James Gunn is now playing flip-flop games in the superhero industry. In a recent Threads discussion, Gunn weighed in on the abundance of DC superheroes set to join Superman in his upcoming film Superman: Legacy.
The star-studded cast includes The Engineer, Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, and Metamorpho. He also confirmed that these DC Universe heroes will not be cameos.
So, it’s a good news for the DC fans. But the director also criticized featuring cameos in the film. Although it doesn’t make any sense because a few months back, he praised a film that featured many DC characters to give a cameo element.
James Gunn Slams Superhero Cameos
James Gunn revealed on Threads that the announced DCU heroes in Superman: Legacy will play big roles, not just cameos. Gunn asserted, “The whole point was it’s NOT a large film -I mean, not in terms of cast.”
“It’s normal for single protagonist films to have other characters,” he added, “Much more unusual for them not to.”
Responding to Gunn’s confirmation of a super-powered cast in the Superman: Legacy, @Drizzleboy expressed appreciation, writing, “Finally, someone who treats characters more than just *having a character appear on screen for 10 seconds to mark a checkbox.*” Over this, the DC boss replied:
“I call that ‘Cameo P*rn’ and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films. If a character is in film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise.”
Surprisingly, he criticized “cameo p*rn” after previously lauding The Flash (which is filled with disrespectful CGI actor revivals).
James Gunn Praised The Flash, Known for Featuring Many Cameos
On one hand, James Gunn criticizes the practice of empty cameos in superhero films. Whereas on the flip side, he praised Ezra Miller’s The Flash, which featured the unnecessary cameos of DC characters – that too, most of them with CGI.
Speaking to Deadline during a press event in January, the Guardians of the Galaxy director spoke highly of The Flash – a film that incorporated elements like flashes of other DC characters, CGI recreations of actors, and cameos of different Batman iterations.
It tried to maintain a nostalgic and cameo-driven element in the failed but ultimately failed. The CEO of DC Studios said It “is probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.” So, his criticism of cameos looks kind of invalid now.
On this, an X user named @theeSNYDERVERSE questioned him the same:
How can “cameo porn” be one of the worst elements of recent superhero films but then the flash is probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made?
It really becomes hard to keep track of the lies you tell after a while pic.twitter.com/bFdhCvijMe
— 𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗖Ʊ𝗥𝗬 🇵🇸 (@theeSNYDERVERSE) December 12, 2023
Check out the fan reactions to the post:
He’s actually such an embarrassment 😂
— Christopher O’Flynn, M.Ed (@MuinteoirChris) December 12, 2023
Dude wants to be a respected filmmaker so much but engages in the same practices he claims to hate.
— DarkChibi (@omegabeanz) December 12, 2023
Then why did he kill off most of the characters at the beginning of Suicide Squad? Why does he have the same actors/actresses reappearing in his films. For example, Michael Rooker, taika waititi, and his BROTHER Sean Gunn😂
— x (@EI79859045) December 12, 2023
Check out some positive reactions as well:
Why would a co-CEO shade a film for a company he currently works for? If you also watched one of his videos where he lists the greatest superhero films according to him The Flash isn’t even included and it’s probably because of the cameos but the Flash story was quite good
— Colin Alger (@colin_alger1) December 12, 2023
i think he was just sort of defending the company by defending the flash, which, btw, only exists due to snyder
— @aquaticsans.bsky.social (@AquaticSans) December 12, 2023
I've never seen any other director recieve so much shit for what is literally a nothing burger.
He promotes The Flash as a good movie, he's a liar!
He doesn't talk about Blue Beetle, omg horrible ceo he's gonna let it flop!!
— tablefilth (@TableFilth) December 13, 2023
Maybe his thought process has changed in these months. But the point here is that his opinion on featuring unnecessary cameos might also be a jab at MCU. As the studio is known for its extensive use of interconnected characters and cameos.
