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James Gunn reckons most modern superhero films are boring – despite directing a bunch himself

Caption: James Gunn hints at ‘massacre’ of Suicide Squad characters
Credit: Getty

James Gunn has said ‘mostly dumb’ superhero films need a serious revamp to keep people going back to the cinema to watch them.

The Guardians of the Galaxy director said he was excited by superhero movies at the beginning when the release of Iron Man in 2008 kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

However he feels they are ‘mostly boring’ and is waiting for the genre to get a shot in the arm.

He told The Irish Times: ‘We know about the way the cowboy films went, and the way war films went.

‘I don’t know, I think you don’t have to be a genius to put two and two together and see that there’s a cycle to those sorts of films, you know, and that the only hope for the future of the comic book and superhero films is to change them up. They’re really dumb. And they’re mostly boring for me right now.’

Recalling his earliest experiences with superhero flicks, James explained: ‘I loved them at the beginning. I was really excited when they first started making those movies.

The director is no stranger to superhero films, having directed Zoe Saldana and Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy (Picture: Marvel)

‘It was about the visual effects when I saw Superman as a kid. I still love that movie. OK, I know, that’s a guy on wires and bluescreen with this sort of c***py visual effects.

‘And then when Iron Man came out, I was in. You’re able to make a guy fly around who looks like a guy flying around. And that was a beautiful thing to be able to do. But if the movies don’t change, it’s gonna get really, really boring.’

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Hopefully his upcoming, er, superhero film The Suicide Squad is going to change the game. Its huge stellar cast, including Margot Robbie, John Cena, and Idris Elba as Bloodsport, certainly looks like it could.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk and other press about his stars, James said: ‘I wanted to work with Idris. I wanted Idris to star in this movie.

‘It wasn’t a matter so much of who the character was, it was “let’s find a character who’s obscure who we can build our own cinematic creation for Idris.”’

The Suicide Squad is out July 30.

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