James Gunn is current a man at the top of his game and seemingly on the tip of everyone’s tongue. After being named co-CEO of DC Studios, a special division of Warner Bros. Discovery in charge of all derivative projects of the comic book company, the director has just released his latest great adventure with Marvel Studios, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which It has already become one of the biggest hits of the year.
There is currently a lot of attention focused on the work he will do with the new DCU, and more specifically with the next Man of Steel movie, Superman: Legacy. Despite the pressure, Gunn seems to be taking things calmly, since he is a great connoisseur of the world of comics and a great fan of superheroes.
His knowledge of the genre has been more than evident, not only in his adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy, but also in The Suicide Squad, a film in which he was able to explore some of the most unexpected and unconventional characters in the DC universe. And it seems that it is those kinds of stories that he likes the most.
In a recent interview with GQ, Gunn revealed his top five comic book adaptations, which include the Sony animated smash Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Richard Donner’s Superman, David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, Park Chan-Wook’s Oldboy, and Ryan Reynolds biggest break Deadpool.
The Story Behind Every Title Chosen by James Gunn
1978’s Superman has become a legendary film within the genre, especially thanks to Christopher Reeve interpretation of Clark Kent/Superman. Even after so many years, it is still considered by many one of the best superhero movies ever made and taken as an inspiration for recent projects.
As for Deadpool, it managed to welcome a new wave of superhero stories, center on much more mature plots, with more violence, blood and aiming to an R rating instead of G, PG or PG-13 as most of the comic book movies were doing back then, at least the ones with popular characters as the main stars.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which is releasing its sequel next month, has marked a before and after in animation history and put Miles Morales Spider-Man at the top with Peter Parker, presenting a story with heart, emotion, a unique animation style and great characters.
Oldboy is a 2003 Korean movie that adapted the manga of the same name, created by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi. The story follows Oh Dae-su, a business person who is kidnapped out of nowhere and confined for years in a hotel room, without knowing the reasons that led him to that place.
A History of Violence is based on the graphic novel created by John Wagner and Vince Locke published by Vertigo. The plot centers on Tom Stall, a family man from Indiana whose life turns upside down when two strangers try to rob his restaurant. The event will face Tom with his past and reveal his true self.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
