THE SUICIDE SQUAD Director James Gunn Says Superhero Movies Are "Mostly Boring To Me Right Now"

THE SUICIDE SQUAD Director James Gunn Says Superhero Movies Are "Mostly Boring To Me Right Now"

The Suicide Squad & Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is clearly a fan of the superhero genre, but the filmmaker has now admitted that many current comic book-based movies are "boring" to him.

By MarkCassidy - Jul 12, 2021 05:07 AM EST
Filed Under: The Suicide Squad

Even the staunchest fan would have to admit that many (most?) superhero movies follow a certain formula. It's obviously been a very successful game-plan for the major studios, and it doesn't necessarily make these films any less entertaining, but it is always nice to see a writer or director at least attempt to inject some originality into their stories and take a new approach.

After bringing his signature style to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy movies, James Gunn hopes to subvert expectations yet again with The Suicide Squad: A bonkers-looking R-rated supervillain adventure which takes influence from old-school war films such as The Dirty Dozen.

While speaking to SFX Magazine (via Total Film), Gunn admitted that he's not especially excited about the current crop of superhero movies.

"They're mostly boring to me right now!" he laughs. "I loved them at the beginning and there are still people trying to do different things [with them], so it's not a 100% rule, but a lot of them are boring. So I think it's about bringing in other elements from different genres."

"I loved the idea of making a supervillain war caper film," Gunn continues. "Films like The Dirty Dozen and Where Eagles Dare, those are of different elements from the backdrop of war and the caper heist element, to the sneaking around, the high stakes, the adventure."

There are a lot of adjectives you could use to describe everything we've seen from The Suicide Squad so far, but boring is not one of them! A select few critics have seen an early preview of the movie, but we're still waiting on those first social media reactions.

What do you make of Gunn's comments? Do you plan on checking out The Suicide Squad in theaters or on HBO Max when it releases on August 6?

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PantherKing
PantherKing - 7/12/2021, 5:33 AM
LSHF
LSHF - 7/12/2021, 5:58 AM
@PantherKing - Yep. "Whatever", James.
PantherKing
PantherKing - 7/12/2021, 6:12 AM
@LSHF - James Gunn says the darnest things sometimes lol
LSHF
LSHF - 7/12/2021, 6:18 AM
@PantherKing - Lol.
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 7/12/2021, 5:34 AM
As much as I love the genre, I totally get his sentiment. The vast majority of these movies are one-and-dones for me.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 7/12/2021, 6:27 AM
@regularmovieguy - Black Widow being the latest example, felt like I was watching a contractual obligation rather than a creative endeavor. Loki on the other hand...
Hulkh8liars
Hulkh8liars - 7/12/2021, 7:30 AM
@soberchimera - bw was pretty great. Easily in the top half of the mcu
soberchimera
soberchimera - 7/12/2021, 8:04 AM
@Hulkh8liars -
Hulkh8liars
Hulkh8liars - 7/12/2021, 11:55 AM
@soberchimera - Groovy... you are in the minority
soberchimera
soberchimera - 7/12/2021, 12:13 PM
@Hulkh8liars - 7 stars on IMDb and 6.6 on Metacritic. Not bad, but not universal praise either.
Hulkh8liars
Hulkh8liars - 7/12/2021, 4:53 PM
@soberchimera - The vast majority of folks that have seen it like it and saying otherwise is misleading.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 7/12/2021, 5:01 PM
@Hulkh8liars - I thought it was ok too, I just didn’t think it was exemplary and that’s been the general consensus from what I’ve seen on this site.
LSHF
LSHF - 7/12/2021, 5:41 AM
After his upcoming two Guardians projects, I seriously doubt he will return to Marvel. He has continued to state that this Suicide project was the most fun he ever had, and that he has other ideas and wants for DC projects.

Plus, DC didn't fire him.
Kurne
Kurne - 7/12/2021, 5:44 AM
@LSHF - And he said that the Suicide Squad cast is the best he's ever worked with/put together. Ouch man.

In general, everything he's said this past year is just straight up screaming that he's not staying at Marvel after SS. I don't feel any enthusiasm when he speaks or just tweets about GOTG 3 at all, lol.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 7/12/2021, 5:50 AM
@Kurne - there’s a barely underlying bite to when he says stuff like this.

Maybe his tune changes when he starts filming GOTG 3, but it’s beyond apparent how much he’s enjoyed a change of scenery and working environment.
LSHF
LSHF - 7/12/2021, 5:57 AM
@Kurne - Same.

I suspect some of the last few years has been going to his head. He may have to be humbled a bit before coming to his senses.

Everyone in Hollywood is expendable, and many of them forget that.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 7/12/2021, 6:27 AM
@Waddles - I know next to nothing about the Secret Six, but judging from that line-up it is something I wanna see already
dracula
dracula - 7/12/2021, 6:31 AM
@LSHF - plus if he hadnt asked for it, they probably would never do a peacemaker show. They seem to be letting him do whatever he wants
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 7/12/2021, 6:33 AM
@Waddles - I could maybe see her write an animated movie focused on the team, but doubt she'll be involved in a live-action adaptation
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 7/12/2021, 6:45 AM
@Waddles - same goes for Batgirl.

As for Secret Six, maybe I should start looking into that, because that line-up does look interesting
JonesTheCat
JonesTheCat - 7/12/2021, 6:47 AM
@LSHF - I think quite the opposite actually. With the cosmic direction of the MCU coming, I could see them handing him the keys to the next Avengers film.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 7/12/2021, 6:55 AM
@Waddles - I wanted to say that too, but I think they still can actually.

I do like Smullet's Canary and Winstead's Huntress, and with a new Barbara Gordon as Oracle they could still take inspiration from Simone's era. Although I would be lying if I didn't want Batgirl first.
LSHF
LSHF - 7/12/2021, 6:57 AM
@JonesTheCat - Yes, I think something like that was discussed with him years ago. But a lot has happened to him since, and they have worked with many more directors whom they might be looking at to do the same thing.

Time will tell.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 7/12/2021, 7:06 AM
@Waddles - the Birds of Prey movie really did Cassandra Cain dirty.

And I'd really wanna see Stephanie Brown too. If Barbara ends up as Oracle, I hope Stephanie becomes Batgirl in the main DCEU.

For some reason I think Cassandra (and Damian Wayne) could fit the world of The Batman better, and that way we get multiple batfamily characters at the same time
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 7/12/2021, 7:13 AM
@Waddles - I always kinda liked Damian. Maybe not so much as a seperate character, but with other sidekick characters to interact with I agree that works best
GhostDog
GhostDog - 7/12/2021, 5:43 AM
Feels like a marketing tool of a comment.

There’s always gonna be boring ones, and there’s certainly more quantity than quality overall, but the genre is as interesting as it’s ever been and the last five years have been indicative of that.
Thing94
Thing94 - 7/12/2021, 5:43 AM
LSHF
LSHF - 7/12/2021, 5:43 AM
And the more he indirectly criticizes others' (writers, directors, etc.) film projects (by calling them "boring", for example), the less respect he will earn from others, and he will also loose respect from those who previously respected him more.

It's sad to see/hear artists criticize others' works.
TheMapleSyrup
TheMapleSyrup - 7/12/2021, 5:46 AM
I wonder which ones he finds boring
KWilly
KWilly - 7/12/2021, 5:51 AM
I get where he's coming from. There's been SO many hero flicks at this point, so it just feels like eating the same meal over and over again.

But for me, as long as they're good, I'll watch. And not get completely tired of em. I don't think superhero movies will go the way of the Western anytime soon, if ever.
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