Copyright /FILM
James Gunn is the head honcho and chief creative mind behind the newly-launched DCU, a planned interconnected superhero cinematic universe based on characters from DC Comics. The first film in the series, Gunn's charming "Superman," was released in July of 2025 to much ballyhoo, and it will soon be joined by "Supergirl," scheduled for release in June of 2026. Gunn's TV shows "Creature Commandos" and "Peacemaker" (with some season 2 retcons) are also part of this new universe. Previously, Gunn had helmed the high-profile and widely beloved "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as "The Suicide Squad" for the now-defunct DC Extended Universe, making Gunn one of the more prolific superhero filmmakers of his generation. This is an odd position for Gunn to find himself in, given that — prior to "Guardians" — he only made superhero movies that completely deconstructed and even mocked superheroes. Back in 2010, Gunn wrote and directed "Super," a film about a depressed man who invents a superhero persona for himself in order to cope with a divorce. He doesn't commit acts of righteousness, however, instead staving in people's heads with a wrench. It's a dark, incredibly sad picture that equates superhero-dom with mental illness. A decade prior to that, in 2000, Gunn penned Craig Mazin's tiny-budget indie film "The Specials," a satire of superheroes that also doesn't seem to think too highly of the profession. "The Specials" is not an action film but a talky comedy film about what the titular superhero team does on their day off. As it so happens, they laze around, drink cocktails, and ponder better business opportunities. In the world of "The Specials," superheroes fight crime only to earn money, usually from corporate sponsors and advertisers. Heroes would rather have their own action figures than actually fight. This cynical view of superheroes was pervasive throughout the '90s (see also "The Tick," "Fight Man," "Mystery Men," "Freakazoid!," etc.), and Gunn simply kept the bitter fires burning with his screenplay to "The Specials." The Specials are the world's seventh most-popular superhero team, which means they cannot get the corporate sponsorship they long for. They are only called into action for low-priority disasters and crimes, which leaves them all resentful of their positions. It doesn't help that the team is infected with in-fighting and scandal. The team is on the cusp of securing a low-rent action figure deal, but it's not entirely lucrative. The team leader, The Strobe (Thomas Haden Church), has recently caught his wife, Ms. Indestructible (Paget Brewster), having an affair with The Weevil (Rob Lowe), a fellow teammate. The Weevil, tired of the piddling profits he can make with the Specials, is secretly thinking of leaving the team and joining a more wealthy crew. The entire middle portion of the movie sees The Specials after they have ostensibly broken up over the infidelity scandal. The characters may have extraordinary powers or exotic extraterrestrial origins, but they would rather snipe at each other and drink than fight crime. Other team members include a being of pure energy named Amok (Jamie Kennedy), the green-skinned Alien Orphan (Sean Gunn), the demon-summoning Deadly Girl (Judy Greer), the skin-altering Power Chick (Kelly Coffield), and the newest member of the team, Nightbird (Jordan Ladd), who can lay eggs. One of the team members, Eight, is actually eight people. "The Specials" is whimsical and bitterly fun, spoofing the ridiculousness of superheroes by giving them obscure powers. Even if the characters do have superpowers that would be effective at stopping crimes or halting alien invasions, the character possessing them is usually petty and/or incompetent in some way. It's hard to tell if the filmmakers are gently ribbing superheroes or if they genuinely hated them. Recall that superhero movies (Batman notwithstanding) generally weren't big business in the late 1990s. The film also sends up the ego that undoubtedly drives all masked vigilantes. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, most superheroes (in comics and in movies) operated with secret identities, putting on masks to fight crime anonymously. The idea was that heroes were driven by an impulse to justice, the masks assuring that they weren't in it for the glory, or financial compensation. Masks also protected villains from tracking down heroes in their off hours. It wouldn't be until the Marvel Cinematic Universe that masks would be discarded and heroes would be allowed to accrue fame. This change, no doubt, came when a generation of kids grew up selling their faces online, hoping to achieve internet fame above all other concerns. As previously written about in the pages of /Film, "The Specials" was a disaster behind the scenes. Paget Brewster has said openly on multiple occasions that "The Specials" was a shoddy film that didn't possess the grounded, realistic tone that she had hoped for. Gunn and Jamie Kennedy also didn't get along, leading to a confrontation in a restaurant where Kennedy threw a chair at Gunn (Gunn has said they patched up their differences since). Kennedy was furious at the blu face makeup he had to wear, as it didn't wash off easily and interfered with a role in David O. Russell's "Three Kings." Rob Lowe, the film's biggest star, elected not to do any publicity for the movie, as he landed a gig on "The West Wing" shortly after shooting wrapped. This led to more bitterness from the crew. Everyone moved away from "The Specials" upset with the production, disappointed in the results, and angry at various co-stars. The film only made $13,000 at the box office. It finally became more widely seen when Gunn became a Hollywood player. After the experience, it's a wonder James Gunn wanted to make any other superhero movies at all.
