Surprise, surprise! James Gunn is facing criticism yet again! It looks like the filmmaker and the boss of the DC Studios cannot catch a break lately. With decisions over decisions regarding the DCU that fans are absolutely not okay with, both James Gunn and Peter Safran have been the center of all negative attention for a few months.
And now, fans have another reason to criticize James Gunn’s decisions and the new Shazam! movie has something to do with it. It has been reported that Shazam! Fury of the Gods will see a cameo of a familiar character, Emilia Harcourt, played by James Gunn’s wife. Obviously, this piece of news wasn’t taken in a good way by the fans but, those who are loyal to James Gunn have come out in the support of his wife.
James Gunn Faces Criticism for Casting his Wife in Shazam 2
Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ release is just around the corner and as it inches forwards more and more updates will be revealed. While the trailer of the film is being received positively, a supposed update has fans all worked up. According to reports, James Gunn’s wife, Jennifer Holland is all set to make a cameo as Emilia Harcourt in Shazam 2.
Holland’s character was previously seen in the DCU projects, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. It’s worth noting that both of these projects had Gunn sitting in the director’s chair. And now with Gunn leading the DCU into the “new era”, it looks like Harcourt is going to become a more prominent character in the superhero universe.
Fans weren’t too excited about the cameo as recently, nepotism has become a topic of discussion, more so than ever before. Gunn got blamed for using his authority to put his wife into major projects, even though fans don’t see the point in extending the character.
Previously, Holland stated in an interview with Collider that her character in The Suicide Squad initially was nameless, but since Gunn was writing, her role became that of a more prominent and known character in the comic books.
“She was just a comms hub tech who became sort of a more important character as [James Gunn] was writing The Suicide Squad. And at some point he was like, ‘I’m going to give her a name from the comics so that when fans watch the credits they go, oh my gosh that was Emilia Harcourt! And they have something to be excited about, and it’s a little bit of an Easter egg.’”
A lot of fans blame Holland and Gunn for promoting nepotism through Shazam 2 as they believe that Harcourt has no job being in the sequel. The supposed cameo is being dissed and termed as unnecessary.
James Gunn’s Fans Come to the Couple’s Support
So while nepotism does not sit right with today’s audience, it’s a fact that some “nepo babies” sure are talented enough to be where they are at the moment. Similarly, Gunn’s loyalists have come to support the decision of including Harcourt’s cameo in Shazam 2.
Their argument is simply that Holland isn’t just the wife of a famous filmmaker, but she is also her own person. The pro-James team is calling out the other group for making the cameo something to stress out about. They stated that Holland is a talented actress and she is getting all the hate only because of who she chose to marry. Check out how fans on Twitter have the back of the couple.
Her name is Jennifer Holland she’s a talented actress who just happens to be married to James Gunn https://t.co/lWfohmViIj pic.twitter.com/rVH9XPLnqG
— Mari 💖 (@ComicLoverMari) January 29, 2023
They have been running with this narrative despite the fact she had a career long before meeting and marrying James Gunn. They also seem to forget Zack gives his wife producer credit on everything he does.
— Darth Daddy Lunga (@DarthLunga) January 29, 2023
FR they be hatin for no reason I really loved her in Peacemaker
— Jason | #DCNEWSTOMORROW🎉 (@ThatDCfan) January 29, 2023
Dc fanboys are likely anger and resorting to this assumption because she’s like half Gunn’s age. They see it as her marrying for jobs in their DC universe, and they can’t stand for that.
Which is stupid and at the end of the day, whatever Gunn’s plans are, they will be mad.
— Z25 (@Z2506337384) January 30, 2023
People need to chill she a good actress
— Clarke P Thomas (@ClarkeTho208) January 30, 2023
Whether the cameo is happening or not is something that we’ll know for sure with time. If Holland does show up as Harcourt in the sequel, fans will finally have the answer to if the cameo was necessary or unnecessary.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is all set to release in theatres on March 17.
Source: Twitter
