James Gunn is one of the most important people in Hollywood. Warner Bros. Discovery has enough faith in him and Peter Safran to hand them the keys to the DC kingdom. So far, that loyalty is paying off, with Superman being one of the biggest success stories of 2025 and Peacemaker being a critical darling. The sky seems to be the limit for Gunn, who is currently working on his next feature film, Man of Tomorrow, which will see the Man of Steel team up with his arch-enemy, Lex Luthor, to face off against an even greater threat to the DC Universe.
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Of course, Gunn had to put in decades of hard work before he could even imagine playing in the DC or even Marvel sandbox. He spent many years away from the camera, writing movies like the live-action Scooby-Doo and Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. However, he eventually found his way into the director’s chair and never looked back. Here are three movies you didn’t know were directed by Gunn.
3) Slither
Gunn’s first time sitting in the director’s chair for a major production was in 2006. Hot on the heels of writing a couple of solid flicks that featured horror elements, he wanted to bring his own vision to life, writing and directing the alien invasion/zombie film Slither. Unlike most movies about aliens, Slither was intended to embrace the ridiculousness of its premise, a quality that would become a staple of Gunn’s work.
What makes Slither stand out from other movies in the genre is its setting. Rather than placing the action in a huge town where escape feels impossible, the movie follows people living in a small town who aren’t accustomed to major events unfolding in their backyard. However, the comedy that comes from Slither‘s characters shouldn’t overshadow its body horror, which is great for a movie with a small budget.
2) Super
Before taking over DC, Gunn’s claim to fame was the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Marvel Studios gave him a shot because he already had experience with the genre. In 2010, he directed the dark comedy film Super, starring Rainn Wilson from The Office and X-Men: The Last Stand‘s Elliot Page.
Instead of glorifying vigilantes, Super takes a similar path to Kick-Ass, revealing the dark side of someone taking the law into their own hands. Wilson’s Crimson Bolt believes he’s doing good by taking to the streets, but in reality, he’s being selfish and putting others in harm’s way. Super‘s complicated ending makes it easy to see why Gunn has become one of the most important voices in the superhero genre.
1) Movie 43
Movie 43 is one of those movies that nobody wants their name attached to. It was an unmitigated disaster upon release and frequently appears on “Worst Movies of All-Time” lists. Fortunately, Gunn only played a very small part in the proceedings, directing the mid-credits story that most people probably didn’t reach during their viewing.
Gunn’s addition to Movie 43 is all about Beezel, an animated cat that’s a little too obsessed with its owner, Anson. Amy, Anson’s girlfriend, tries to drive a wedge between the animal and its owner, but she ends up paying the price for it in a gnarly sequence. While far from Gunn’s funniest work, the short at least makes sense. The same can’t be said for some of the other scenes in Movie 43, including the one in the restaurant featuring Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet.
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