James Gunn has been a force in popular culture for over two decades. Sure, he’s the creative force behind the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and he’s currently running the DCU, but he also wrote the screenplay for the cult classic Scooby Doo in 2002! Gunn is as prolific as they come, and those who have been keeping up with his career know that he likes to work with the same people; whether they be actors or family members.
Gunn is the oldest of five children, and each of his siblings have been remarkably successful in their chosen fields. The director’s willingness to talk about his siblings, and involve them in the projects that he works on, has really helped to flesh out the Gunn family in the public eye. Here’s a rundown of the family roster.
Brian Gunn
Brian was born in 1970, and is best known for his work as a screenwriter and producer. He honed his craft by working on cult films like The Specials (2000) and Bring It On Again (2004), but he really hit the big time in the 2010s. Brian co-write the screenplay for Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), which grossed a whopping $335 million at the box office. He also co-wrote Brightburn (2019), which is a horror film that earned critical praise and turned a nice profit on a $6-12 million budget.
Patrick Gunn
Patrick was involved with Marvel Studios years before James. As a Senior VP at Artisan Entertainment, Patrick was a producer on the comic book adaptation of The Punisher (2004). He also managed the marketing and distribution of The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), which broke box office records for independent horror and documentary films, respectively. Patrick currently works as a film executive at Qualia Capital.
Matt Gunn
Matt is a TV writer who was born in 1972. He made a name for himself when he wrote, produced and starred in the short film Man About Town (1997), which won the Sundance Film Festival’s Short Filmmaking Award. Matt would go on to become a political and humor writer for Real Time with Bill Maher (2008-). He’s won a Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Comedy/Variety Talk Series and been nominated for five Emmys for his work on the HBO series.
Beth Gunn
Beth graduated with a B.A. in English from the College of the Holy Cross in 1991, and a J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law in 2000. She’s currently a partner at the Gunn Coble firm, which specializes in workplace equality. While Beth doesn’t appear in her brothers’ films, she does jokingly credit them in her website bio: “Growing up as the only girl among five brothers, Beth learned from an early age that her life would require boldness, strategic thinking, and a willingness to fight when necessary.”
Sean Gunn
Sean is the youngest and most recognizable Gunn sibling. He was born in 1974, and made his acting debut in the James Gunn-scripted film Tromeo and Juliet (1995). He went on to find mainstream success playing Kirk Gleason on the beloved sitcom Gilmore Girls (2000-07), and Kraglin in his brother’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy (2014-23). He also provided the voice of Weasel in The Suicide Squad (2021), proving that he will more than likely be in a film if James is making it.
Mark Gunn (bonus family member!)
Mark is a cousin to the Gunn siblings, and has shared a few big writing credits with Brian. They co-wrote Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Brightburn, both of which have taken on interesting context given James Gunn’s involvement with DC. Journey 2 stars Dwayne Johnson, who would go on to headline the DC flop Black Adam, and Brightburn was sold as a nightmarish riff on the Superman origin story, which will be adapted by James for the upcoming reboot Superman: Legacy.