Sean Gunn Teases The Future For Maxwell Lord In The DCU [Exclusive]

Sean Gunn has always thrived when filmmakers let him have fun with being weird. After breaking out as the eccentric Kirk in Gilmore Girls, the actor has made dozens of guest appearances in notable TV shows and in supporting roles in films — including many of the ones directed by his brother, James Gunn. James and Sean worked together extensively during the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, with Sean providing the motion-capture movement for Rocket Raccoon while also playing Yondu’s right-hand man, Kraglin.

What could have been a throwaway role turned into something far more fascinating, with Kraglin gradually becoming one of the trilogy’s most important side characters and eventually a formal member of the team. Gunn also followed his brother over to the new cinematic DC Universe, where Sean has played two notable roles — the semi-feral Weasel in The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos, as well as the ultra-wealthy industrialist Maxwell Lord in Superman and Peacemaker. While sitting down for an interview with ComicBook at the LVLUP Expo in Las Vegas, Gunn spoke about both roles — and teased what excites him the most about Maxwell Lord’s DCU future.

CB: We’ve only gotten a taste of your version of Maxwell Lord in Superman — given the sheer scope of the larger DC Universe, which corners and characters of the world would you be most excited to see Lord bounce off of?

Sean Gunn: That’s a tough question without revealing anything, but I can tell you that I am very excited to see Maxwell Lord interact with any corner of the DC Universe. I think that his fingerprints are on a lot of things. He isn’t just a billionaire; he is a superbillionaire. He is one of the richest men the world has ever known. We know the kind of power that those people have; he has that power because of his wealth. How will he use that power? How will he exercise it? That’s fascinating to me going forward.

Who are the people who are sort of adjacent to the Maxwell Lord-type characters, and how do they look at the world? It’s a different worldview for people as wealthy as he is. But is there some kind of altruism still in there? Is there a pathway where he’s this wealthy but using it to make the world a better place? Or is he angling for his own sort of power? Or is he angling for his own sort of power? It’s stuff that I’m really pleased to explore… There are different incarnations of the character, and I think we have our own. I think we draw from the comics, but we also have our own path that we’re taking with it. I’m really excited to share that with the audience.

The rest of our interview with Sean Gunn continues below, as we discussed the creative challenge of playing Weasel, Kraglin’s arc across the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and how Kirk would respond to a gaming convention.

You’ve played some wildly different roles over the years — what do you look for in a character when you sign on to a role?

Well, I think it changes for every character. That sort of gets to the heart of what it is that we do as actors. When I’m going to play a character, I’m trying to unlock a door, essentially, and I’m trying different keys. What is it that I can bring to this character that makes him truthful? Where I know I’m doing right by him, but it also feels comfortable, and it feels right. I know when I play characters, and it’s not comfortable, it’s not going well. I have to find my way in so that I know who this person is, and I’m kind of tackling who they are. It’s different for every character.

Which character has surprised you the most?

Weasel in the DC Universe is a character that really kind of smacked me in the face. I performed Weasel in The Suicide Squad, where he’s very much comic relief. It was motion capture, which I’ve done, and he’s funny and weird and different and unusual, but the character was a bit of an afterthought.

Then I get to play him again in Creature Commandos, and he has such a rich backstory. It’s extremely challenging. I can’t speak. I’m still beholden to his squawks and grunts and shrieks and the noises that he makes. But like, that’s an example of a character that came out of left field and felt like something very different from what I was expecting.

Another one of your characters with some really unique touches to him is Kraglin. How did you approach that character originally, and how did your approach shift as the films went on?

I didn’t quite know where Kraglin was going when we started the first movie. We played a lot on set with him, being either a little more sinister or a little crazier. [The Ravagers] are not exactly villains, but they’re villain- adjacent in the first movie. We were trying to find out who he was. It wasn’t really until the second movie, when I read that script and talked to my brother about the character, that I understood who [Kraglin] was.

We were coming to his story with the point of view that he was this sort of loyal, son-type character for Yondu. Kraglin’s story is really the prodigal son story in a lot of ways. Quill is playing the prodigal son who’s welcomed with open arms, and Kraglin is like, ‘I’ve been here the whole time! What about me?’ I really understand that, and it was a pleasure to try to tackle that arc.

You’ve worked with so many filmmakers over the years — what separates James from any of the other directors you’ve worked with?

I can say with total honesty that I love working with James more than anything. When I know that I’m going to work on one of his projects, I’m relieved. There’s a sense of comfort involved. It’s like going to your bureau and pulling out the most comfortable t-shirt that you love wearing.

I love working with James because I know what his sets are like. I know how prepared he is. I know how to talk to him. I know the shorthand you need to develop with a director like James, and I already have it, so I already know how to work with him. We’ve been working together since we were kids in one capacity or another. So I love it. It’s a lot of fun. It’s as fun as anything I do in my career.

I’ve got to ask — how do you think Kirk would respond to attending to something like LVLUP?

Hmm… I don’t think he’s much of a gamer, but I think that he would definitely be into the cosplay element of it all [Laughter]. Gosh, it’s hard to know. It’s hard to know! Kirk feels very insular to me, like he has not experienced the world in its fullness. I think more than anything, he would be kind of blown away by all of it.