James Gunn: There Are “Too Many” Superhero Movies

James Gunn, the acclaimed director of Guardians of the Galaxy and the now co-CEO of DC Studios, believes that superheroes movie has oversaturated the market. Consequently, Gunn argues that this saturation has led to a decline in originality. And it’s also created a reluctance to take creative risks in storytelling.

In an industry where superhero films have become the norm, Gunn emphasizes the importance of pushing boundaries and exploring new narratives to keep audiences engaged and excited. As he takes on the helm of DC Studios, Gunn aims to bring a fresh perspective. He continues to speak about his goal to inject creativity and reinvention into the superhero genre. And that genre is dominated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and DC Extended Universe (DCEU). 

James Gunn: “People have gotten really lazy with their superhero stories.”

Gunn commented on the topic while guest-starring on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast. Gunn states, “Yeah, I do think there’s too many. But I think it’s much less a problem of ‘too many’. I think that what’s happened is that people have gotten really lazy with their superhero stories. They have gotten to the place where, ‘Oh, it’s a superhero. Let’s make a movie about it.’ And, ‘Oh, let’s make a sequel because the first one did pretty well.'”

“And they aren’t thinking about, why is this story special? What makes this story stand apart from other stories? What is the story at the heart of it all? Why is this character important? What makes this story different that it fulfills a need for people in theatres to go see, or on television?” Gunn continued.

Gunn, 56, the co-chair of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, notes that he is committed to delivering exceptional and noteworthy films.

“We are not going to overextend ourselves at DC. We’re going to be very careful with what we put out and making sure everything is as good as it can possibly be,” Gunn promises.

“There’s this sort of middle-of-the-road type of genre tone that so many superhero movies have, as opposed to having very different genres. I like very serious superhero movies. I like very comedic superhero movies. And I like ones that are really just a murder mystery but with superheroes,” he adds. “I like to see these different types of stories as opposed to seeing the same story told over and over again.”

The latest superhero movie from the DCEU, The Flash, hits theaters today. With a $200 million budget, all eyes will be on this weekend’s box office earnings for this one.