Best James Gunn Movies And TV Shows

Summary

• James Gunn takes the helm at DC Studios and leads new DCU content with partner Peter Safran.
• Highly anticipated projects like Creature Commandos and Superman showcase Gunn’s diverse career.
• Gunn’s works include dark comedies like Super and Slither, alongside major hits like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

James Gunn is now the co-CEO of DC Studios at Warner Bros., leading the new era of DCU content alongside his partner Peter Safran. The dynamic duo begin with Creature Commandos and the highly-anticipated Superman, but Gunn was also first a screenwriter and worked on games like Lollipop Chainsaw before ever coming over to Marvel and DC.

Gunn has carved out a career in cinema that one could only dream of. From writing and directing low-budget indies to getting the opportunity to direct the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and being granted the keys to the DC kingdom, he’s amassed quite a resume. Here are all of his works, ranked.

While typically at the helm of his own movies, the movies only written or produced by James Gunn include Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Belko Experiment, Brightburn, Scooby-Doo (2002), Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Tromeo and Juliet, LolliLove, The Specials, and Thirteen Ghosts.

10

Movie 43 – Beezel Segment

Movie 43 is notorious for being a train wreck of a comedy film utilizing some of the most famous stars in Hollywood. It’s an anthology of skits with different directors working on each, but you have some that are truly quite hilarious and entertaining. James Gunn’s Beezel is definitely one of those highlights.

Beezel stars Josh Duhamel and Elizabeth Banks as a couple whose lives are being upended by a fiendish and jealous animated yellow cat named Beezel. This cat wants more than just a pet relationship with his owner and will stop at nothing to remove Elizabeth Banks’ Amy from their life. It’s a brilliant and short dark comedy.

9

Super

Dark comedy is James Gunn’s forte, and this movie also brings his love for comic book stories and superheroes; except this isn’t your ordinary superhero origin story. In a similar vein to Kick-Ass, Super is a dark tale about how far one man would go to take back his wife, who has left him for some shady drug dealer, donning the Crimson Bolt costume as a symbol of justice.

Frank Darbo, aka Crimson Bolt, is played by The Office star Rainn Wilson, a guy with a troubled personality and a bit of a loser who thinks he has what it takes to be a costumed savior, yet has a questionable vigilante code. Kevin Bacon plays his nemesis, Jacques, and Darbo is also joined by Elliot Page’s Libby as his yellow-and-green-costumed sidekick, Boltie.

8

Slither

Slither was Gunn’s directorial debut, and it’s quite an unexpected jumping-off point to his long and prosperous career in films. It’s another dark comedy but this time with gross sci-fi body horror and gore that serves as an homage to the B movies of the ’80s.

The plot centers around parasitic alien slugs that turn the citizens of Wheelsy, South Carolina into monstrous transformations that look like a cross between The Blob and The Thing. There’s also practical effects and makeup done by Todd Masters, whose other credits include Tales from the Crypt, The Prophecy, True Blood, Sinister, and MGM+’s From, so you know the gore is in awesome hands.

7

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special

What are the Guardians of the Galaxy up to during the holidays, you might be wondering? James Gunn has an answer for you in his Disney+ Holiday Special. Turns out, Drax and Mantis want to give Peter Quill the best Christmas gift ever, which they believe is kidnapping his favorite actor, Kevin Bacon, to bring to him on Knowhere (and also a reunion for Gunn from their work on Super).

Despite the short length of the special, it’s still as fun and entertaining a ride as any of the Guardians movies, and you get a nice introduction to some of the characters that will appear in the third and final outing, like Cosmo the Spacedog. Kraglin also becomes a bigger part of the team and it’s nice to see how his character grows in this installment.

6

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Sequels rarely hold a candle to the original, but James Gunn works his magic with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The opening musical number with a cute Baby Groot moving around an arena where the rag-tag team takes on giant creatures to ELO’s ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ is another well-choreographed and shot sequence. You’re also introduced to Mantis, who has impeccable chemistry with Drax and quickly becomes a new favorite.

