In the vast landscape of the entertainment world, superhero movies are known to generate billions of dollars worldwide with their captivating fictional world full of unimaginable possibilities. Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), in particular, seems to have been singlehandedly generating billions of bucks across the world, with fans and critics hailing the superhero world as the ‘savior of cinema’.
James Gunn’s Brilliant 6-Step Rule to Save Money on Re-Shoots
In today’s time, almost no big-budget project is safe from the dreaded work called ‘re-shoots’. A common part of the post-production process today, superhero movies especially are not immune to these costly mistakes and often end up having re-shoots that might last months. However, the new DC head, James Gunn has valuable lessons to give that could help avoid expensive missteps and ensure consistent quality across the board.
Known for directing the brilliant Guardians of the Galaxy movies for the MCU, Gunn is now helming the new DCverse, starting out with Superman. Recently on the social media app. Threads, the director was asked about Superman reshoots and he replied,
I’ve done a total of one day of reshoots on my past two films combined.
A shocking revelation, fans couldn’t help but pry the director on how he manages to avoid re-shoots, given how common they are in the superhero world. Answering fans’ curious inquiring, Gunn revealed his 6-step guide to no re-shoots.
1) Over-prepare
2) Don’t start shooting until I have a finished script my whole team is happy with
3) Hire actors and department heads I know can do their jobs
4) Surround myself with people who will challenge me and not just yes-sir everything
5) Ask myself daily – are there any small imperfections in the script or what we’re shooting that might end up feeling like huge imperfections when we cut the film together?
6) 1 and 2 again!
An excruciatingly painful and tiring process given the nature of superhero films, Gunn’s 6-step routine is nonetheless effortless. His detailed preparation and constant introspection have not only saved him time but also millions of dollars—a lesson that Kevin Feige would do well to take note of for the MCU’s future endeavors.
MCU’s Captain America: Brave New World Could Have Saved Millions
While James Gunn continues to avoid re-shoots like a plague with his brilliant strategy, Marvel boss Kevin Feige once remarked that re-shoots are an integral part of the production process at the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Acknowledging that no filmmaker is perfect, Feige’s superhero verse considers reshoots vital for the sake of giving the audience the best experience they can provide (via ComicBook).
Even in its upcoming film, Anthony Mackie-starrer Captain America: Brave New World, the post-shoot process involved 22 days of re-shoots (via The Hollywood Reporter). Not only did these re-shoots included some new action sequences but also reportedly added in Giancarlo Esposito’s undisclosed Marvel character.
While THR reported that these reshoots were not as long or as expensive as MCU’s other flicks such as The Marvels or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, these are inevitably expensive. Had the MCU adopted James Gunn’s meticulous and calculating approach to filmmaking, they could have potentially saved millions of dollars on costly re-shoots and post-shoot processes.
Emphasizing detailed preparation and constant introspection and cross-checking, Gunn’s strategy not only streamlines the whole operation but also minimizes unnecessary expenses. If only Kevin Feige and the Marvel team had paid much attention, we could not only have had the film released early on but it could have also saved MCU potentially billions in their overall filmmaking endeavors.
Captain America: Brave New World will be released on February 14, 2025, while James Gunn’s Superman will be released on July 11, 2025.
