James Gunn has taken over as the lead of the new DC Cinematic Universe alongside Peter Safran. The duo has already announced their slate for the first chapter of this new DCU, the chapter is set to be called Gods and Monsters and features a number of projects. Among them are live-action and animated TV series and some major films.
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The first officialproject in the DCU slateis a Superman film, set to be calledSuperman: Legacyand Gunn has said officially that he is currently writing this film. As such, it is an interesting time to look back on previous projects which have been penned by theGuardians of the Galaxydirector.
7Scooby-Doo (2002)
The live-actionScooby-Doofilm was one of the earliest notable films to be written by Gunn. The future director hadn’t gotten a foothold in that world yet but managed to take a beloved franchise and turn it on its head in a fascinating way with his writing of the 2002Scooby-Doofilm.
Taking Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Velma alongside the lovable, titular talking canine, this movie was set onan island amusement parkwhere the gang was brought back together as adults to solve a strange mystery that harkens back to their past as a gang of mystery solvers. A delightful and much-beloved take on the classic franchise,Scooby-Doowas an early triumph in Gunn’s writing career.
6The Belko Experiment
An intriguing, more recent, very experimental type of horror film which Gunn again wrote without directing,The Belko Experimentfeatured a group of office workers locked in their company’s headquarters and ordered to kill each other under threat of death.An intriguing premiseled to a fascinating film that didn’t manage huge box office numbers but helped inspire other social experiment movies.
Gunn’s writing was a particularly interesting concept that showcased the potential of ideas and horror movies in this vein, which are gaining more popularity in Europe particularly. With a fun cast and great writing from Gunn,The Belko Experimentis still definitely a horror worth checking out.
5Dawn Of The Dead
Another early case in his career when Gunn hadn’t begun to do as much directing work,Dawn of the Deadwas a remake of the classic George A Romero zombie films made by Zack Snyder. While Gunn and Snyder are both notable for their more recent, contradictory, efforts in and around the DC cinematic slate,Dawn of the Deadwas an excellent collaboration between them.
Set in thetitular, memorable shopping mallwhere a group of survivors from a zombie apocalypse takes refuge,Dawn of the Deadfocuses as much on the problems fighting against hordes of the undead as it does the problems coming from within. This way of tackling the film put plenty of emphasis on the excellent writing by Gunn, which remains one of his most memorable endeavors.
4Slither
The first feature-length film that Gunn directed, he also wrote this strange horror film and created the first concoction of what is recognizable today as a true James Gunn movie. With his blend of humor, horror, and thrills all soaked into the weirdness of this film,Slitheris a brilliantly lovable comedy-horror.
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Starring a great ensemble cast, another notable addition to several major Gunn movies,Slithertook on 1950s horror and sci-fi movies to make a blackly comedic masterpiece about a strange life form that lands on a meteorite in a small South Carolina town.Slitherspread the word around Hollywood thatJames Gunn was on his wayup, and it was no surprise that he’d later get picked to do some major Hollywood motion pictures.
3The Suicide Squad
Innately Gunn, by the time he arrived on the scene with DC and theirmessy cinematic outingsto date, James Gunn had already done great things on the other side of the aisle with Marvel. Bringing every bit of his dark humor, great action, and love of ensembles, Gunn put together one of the best DC films to date inThe Suicide Squad.
Kicking away somewhat from the previous Suicide Squad film attempt, some characters returned but most were new in Gunn’s incarnation of the team.The Suicide Squadpits a variety of former villains against a giant starfish in Central America in what is one of the strangest, most immediately beloved R-Rated superhero films of all time.
2Super
Again black comedy, again superhero,Superwas Gunn’s first foray into the genre as he took a humorous story about an ordinary man whose wife leaves him and turned him into a vigilante that decides to start fighting crime. One of the earlierdeconstructions of the superhero genre, and comparable toKick-Assfor the hilarious way it tackles heroes, Super garnered a lot of attention at the time.
Another great cast included Rainn Wilson, Elliot Page, Liv Tyler, and Kevin Bacon,Superwas a small film that gained a lot of cult following and possibly led to Marvel contacting Gunn for a project which would shift the level of his career forever.
1Guardians Of The Galaxy
In the quintessential James Gunn film, both from a writing and directing standpoint,Guardians of the Galaxyis the best example of what Gunn is capable of as he begins to tackle the DC Universe. Taking a small, unknown group of heroes and turning them into one of the most beloved teams on the planet in the space of two hours runtime is a feat almost unparalleled in the genre.
Peter Quill, Gamora, Groot, Drax, and Rocket weren’t completely unknown heroes to Marvel Comics fanatics, but they had almost no box office appeal before Gunn, his incredible soundtrack, his heartfelt writing, and his hilarious comedic styling arrived on the scene.Guardiansremain Gunn’s baby, and this project will be remembered as one of his and the MCU’s best forever.
