James Gunn calls out “cameo porn,” says it’s “one of the worst elements of recent superhero films”

Last Updated on December 29, 2023

James Gunn‘s reboot of the DC film universe aims to avoid the redundant use of origin stories that many superhero films feature. For his upcoming Superman: Legacy, Clark Kent is already established as the big blue Boy Scout and the movie takes place in a world where superheroes are already in existence and are known. The additional characters that will play a part in Superman: Legacy include Guy Gardner, a Green Lantern who will be portrayed by Nathan Fillion, Hawkgirl, who will be played by Isabela Merced, and Mister Terrific, who is set to be played by Edi Gathegi.

According to IGN, a fan of Gunn’s commended him on Threads for making the additional superheroes actual characters in the film rather than just throwing some known ones in there for some fan service. Gunn responded to the fan with, “I call that ‘cameo porn’ and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films. f a character is in a film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise.” Gunn eased up a bit by stating that minor appearances are fine if they don’t disrupt the story, but also, “it’s the plot contrivances that develop from a cameo, not the cameo itself”.

Gunn would expound further by adding, “I don’t mind actual cameos — if it’s a glimpse or a moment, an Easter egg. What bothers me is when they mangle an elegant story by shoehorning characters in. They aren’t there because the story calls for it, but for some other reason.” He presented some further context about his cast of superhero characters that join Superman, “None of these roles are cameos. What single-protagonist movie doesn’t have more than ten speaking roles? There will be more.” He cited Christopher Nolan’s star-studded film Oppenheimer as an example, saying it was “very much a single protagonist film with a lot more characters than we have”.

Recently, Kurt Russell fielded questions about rumors that he’d been cast as Jor-El, “You know what: we don’t know a lot about Jor-El. Maybe there’s a version… I never heard this, so I don’t know. James Gunn was a blast to work with, though, so you never know.” Gunn responded with his own answer, “I love working with and directing Kurt. Hilarious and fun and talented guy. But no this was never discussed.”