James Gunn holds a rare distinction in the modern superhero filmmaking world. He’s the only director to receive credit for helming films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (“Guardians of the Galaxy” and its sequel) and the DCEU (the upcoming “The Suicide Squad”). (Sorry, as Gunn points out, Joss Whedon didn’t get director’s credit for “Justice League.”) So, with that experience comes a knowledge that not too many people have. He knows how both of the big superhero studios operate and he can compare/contrast.
READ MORE: James Gunn Thinks Recent Superhero Films Are “Mostly Boring”
And that’s exactly what he does in a new New York Times interview, where he’s asked point-blank if there’s a difference between how Marvel Studios makes superhero films and how Warner Bros. handles the DCEU. You won’t be surprised to hear there are differences.
“Yes, but not as many as people probably think,” Gunn said. “There’s no doubt Kevin Feige is way more involved with editing than people are at Warner Bros. He gives more notes. You don’t have to take them and I don’t always take them. Then again, I had more problems. If you saw the first cut of ‘Guardians 1,’ it had more problems, because that was my first time making something so gigantic and there’s some learning to what works and what doesn’t, carving away the excess stuff. The truth is, as Marvel goes on and Kevin Feige starts to amass ownership of half of all film in general, he’s more spread out.”
If you were hoping for Gunn to express his opinion about which creative process is more fulfilling or just better as a filmmaker, you’re out of luck. He’s very diplomatic in his response, making sure not to poo-poo the way either studio handles their superhero films. That said, he does find what WB is currently doing with the DCEU to be an exciting playground.
When talking about how he thinks “it’s great” that WB is willing to have R-rated films like “The Suicide Squad” exist next to family-friendly features like “Shazam,” Gunn explained how he thinks the studio heads are more interested in making a universe with unique filmmakers versus sticking to a specific tone.
“I think the current batch of folks over at Warner Bros. are really interested in building out a world and creating something that’s unique to the filmmakers,” he said.
Gunn later added that the variety in DC films (from “Joker” to “The Batman” to “Birds of Prey,” for example) offers something exciting for a filmmaker, even if they’re not all hits.
“They’re getting some really good filmmakers involved,” he said. “They’re always going to be hit or miss — I just don’t want them to get boring.”
Whether you think “The Suicide Squad” looks fun or not, you can’t argue that all signs point to the film being far from boring. So, in that sense, it’s already a success for James Gunn. “The Suicide Squad” hits theaters and HBO Max on August 6.
