James Gunn Fires Back At Criticism Over His Brother's Maxwell Lord Casting
James Gunn and Peter Safran are now the architects of a forthcoming shared DC Comics-based film universe, known simply as the DC Universe. Ahead of its official advent in the "Creature Commandos" cartoon series, Gunn answered arguably the DC Universe's biggest question when he revealed that some actors from the present-day DC Extended Universe may return as the same characters they have played previously in his new continuity. That said, Gunn's brother Sean Gunn will replace Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord, a character from "Wonder Woman 1984," confirming that James Gunn and Safran are rebooting some existing characters, too.
This casting garnered some criticism, including from an Instagram commenter who accused James Gunn of lying. Gunn had stated previously that every DC Universe actor will play just a single role, and Sean Gunn was already confirmed for two voice acting parts in "Creature Commandos" before the Maxwell Lord announcement.
"I said, very clearly, actors will generally only be playing one character on screen, and said, in the same response, that for voice actors it's not the same. Sean, Alan Tudyk, Maria Bakalova, Steve Agee, etc, all play multiple roles in Creature Commandos. That doesn't mean they won't play different characters onscreen," James Gunn wrote in a now-deleted response to this criticism on Instagram. "So, what's the need you have (and a handful of others) to [so] desperately need to believe I'm lying that you seem to purposefully ignore certain parts of what I said?"
Sean Gunn's casting is controversial for reasons beyond just the number of characters he plays
The fact that Sean Gunn is playing a part in James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe is hardly surprising given James Gunn's history of collaborating with his brother. Sean Gunn, notably, is in all three "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, the "Guardians" Christmas special, and even a few additional MCU projects. He also appears in Gunn's debut DC project "The Suicide Squad." Nevertheless, his upcoming introduction to the DC Universe netted some criticism other than the casting contradiction accusation.
The highest-profile critique came from none other than "Shazam!" star Zachary Levi, who characterized the choice as nepotism in a ComicBook.com interview. Various users online have echoed this sentiment as well. That said, in response to these sorts of criticisms, some fans have defended Sean Gunn's track record as worthwhile regardless of his family ties. "Dude has been in over 50 projects not counting MCU stuff and was the unsung hero of the Guardians cast. He's earned his opportunity," wrote @The_FatThor in one such post praising Sean Gunn's filmography ahead of his DC Universe debut.
Similarly, @MasterTainment argued that his brother's involvement is key to James Gunn's successful formula. "The fact that James Gunn projects are always so fun and spectacular is because he always makes projects with the people he loves," they wrote. "It's not just work for him. Dude is making memories. And that motivates him to make magic."