James Gunn Says Meaningless Cameos Are Hurting Superhero Films – The Hollywood Reporter

James Gunn is defending the cast he has assembled for Superman: Legacy after fans expressed concerns about the film including too many characters.

The co-head of DC Studios recently took to Threads to explain that he is building a whole universe, rather than just having comic book characters appear on the screen for just a few seconds.

“The whole point was it’s NOT a large film – I mean, not in terms of cast,” he wrote. “It’s normal for single protagonist films to have other characters – much more unusual for them not to.”

Gunn added that he feels meaningless cameos are actually hurting the superhero genre, and characters should have a reason to be in a movie.

“I call that ‘Cameo Porn’ and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films,” he said. “If a character is in film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise.”

He continued, “I don’t mind actual cameos – if it’s a glimpse or a moment, an Easter egg. What bothers me is when they mangle an elegant story by shoehorning characters in – they aren’t there because the story calls for it, but for some other reason.”

Gunn’s comments came amid this year’s “superhero fatigue” following several movie flops, including The Flash, Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Marvels.

But new DC Studios bosses Gunn and Peter Safran have set out to reboot the DC Universe under their creative vision, beginning with Gunn’s Superman: Legacy. So far, it has been revealed that David Corenswet will play Superman, Rachel Brosnahan will portray Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult will take on Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo has been cast as Jimmy Olsen and Sara Sampaio will play Eve Teschmacher.

Earlier this week, Gunn also shared on Threads that he recently had dinner with Hoult to talk about how they “can create a Lex that will be different from anything you’ve seen before and will never forget.”

Superman: Legacy is expected to arrive in theaters July 11, 2025.