James Gunn calls pointless cameos ‘one of the worst elements of recent superhero movies’

James Gunn defends the cast he has assembled Superman: legacy after fans expressed concerns about the film including too many characters.

The co-head of DC Studios recently spoke Threads to explain that he’s building an entire universe, rather than just having comic book characters appear on screen for a few seconds.

“The thing is, it’s NOT a big movie; I mean, not in terms of casting,” he wrote. “It’s normal for movies with a single protagonist to have other characters; it’s much more unusual for them not to.”

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

“I call it ‘Cameo Porn’ and it’s been one of the worst elements of recent superhero movies,” he said. “If a character is in a movie, he must have a reason for being there story-wise.”

He continued: “I don’t care about actual cameos; whether it’s a glimpse or a moment, an Easter egg. What bothers me is when they destroy an elegant story by shoehorning in characters; They are not there because the story requires it, but for some other reason.”

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

But the new heads of DC Studios, Gunn and Peter Safran, have set out to reboot the DC Universe under their creative vision, starting with Gunn’s. Superman: legacy. So far, it has been revealed that David Corenswet will play Superman, Rachel Brosnahan will play Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult will play Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo will be 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 unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and that you’ll never forget.”

Superman: legacy It is expected to hit theaters on July 11, 2025.