James Gunn knocked it out of the park with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, making the trilogy the most consistent in terms of quality across the MCU. One thing Gunn is getting particular praise for is how different all three Guardians villains feel.
This bodes well for his future as the head honcho of the DCU. The comics are known for having some of the best villains around. From Lex Luthor to the Joker; there’s a pretty wild collection of varied and interesting characters to choose from. If Gunn is capable of the range he’s already demonstrated with his Guardians villains, then audiences will be in for a treat once his DCU really gets up and running.
Fans are already getting excited about the thought, as one redditor made a post in the DC Cinematic subreddit expressing their excitement for future DC villains on screen as well as praising Gunn’s villains thus far. The post explained how Gunn was able to make each villain feel distinct and memorable, whilst in some ways endearing them to the audience.
“In the first guardians we had Ronan the Accuser. A powerful villain equipped with the literal power stone. Then you had Ego. A charismatic villain that had the star lord wrapped around his thumb, until his ego (lol) got the best of him and let too many details slip. Finally you have The High Evolutionary. A Genius narcissist scientist who believes he is responsible for progressing life but didn’t complete the puzzle.”
When you look back over the trilogy, it’s clear to see that Gunn really has had a good run; but then again, that was never really in much doubt. Some fans pointed out that Ronan was a somewhat weak villain, but then again, that was a problem that persisted throughout phase two of the MCU. It was also the first Guardians film, so more attention was likely placed on the main characters, who were entirely new to the audience.
After showing what he can do with the Guardians and their villains, most fans (even some who were loyal to Zack Snyder) have decided that they are looking forward to seeing what Gunn will bring to the DCU. The redditor went on to say that they trusted the director to do a brilliant job with the DC villains.
“Each movie managed to make a compelling villain for different reasons and makes me confident characters like Lex, Doomsday, and super excited to see what Gunn does with Joker, because you can go some many different ways with him. Nicholson was unique as the funny joker who graffitied art museums, Ledger was the agent of chaos, Keoghan looks to be manipulative in the asylum and finally Leto showed how not to play the joker.”
With all his recent success, it seems like the heads at DC and Warner Bros. made a sound decision in bringing Gunn on board. The villains are arguably the best quality in DC Comics. If Gunn can turn a D-list villain like the High Evolutionary into one of the most intimidating and hateable characters practically overnight, imagine what he could do with the huge variety of A-list villains DC has.
