James Gunn is one of the most sought-after writer/directors in Hollywood. He turned Marvel’s obscure Guardians of the Galaxy into a billion-dollar franchise and was poached by Warner Bros for The Suicide Squad and the excellent Peacemaker. But yesterday, Gunn looked back to a somewhat less-lauded movie: 2004’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
Gunn posted an image with stars Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, and Sarah Michelle Gellar, with all five looking fresh-faced and upbeat. Check it out:
With Scooby-Doo 2, Gunn hit an important milestone as it knocked Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead off the top of the charts. Snyder’s film was also a Gunn script, making him the first screenwriter to ever have two films top the box office on consecutive weeks.
This made him a name to be watched and, after the underrated duo of Slither and Super, he was snapped up by Marvel Studios and put to work on Guardians of the Galaxy.
Next year, we’ll get to see that saga wrap up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will reunite the cast and add Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock. Everyone who’s read the script describes the finale as a tear-jerker, so we’re betting at least some of the heroes won’t make it to the credits.
Before all that, we’ll get the presumably more light-hearted The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which will arrive on Disney Plus at the end of the year and provide some festive cheer (as well as setting up Vol. 3). After this, Gunn deserves a well-earned break, though I doubt this will be his last entry in the MCU.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5, 2023.
