC Films, overseeing all the upcoming DC movies and an entire cinematic universe of his own. To call the last 10 years “astounding” might be an understatement. In one way, nothing has changed. James Gunn is still making comic book movies, but he started with characters that were largely overlooked and are now working on bringing the most well-known comic book character ever back to the screen.
Once the Superman release date arrives and the movie is truly done, perhaps James Gunn will plan to write and direct future Superman movies, or perhaps he’ll simply play his role as the head of DC Films. Either way, the next 10 years are looking to be just as amazing as the last 10.
