James Gunn Says ‘Cameo Porn’ Is ‘One of the Worst Elements’ in Recent Superhero Movies: ‘Shoehorning Characters In’ Mangles the Story

James Gunn has assembled quite the cast for “Superman: Legacy.” In addition to the film’s main trio – Superman (David Corenswet), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) – the movie is also reportedly set to feature Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillon), Hawkgirl (Isabela Mercad) and more. Some fans have expressed worry about the film featuring too many comic book characters, but Gunn has stressed that he’s building out a universe and not simply shoehorning in superheroes just for the hell of it. In recent comments made on Threads, Gunn said meaningless comic book movie cameos hurt the genre.

“I call that ‘Cameo Porn’ and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films,” Gunn wrote. “If a character is in film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise.”

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Gunn added, “I don’t mind actual cameos – if it’s a glimpse or a moment, an Easter egg. What bothers me is when they mangle an elegant story by shoehorning characters in – they aren’t there because the story calls for it, but for some other reason.”

“Superman: Legacy” is going to reboot the DC Universe on the big screen under the creative vision of Gunn and his DC Studios co-head Peter Safran. Gunn has already left his mark on the comic book movie genre with his “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy for Marvel, the third entry of which opened over the summer and was the rare comic book movie in 2024 to succeed at the box office. This year has seen a handful of comic book movie flops, from “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” to “The Flash” and “The Marvels.” Is Gunn worried about superhero fatigue impacting his upcoming DC Universe?

“I think there is such a thing as superhero fatigue,” Gunn told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “I think it doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes. It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball, which is character. We love Superman. We love Batman. We love Iron Man. Because they’re these incredible characters that we have in our hearts. And if it becomes just a bunch of nonsense onscreen, it gets really boring.”

“I get fatigued by most spectacle films, by the grind of not having an emotionally grounded story,” Gunn added. “It doesn’t have anything to do with whether they’re superhero movies or not. If you don’t have a story at the base of it, just watching things bash each other, no matter how clever those bashing moments are, no matter how clever the designs and the VFX are, it just gets fatiguing, and I think that’s very, very real.”

“Superman: Legacy” is set to open in theaters July 11, 2025 from Warner Bros.

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