The story is also deeply personal to Star-Lord and continues to explore his backstory, this time revealing who his father was. It’s an emotional journey of found family that highlights Yondu and Peter Quill’s relationship, as well as delivers a giant twist with Quill’s biological father, with emphasis on ‘giant.’ This is also wonderfully juxtaposed with the sibling rivalry between Gamora and Nebula.

5

The Suicide Squad

2021’s The Suicide Squad marked the start of James Gunn’s initiative to save DC films. It was a soft reboot and sequel to the 2016 David Ayer Suicide Squad movie, and this Task Force X proved a much, much better second go-around. The story might still not have been the strongest, but the comedic cast of characters and their unpredictable deaths is really what Suicide Squad is all about, and James Gunn nails that aspect.

The team is headed to the island of Corto Maltese, where they must stop Project Starfish, which has to do with the DC villain Starro. Stallone’s King Shark, John Cena’s Peacemaker, Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher, and David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man steal the show with their characters (especially the portrayal of Abner’s mommy issues). And the gore and brutal violence missing from the PG-13 film are on full display here.

4

Creature Commandos

The animated Creature Commandos marks the start of the new DCU under James Gunn’s leadership, and it’s a direct sequel to the events of The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, with Rick Flag Sr. taking over as the leader of a new misfit creature unit launched by Amanda Waller. Once again, James Gunn takes even more obscure DC comic characters, like G.I. Robot and Dr. Phosphorus, and truly allows them to shine in his storytelling.

The Creature Commandos are sent on a mission to protect Princess Ilana Rostovic in Pokolistan from Circe and her army of the Sons of Themyscira, and each episode also explores the backstory of these characters in a way that flows well with the rest of the narrative. The voice acting is superb, the action sequences bring more of that gory James Gunn style, and the art direction and animation are lovely.

3

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 marked the final Guardians film for Marvel and what an entry it was to finish off the series. These films always bring the right amount of emotion and action, but Vol. 3 really hits it home with the Rocket storyline and the whole ending sequence where it does feel like you’re saying goodbye to these characters; Florence & The Machine’s ‘Dog Days Are Over’ will still make you overcome with emotion to this day.

Exploring Rocket’s past was a solid story direction that added to the heart of this already amazing group and there were so many unexpected and great moments as always, with a strong performance by Chukwudi Iwuji as The High Evolutionary to anchor everything. It was the best Disney movie to come out in 2023 and remains the best Marvel movie post-Avengers: Endgame.

2

Guardians Of The Galaxy

The first Guardians of the Galaxy was the first official superhero project, Marvel or otherwise, for writer and director James Gunn, and he found the right cast and an excellent adventure for these dysfunctional heroes. The opening credits sequence was iconic, as you can probably still picture Chris Pratt dancing and messing with space rats to ‘Come and Get Your Love,’ and the soundtrack overall was amazing and also made this movie what it was.

The strong and effective chemistry between Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax easily solidified them as the top characters in the MCU. The way they all interact with one another and the comedic timing of all the jokes is a pure joy to witness. The connections in the storyline to the greater MCU threat, Thanos, also worked seamlessly.

1

Peacemaker Season One

By far the best project of Gunn’s career is HBO Max’s Peacemaker, a hilarious action-packed spin-off series following John Cena’s character after the events of The Suicide Squad. If you thought the dance numbers in the Guardians movies were fun, the intro credits sequence for Peacemaker is the equivalent of Alan Wake 2’s We Sing moment, with the entire cast doing a choreographed routine to Wig Wam’s ‘Do You Wanna Taste It?’

Peacemaker proves John Cena has both the acting chops and excellent comedic talent, giving one of his best performances ever. The fact that this show also explores the unsung behind-the-scenes characters of Task Force X, like Emilia Harcourt, John Economos, Waller’s daughter, Leota, and Clemson Murn (another excellent character for Chukwudi Iwuji), is what makes it stand out. Plus, you also have unforgettable moments with Eagly, Vigilante, and Robert Patrick’s character, and the enemies here are very unique.