By the time Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 rolls around next summer, James Gunn will have spent an unlucky 13 years working almost exclusively in the realm of comic book adaptations, superheroes and costumed crimefighters.
Excluding his role as a writer and producer on 2016 horror The Belko Experiment, his filmography since the turn of the last decade will have consisted of his three Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters and the Disney Plus Holiday Special, DC’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, street-level offbeat comedy Super, and subversively dark thriller Brightburn.
While the critical and/or commercial success to have greeted all of the above shows that he’s very good at tackling the genre, fans remain split on Gunn’s status within the pantheons of superhero cinema. As you can see from the reactions below, in fact, there’s a divide on whether or not he’s the savior or scourge of the artform.
One positive for Gunn’s detractors to draw from the debate is that he’s more than likely going to tackle something else in the not too distant future, even if Guardians Vol. 3 is presumably going to be followed by Peacemaker‘s second season, with the Troma graduate refusing to slow down when it comes to a workload that’s always got him knee deep in handful of projects.
Of course, you can have the exact same argument about any behind-the-camera talent who repeatedly dips their toes into superheroic waters, but the best method to silence the critics is to shut them up with more top-notch film and television content.