James Gunn Honors the Anniversary of His Directorial Debut

James Gunn is the director best known for Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 who recently wrapped filming on The Suicide Squad. However, before Gunn was known for directing comic book movies, he was dabbling in horror. Yesterday, the director took to Instagram to celebrate the anniversary of his directorial feature film debut. Slither was released 14 years ago and is described by IMDb as follows: "a small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters." The movie starred people that Gunn continues to work with today, including Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), Nathan Fillion (The Suicide Squad), and Elizabeth Banks (Brightburn).

"14 years ago today my directorial debut Slither opened. It was not a hit (to say the least), but because of the great reviews & that so many of you folks loved it, it was the start of a great career for me. Just as importantly, I met many wonderful people making the film, who have remained close friends to this day. Here are some photos from that time - including some never-before-seen. #Slither #imbillpardy ❤️🙏," Gunn wrote. You can check out the post below:

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14 years ago today my directorial debut Slither opened. It was not a hit (to say the least), but because of the great reviews & that so many of you folks loved it, it was the start of a great career for me. Just as importantly, I met many wonderful people making the film, who have remained close friends to this day. Here are some photos from that time - including some never-before-seen. #Slither #imbillpardy ❤️🙏

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on Mar 31, 2020 at 2:55pm PDT

Many celebrities commented on the post, including Banks. "Hilarious. What fun we had," she wrote. "Love all the practical FX," Seth Green added. "I can't hear Air Supply without thinking of Slither and for that I THANK YOU," Randy Havens added. Gunn also answered some fan questions in the comments, which you can read here.

As for The Suicide Squad, despite what the title for the new movie might imply, the movie's producer Peter Safran has made it a point to let fans know Gunn's take on the team is not a direct sequel to David Ayer's movie. "It's called The Suicide Squad," Safran said. "It's not Suicide Squad 2. It is not a sequel. I will leave that alone but, yes, it's called The Suicide Squad."

The Suicide Squad is expected to hit theaters on August 6, 2021.