‘It can get really boring’: James Gunn admits ‘superhero fatigue’ is ‘very, very real’

‘It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball,’ director said

James Gunn has admitted that “superhero fatigue” is “very, very real”.

The director and screenwriter is responsible for creating films such as Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad, and last year took over as the co-CEO of DC Studios.

However, following the lukewarm critical and box office reception to both Marvel and DC’s most recent films (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Shazam! Fury of the Gods respectively), many had questioned whether too many superhero films were being released in quick succession.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn said that he believed “there is such a thing as superhero fatigue”.

“I think it doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes,” the director explained. “It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball, which is character.

“We love Superman. We love Batman. We love Iron Man. Because they’re these incredible characters that we have in our hearts. And if it becomes just a bunch of nonsense on-screen, it gets really boring.”

Gun continued: “But I get fatigued by most spectacle films, by the grind of not having an emotionally grounded story. It doesn’t have anything to do with whether they’re superhero movies or not.

“If you don’t have a story at the base of it, just watching things bash each other, no matter how clever those bashing moments are, no matter how clever the designs and the VFX are, it just gets fatiguing, and I think that’s very, very real.”

Gunn took over as the co-CEO of DC Studios in 2022 (Getty Images)

Gunn’s next project is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, his final Marvel film scheduled for release on 5 May.

Last month, the director reassured fans over the film’s lengthy run time, which reportedly sits at 149 minutes, making it the longest Guardians film so far.

Writing on Twitter, Gunn “promised” fans that “not a second is wasted”.

“There’s no fat,” he said, adding: “It was necessary to experience the full arc for every major Guardians character, not only for this film, but for the trilogy (or, I should say, trilogy plus).”