James Gunn might just be the mad genius of superhero filmmaking-a filmmaker who went from crafting scrappy Troma flicks about killer cows to reshaping the biggest franchises in Hollywood. His path from gleefully trashy horror-comedy to the top ranks of both Marvel and DC is wild enough on its own, but Gunn’s real magic lies in how he treats the misfits. He takes the weirdos, the damaged, the overlooked, and turns them into the beating heart of his stories. It’s that mix of irreverence, messy humanity, and genuine warmth that sets his work apart. So let’s break down the five James Gunn films that didn’t just entertain audiences, but which have bent the rules of what superhero and supervillain cinema can be.
5. Super (2010): A Dark, Deranged Spin on Vigilantism
Before he was directing cosmic misfits and kaiju starfish, Gunn made Super – a deeply uncomfortable, pitch-black comedy that’s equal parts absurd and disturbing. Rainn Wilson plays Frank, a man whose wife leaves him for a sleazy drug dealer (Kevin Bacon having way too much fun). Frank’s solution? To become a homemade superhero called The Crimson Bolt, whose signature move is smacking people with a wrench for even the pettiest offenses.
Super isn’t a parody; it’s a raw, unflinching look at what kind of person would actually put on a costume and fight crime. It savages the vigilante fantasy from within, and shows how delusional, unstable, and dangerous it truly is. Brutal, weird, and sometimes almost too much, it’s also a quietly important milestone in Gunn’s filmography, proving he could fuse shock, humor, and genuine emotion in a way only he can.
4. Slither (2006): Slimy, Silly, and Surprisingly Sweet
Slither is Gunn’s directorial debut, a goo-soaked love letter to old-school creature features. When an alien parasite infects a resident (Michael Rooker, playing delightfully grotesque) of this small town, things quickly spiral into a mess of body horror, exploding victims, and mind-controlling slugs.
But beneath all the slime and schlock, Slither has heart. Gunn balances the horror with big laughs and small moments of humanity. The film’s charm springs from that blend—the campy characters, the over-the-top gore, and the genuine affection Gunn has for these messy, ordinary people. It wasn’t a box-office smash, but it’s since become a cult gem and a key early example of Gunn’s signature tone: funny, freaky, and unexpectedly heartfelt.
3. The Suicide Squad (2021): Chaos With a Soul
When Marvel let Gunn go-temporarily, anyway-DC snapped him up in a heartbeat and said, essentially, “Do whatever you want.” And Gunn absolutely did. The Suicide Squad is pure, unfiltered Gunn: gleeful violence, bizarre creatures, crude humor, and a cast full of lovable screwups, from a clueless man-shark to a villainous starfish the size of a skyscraper. It plays like a Troma film given an A-list budget.
But beneath the carnage is the thing Gunn always brings to the table: compassion. His characters, no matter how awful or ridiculous, have humanity. They’re broken, lonely, and yearning for purpose, and that’s what gives the movie its emotional punch. It’s a reminder that superhero movies can be anarchic and weird and still unbelievably sincere.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017): Cosmic Therapy With Lasers
While the first Guardians brought the team together, Vol. 2 asks a tougher question: how do you hold a family together when everyone in it is damaged? Star-Lord’s reunion with his father, Ego, becomes a gut punch; Gamora and Nebula try to untangle their trauma; and Rocket spirals through self-loathing masked as sarcasm.
The jokes land, the action dazzles, and the soundtrack slaps, but it’s the emotional storytelling that hits hardest. Vol. 2 is messy and earnest in a way big superhero movies rarely are. It digs into toxic parents, abandonment, and found family with surprising tenderness. Yondu’s final sacrifice and Rocket’s grief remain some of the most emotionally charged moments in the MCU.
1. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): The Movie That Changed Everything
This is the movie that launched James Gunn into blockbuster royalty. Pre-Guardians, Marvel didn’t exactly lean into the weird stuff, but Gunn took a talking raccoon, a walking tree, a grumpy warrior, an orphan assassin, and a goofball thief and somehow turned them into one of modern cinema’s most beloved teams.
The mix of comedy, heart, and off-the-wall cosmic adventure in this movie was a jolt of fresh energy for the MCU. It introduced a new tone-playful, emotional, proudly bizarre-and it worked so well that Marvel’s entire cosmic direction shifted around it. More importantly, Guardians proved Gunn’s belief that the strangest characters often have the most soul.
James Gunn celebrates the outsider in his work, the flawed, the odd, the messy, and most especially the misunderstood. He reminds us that some of the things that make us different are usually the things that make us heroic. In a genre replete with perfect, polished heroes, Gunn’s misfits feel refreshingly real. That’s why his movies shine: they’re weird, they’re wild, and they’re deeply, unmistakably human.