Peacemaker Star Jennifer Holland Reveals Why James Gunn Includes So Many Friends And Family In His Movies

Peacemaker Star Jennifer Holland Reveals Why James Gunn Includes So Many Friends And Family In His Movies

James Gunn's wife and Peacemaker star Jennifer Holland has revealed the touching reason why the DC Studios co-CEO puts so many members of his friends and family in the projects he works on.

By JoshWilding - Jul 05, 2026 03:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Peacemaker
Source: CinemaBlend

It's no secret that James Gunn has filled the Marvel and DC projects he's worked on with his friends and family. For some, that's a point of contention, but for others, they're pleased so long as the filmmaker and DC Studios co-CEO is picking the best possible people for the job.

The Peacemaker cast, for example, is primarily made up of those close to Gunn, including his wife, Jennifer Holland. The decision to make Peacemaker Season 2 a priority in the new DCU led to the expected nepotism accusations, but the series received positive reviews from critics, and Holland's Emilia Harcourt fanbase only seemed to grow.

During a recent interview with CinemaBlend, she was asked about her and Gunn's dog, Ozu, being the basis for Krypto in Superman and Supergirl. The actress then revealed the touching reason why Gunn surrounds himself with so many familiar faces.

"It really just comes about because James loves to have his friends and family around him all the time," Holland explained. "It's hard to make movies; it's lonely. You're stuck in like a place that's not your home for a very long period of time."

"He's made great friends with a lot of the crew that he's been able to continue working with over and over again, luckily, because they keep trying to pull us out of the United States, but fortunately, we keep getting to stay."

"I don't know if that's gonna continue, but I hope it does, because we've created such a bond with all of these people, but it is still very lonely. You don't have all of your friends and family with you, so as much as he can include friends and family in his movies he tries. That gives them an excuse to be around and he really thrives on that."

"As much as he is a loner when it comes to sitting in an office, you know, typing on his computer, writing the, the movies and all of that stuff," Holland continued, "he really is inspired by and revived by true relationships just like he was inspired with Krypto by his relationship to Ozu and all of that."

As of now, there's been no mention of plans for Peacemaker Season 3, despite the last batch of episodes ending on a major cliffhanger. Harcourt, however, could pop up at any time now that she's part of Checkmate, and Holland has already hinted at a secret voiceover role in Man of Tomorrow (she previously lent her voice to one of the Superman Robots). 

Let us know your thoughts on these remarks in the comments section below.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.
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FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 7/5/2026, 3:43 AM
Completely reasonable reason and something a LOT of directors do.

Can't wait to see how certain people twist this to be something that proves that Gunn is a bad filmmaker.
Highflyer
Highflyer - 7/5/2026, 10:23 AM
@FinnishDude - Genuine question, what directors?
Baf
Baf - 7/5/2026, 11:26 AM
@Highflyer - Google it and save someone else the time. Those lists have been posted on this site multiple times.
FlixMentallo21
FlixMentallo21 - 7/5/2026, 12:09 PM
@Highflyer - Francis Ford Coppola is a big example.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 7/5/2026, 12:37 PM
@Highflyer - Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, Danny McBride, and Martin Scorsese to name a few.
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 7/5/2026, 1:35 PM
@Highflyer - Sam Raimi, Edgar Wright, Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, John Carpenter, Wes Anderson and Guillermo del Toro as just a few examples.
Highflyer
Highflyer - 7/5/2026, 4:43 PM
@SonOfAGif - I'm aware of directors working with people they have before like Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan, but I'm mainly talking about friends and family.
Highflyer
Highflyer - 7/5/2026, 4:44 PM
@Baf - No need. People just answered thr question here.
MikeyL
MikeyL - 7/5/2026, 3:50 AM
“The director gets lonely :(“ isn’t really a good enough reason for cronyism.

