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James Gunn reveals why he uses the same stars and crew on his films

Why does James Gunn cast the same actors in his projects?

Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn peeled back the Hollywood curtains and exposed a somewhat open secret in the industry. This comes after the filmmaker faced minor backlash for using “the same actors” in his movies.

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This sparked after famed online illustrator, BossLogic questioned people’s complaints about Gunn using the same casts in his projects. He then mentioned how most Adam Sandler movie tends to star Sandler and his friends and how he enjoys watching the same people portray different characters in different settings and that he would do the same if given the chance.

Gunn noticed this tweet and revealed that everyone in Hollywood does this, including big-name filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, etc. He also argued that even the industry GOATs like Steven Spielberg are guilt of the same, even if fans don’t realize it. The reason why filmmakers often have the same people back on set is because they know how to work with them and they’re reliable.

For those who doubt Gunn’s argument, the evidence is in the credits. Throughout Tarantino’s 30-plus years in the industry, the filmmaker had Uma ThurmanZoë Bell, and Samuel L. Jackson appear in multiple projects. The same could be said for Speilberg since he had John Williams compose a handful of his films such as The FabelmansIndiana Jones, and E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, just to name a few.

Gunn doesn’t plan on stopping his trend of rehiring the same people any time soon. He has several regulars who appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and he didn’t shy away from revealing that he plans to have some “familiar faces” return in the upcoming DCU reboot. Although, he did make it clear that he wants to “introduce new faces” to the scene.

For the time being, an official cast list for Creature Commandos has been revealed, with Guardians of the Galaxy stars Sean Gunn starring as G.I. Robot and Maria Bakalova as Ilana Rostovic. Also joining this DC lineup are Suicide Squad‘s David Harbour and Eric Frankenstein, as well as Viola Davis and Steve Agee reprising their roles of Amanda Waller and John Economos respectively.