It sometimes seems that James Gunn has been around forever, having had a hand in so many comic book movies of the last decade. It is just as well that the director is active enough on his social media accounts to remind everyone that he has only been working in the industry for 25 years. Taking to his Twitter account, Gunn celebrated the silver anniversary of his first movie, Tromeo and Juliet, which he wrote and acted as associate director on in 1996. Of course, working on the super-low-budget movies of Troma Entertainment, which in this case was around $350,000, is a world away from the mega-millions he had been handed for movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad. However, it is undoubtedly a great example of what comes from tiny acorns.Posting on his account, Gunn said, “Happy 25th Anniversary to my first film, Tromeo & Juliet. If you want to see my 1st depiction of a monstrous cow, look no further.”
As you would expect from a Troma movie, the studio behind the Toxic Avenger movie series, which is currently getting a big-budget remake starring Peter Dinklage, the film is as bizarre as they come. However, the film started as a draft script by Lloyd Kaufman and fellow Troma employees Andy Deemer and Phil Rivo. However, after their script was shot down with negative feedback, industry newcomer Gunn was brought in to rewrite the script. According to reports, he certainly didn’t hold back and came up with something “darker and far more obscene.” It is quite easy to see how Gunn ended up working on the likes of horror movie Slither and his recent Peacemaker series, which spun off from his R-rated The Suicide Squad.
James Gunn Has Become One of the Most Sought After Directors and Writers in Hollywood
Having worked on 2002’s Scooby-Doo and its 2004 sequel, as well as his recent work on the Guardians of the Galaxy series for Marvel, Gunn has proven that he can not only work across genres but is also able to play between family-friendly and R-rated fare with ease. Having spent almost 20 years building up a reputation, taking on writing and directing duties on Guardians of the Galaxy certainly played a huge part in elevating Gunn to the Hollywood elite, as since the movie’s release in 2014, he has had a hand in almost as many movies as he did in the two decades prior.
Currently, Gunn is working on his next Guardians of the Galaxy movie and a Holiday Special for Marvel. Alongside that, the finale of his DC HBO Max series Peacemaker came with the announcement that there will be a second season of the John Cena-led show, and he is also working on another top-secret project for DC to be unveiled soon. With all this in mind, celebrating 25 years since it all started must feel like a huge milestone achievement when working in an industry that can chew up and spit out many who are not able to survive, something that Gunn has managed to navigate away from like someone who was born to succeed.