James Gunn has directed three Guardians of the Galaxy films (plus the Holiday Special) for Marvel Studios, and The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros., but the filmmaker still views Superman - which arrives in theaters this week - as his first real "superhero movie."
As co-head of DC Studios, Gunn finds himself directing the first movie in a shared universe he will also be taking charge of going forward in much the same way Kevin Feige runs the MCU.
While responding to this comparison during an interview with Games Radar, Gunn explained why he feels Superman is actually the first superhero film he's directed.
"Yeah, that's true, except Kevin has to do a lot of stuff that Peter does, and Peter takes care of a lot of things for me, my partner.
"In one way, though, it's weird, because you say I've made superhero movies with Marvel, but I really didn't," Gunn continued. "Guardians were space adventurers. They really weren't superheroes. They didn't have secret identities or masks or costumes, or they had superpowers, but they weren't really superpowers. They were just the powers of wherever they were from. So I think that, really, in a lot of ways, this is my first superhero movie, because even the Suicide Squad were supervillains."
He added: "So that brought in a bunch of challenges in itself. Because superheroes, everything I do comes from a place of, 'Well, what if this was real?' You know, if I started telling the story of Rocket Raccoon, 'What if Rocket Raccoon was real? How would he exist? Where would he come from?' And with this, 'What if Superman was real? What are his beliefs? What is his relationship with his girlfriend like? What is his relationship to the government like?' So it really was coming from that place."
Gunn does make some valid points, although it is difficult not to think of the GOTG as superheroes when they are flying into battle with the Avengers, and Task Force X may technically be villains at the start of The Suicide Squad, but most of them do some pretty heroic things by the end of the movie.
What do you make of Gunn's comments?
Superman stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/the Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.
The cast also Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as "Ma" and "Pa" Kent, and Milly Alcock's Supergirl has been confirmed to make her debut ahead of her own Woman of Tomorrow movie.
"And that’s a wrap," Gunn posted last year when filming concluded. "God bless our cast and crew whose commitment, creativity, and hard work have brought this project to life. I set out to make a movie about a good man in a world that isn’t always so much. And the goodness and kindness and love I’ve encountered on a daily basis on the set has inspired me and thrust me forward when I felt too spent to move on my own.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor. The destination has been Superman, but the journey has been the toil and the laughter and the emotions and ideas and magic we’ve shared together on set - and for that I am forever grateful."
You can check out a synopsis for the movie below.
"In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind."