Before He Left the MCU, James Gunn Said No to Marvel Studios

James Gunn recently revealed that before his departure from Marvel Studios and his new role heading the DC Universe, he explicitly told the studio he did not want Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to be a part of his Guardians of the Galaxy films. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the director behind the Guardians trilogy and the upcoming Superman shared that he even included a note in script discussions stating his reluctance to include the God of Thunder, citing a lack of personal understanding of how to write the character effectively. This admission sheds light on the creative discussions behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four and offers context for how Thor’s storyline with the Guardians was ultimately handled, paving the way for Gunn to conclude his trilogy as he envisioned while also connecting to broader Marvel narrative strategies.

“I said in the script notes: ‘I’m not gonna put him in,” Gunn disclosed. “I don’t want to have Thor in the Guardians. I don’t want to do a movie with Thor.’ I don’t understand the character that much. I love watching his movies and I love Chris Hemsworth as a guy. I don’t understand how to write that character.”

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Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) famously joined the Guardians of the Galaxy aboard the Benatar, setting up expectations for his significant involvement in their next adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, Gunn’s desire to focus on his core team without integrating a character he felt less equipped to write presented a narrative hurdle. Marvel Studios ultimately addressed this by having Thor’s journey with the Guardians conclude within the opening act of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder. In that film, Thor and the Guardians part ways after a series of off-screen adventures, allowing Gunn to proceed with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with his intended roster.

James Gunn’s New Approach to the DCU

Now spearheading the DC Universe alongside Peter Safran, Gunn is applying lessons learned from his Marvel tenure to his new creative endeavor, particularly in terms of narrative setups and post-credits scenes. Gunn has been open about his evolving philosophy on stingers, aiming to avoid prematurely committing to storylines that might prove challenging to integrate later. “I did not like what I did in Guardians 2 where we set up Adam Warlock and we set up the Guardians of the Galaxy and we set up all this s— that I didn’t necessarily plan on,” Gunn underlined. “The way a post-credits scene works is a punch to the face, like, ‘Oh my God! Look at this.’ At times when you’re using it just solely to set something up, sometimes you’re screwing yourself over. It was not easy to work Adam Warlock into Guardians 3.” 

This perspective suggests Superman will feature post-credits scenes that are either more self-contained, like the Howard the Duck cameo in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, or directly tee up immediate next steps, similar to how The Suicide Squad‘s post-credits scene led directly into the Peacemaker series. Beyond Superman, Gunn is already developing his next directorial project within the DCU. When asked if he was thinking about a potential Superman sequel, Gunn confirmed, “What I’m working on is in some way…I mean, yes, yes, yes, yes,” but then clarified, “But is it a straight-up Superman sequel? I would not say necessarily.” He further teased, “I’m writing something else now that would be the next directing thing,” adding, “It’s connected [to Superman] without saying exactly what it is.” This hints at potential team-up films or stories that expand the world around the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) rather than just a direct solo follow-up, a project that could be teased in Superman’s post-credits scene.

Beyond stingers, Gunn has emphasized a more cohesive and pre-planned strategy for the DCU’s overarching narrative. “We are telling a big, huge central story that is like Marvel, except that I think we’re a lot more planned out than Marvel from the beginning because we’ve gotten a group of writers together to work the story out completely,” Gunn stated previously. This approach aims to create an interconnected universe where superheroes have a long-established history, with metahumans being part of public consciousness for around “300 years,” a stark contrast to the MCU’s timeline of superhero emergence. 

DC Studios’ Superman is scheduled to soar into theaters on July 11th.

What are your thoughts on James Gunn’s decision regarding Thor and his plans for the DCU? Let us know in the comments!