Son of a Gunn

The Marvel-ous endgame for the new DC boss.

- BILGE EBIRI

IT SEEMS HARD to believe now, but James Gunn's first Guardians of the Galaxy was a somewhat unlikely megahit back in 2014. At the time, there was real uncertainty about the financial prospects of the August release based on a fairly marginal Marvel title. But maybe the very fact that this wasn’t one of the comics giant’s more treasured properties is what helped buy the writer-director—a Troma veteran and a creator of grisly tongue-in-cheek horror flicks, including Slither 2006)—some much-needed freedom. The result was the rare blockbuster that lived up to its Star Wars callouts, confidently juggling sweep, snark, and sentiment. Gunn not only had technical proficiency and a sense of humor; he seemed to possess those talents that once made George Lucas so exciting— the ability to effortlessly jump between worlds and the shorthand to explain elaborate and fantastical plot points. He was also unafraid of clichés, relishing the opportunity to reorient a familiar product: a perfect showman for the IP era.