The writer and director of The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn, want something new for superhero films and as one who made a whole franchise for Marvel and an upcoming film for DC, he wants to change for these kinds of movies before, as he said, it gets "really boring."
In an interview with Irish Times, James Gunn shared an in-depth perspective on the creation of superhero films and a possible problem that the genre could face going forward. Gunn even looked back on historic examples were back in the day, people were excited for these kinds of movies but as the years have gone by, common origin stories turned up and even had a formula.
Gunn said, "We know about the way cowboy films went, and the way war films went. I don't know, I think you don't have to be a genius to put two and two together and see that there's a cycle to those sorts of films, you know and that the only hope for the future of the comic book and superhero films is to change them up. They're really dumb. And they're mostly boring for me right now."
A veteran director for these kinds of films, to say the least, his thoughts and words surely carry weight on it when he said these movies are turning up to be "dumb" or "boring." There must be something going on which made him see these movies as such.
He put Superman as an example, he explained, "I loved them at the beginning. I was really excited when they first started making those movies. It was about the visual effects when I saw Superman as a kid. I still love that movie. Okay, I know, that's a guy on wires and bluescreen with this sort of crappy visual effects. And then when Iron Man came out, I was in. You're able to make a guy fly around who looks like a guy flying around. And that was a beautiful thing to be able to do. But if the movies don't change, it's gonna get really, really boring."
Currently, what makes these superhero films engaging to most viewers and fans is when it belongs to a franchise with a shared universe and they connect each of the films with a culminating movie. A perfect example of these is the studios where James Gunn has worked with, Marvel with the MCU, and DC with the DCEU, where they follow some kind of build-up of films, and new, even series, in preparation for a big movie where all would come together defeating a big bad.
Whether there would be some change like what James Gunn has noticed is for the future. Marvel has started to shake up their genres, especially with the introduction of their series on Disney+, even entering into the multiverse, and as for DC, they are already opening their doors to connecting various universes as well. Hopefully, this road will work for both and for other superhero films that are about to come.
James Gunn's latest project, The Suicide Squad, will be premiering on August 6, 2021.
Related: James Gunn Wants Additional Season for The Suicide Squad's Peacemaker Spin-off
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