If it was “This person is genuinely the best person for the role,” then fair. But being lonely? Man, you’re 59. Get over it. You’re paid big [frick]ing money for any difficulties and stress during your job.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/5/2026, 9:56 AM
@MikeyL - Previous experience working with someone is often part of what makes them the best person for the role. A creative shorthand develops, it's efficient and cost effective. And come on, if it's good enough for Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Tarantino, Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Nolan . . . I don't see folks on here up in arms every time Christopher Nolan casts Michael Caine or Cillian Murphy.
UrbanTheEmcee
UrbanTheEmcee - 7/5/2026, 10:27 AM
@Clintthahamster - Those are great actors. Most of the people Gunn puts on loop aren't.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 7/5/2026, 12:19 PM
@UrbanTheEmcee - I guess I'd say that that's a matter of opinion. Michael Rooker, Nathan Filion, and Gregg Henry are all highly regarded character actors. Sean Gunn isn't my cup of tea generally, but he has 70+ acting credits, including stints on successful network shows, so it's not like his brother is doing him any favors. Same with Jennifer Holland, who's been working steadily for 20+ years, in most cases NOT with James Gunn. Like, they're not Olivier, but they're also not Tor Johnson.
WingDing11
WingDing11 - 7/5/2026, 4:37 AM
Aww. Very sweet article, Josh. Proud of you 💙
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/5/2026, 4:42 AM
If he gets inspired by friendships then maybe be more adventurous, go to new countries and meet new people.
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 7/5/2026, 4:46 AM
Am I tripping? I could have sworn this very article was posted here earlier (yesterday, even).
Why
Why - 7/5/2026, 5:44 AM
I don't think working with the same people is a valid criticism of any commercial artist. Also, nepotism is only a problem if the people you're getting in are bad at what they do, you create utter garbage every time (Paul WS Anderson) or don't really want to do it, like Will Smith's kids, or setting up generational billionaires to buy all of the media. Working with your mates is pretty reasonable where it creates positive synergy, and Scorsese, Wes Anderson, John Krasinski (his wife is the main character of an entire trilogy, where's his heat?) and Nolan, to name a few, also do it.
HelloBoysImBack
HelloBoysImBack - 7/5/2026, 7:06 AM
@Why - if she is good why has she never had any work
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 7/5/2026, 7:21 AM
@HelloBoysImBack - A simple look at her Wikipedia page proves she has worked outside of Gunn projects.
HelloBoysImBack
HelloBoysImBack - 7/5/2026, 7:30 AM
@FinnishDude - ok what projects
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 7/5/2026, 7:41 AM
@HelloBoysImBack - She has a long list of non-Gunn tv-projects alone, like Bones, American Horror Story, Sun Records, The Glades etc.
HelloBoysImBack
HelloBoysImBack - 7/5/2026, 7:46 AM
@FinnishDude - wow what a body of work I stand corrected. She had such a long run on those shows.....oh wait
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 7/5/2026, 8:01 AM
@HelloBoysImBack - So, you must think that most character actors aren't "real actors" or such nonsense.
HelloBoysImBack
HelloBoysImBack - 7/5/2026, 9:20 AM
@FinnishDude - compare her work before and after meeting Gunn
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 7/5/2026, 9:27 AM
@HelloBoysImBack - Do you give the same grief to someone like Bruce Campbell? His only major roles are in projects his buddy has creative power over, the rest being mostly small parts and B-movies.

Btw. Stating the obvious here, because I know you would "play" dumb otherwise, I am not trying to insult Campbell, who is a great actor. Just using the same logic on him you are using on Holland.
PS118
PS118 - 7/5/2026, 3:57 PM
@Why -

Yeah why does John krasinski get a pass with his wife the lead character of a trilogy?
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/5/2026, 6:27 AM
Makes sense imo and is certainly an understandable reason for Gunn to include his family and friends in his works…

Plus people act like Gunn is the only one that does that when that’s not true given other directors like Francis Ford Coppola , the Coen Brothers & even Alfred Hitchcock have cast friends/family in their films aswell.

Anyway i’m perfectly fine with Gunn doing this as long as they also fit the role well which we have seen that they have such as Jennifer as Emilia Harcourt , Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner etc!!.
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 7/5/2026, 10:09 AM
@TheVisionary25 - we would all hire our family friends. Jon Favreau hired Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man because they were friends.
Batmangina
Batmangina - 7/5/2026, 7:28 AM
He's becoming the reason his friends will never work again and that DC will lose another five years and never be a fully realized cinematic universe.

User Comment Image
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/5/2026, 8:26 AM
@Batmangina - Ellison thinks differently.

See you in 2036.
Astroman
Astroman - 7/5/2026, 8:10 AM
This is a nothing story. People hire their friends and family all the time. Not saying I like it, just saying it hardly seems newsworthy, particularly where Hollywood is concerned.
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/5/2026, 8:29 AM
Emma Thomas.

Deborah Snyder.

But sure, "Only Gunn does that"...
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