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The superhero genre has seen diminishing returns in recent years, with many new installments from Marvel and DC flopping at the box office and even failing to please die-hard fans. Still, James Gunn has produced highly lucrative superhero movies for both major franchises, with outings such as The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, and the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.

While most of the industry seems to have lost its luster, Gunn is one of the only comic book filmmakers who still knows how to have fun, and that translates on the big screen.

James Gunn Knows Superheroes Are Fun

Don’t get me wrong, I love a dark and gritty superhero movie as much as the next guy. When Christian Bale imbued Batman with the gravely voice of a man who gargles wet cement like Listerine, I was pumped. But James Gunn’s superhero movies provide a certain sense of upbeat whimsy, making their fantastical setting, absurd characters, and comic book shenanigans pop when translated to live action.

Other Heroes Are Too Serious

Heroes such as the Avengers have become increasingly dour over the years as their foes become more menacing and world-ending, and that’s a completely rational raising of the stakes, but recent MCU films seem to lack any underlying sense of enjoyment.

One of the most common and helpful writing tips is to ensure that writers are having a good time while they work on a project. If the writer is bored, the audience will be bored, too. In the case of James Gunn, I don’t get the sense that he’s ever spent a single second trudging through the middle of a superhero movie script while anxiously waiting for the clock to reach lunchtime.

Walks The Tight-Rope Of Tragedy And Comedy

This doesn’t mean that James Gunn can’t bring epic stakes to his superhero movies either, as the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise continued to dive into deeply dramatic and highly disturbing territory as it went on. Still, many characters were able to navigate the incredibly human middle-ground between tragedy and comedy, and strike a respectable balance between the two conflicting vibes.

For a specific example, think about how Gunn breaks up tear-jerking moments like Peter Quill losing his father with humorous lines like Yondu misunderstanding who and what Mary Poppins represents.

Gunn’s Magic Touch

The new DCU head honcho’s style frequently bobs and weaves between the dramatically sincere and hilariously sardonic to provide viewers with a fun experience that makes us actually want to spend our time in the theater instead of doom-scrolling on our phones. Recent non-James Gunn superhero movies can’t say the same, as many of the formulaic outings feel like the screenwriting team was ticking boxes as they jumped from plot point to plot point.

James Gunn Makes Fun Movies

Can you honestly say that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was a “fun” movie in theaters? Or would you say that it just progresses the story of the MCU in a slow death march toward the next uninspired stepping stone? James Gunn’s superhero movies don’t manufacture fun moments from a conveyor belt; they’re earned by providing his characters with an endearing sense of self, making their feelings and interactions seem genuine to the audience.

Now that James Gunn is in charge of the future of the DCU, we can expect a lot more of his deeply-human superhero movies. Hopefully, this style blends perfectly with characters such as Superman and Wonder Woman, as we haven’t seen those two crack a genuine smile in live-action in a very long time.