James Gunn, who directed Marvel hit Guardians of the Galaxy, has hit out at an article that claimed the success of Deadpool had rewritten the superhero genre.
The Deadline piece quoted an unnamed studio executive who said of Deadpool: “The film has a self-deprecating tone that’s riotous. It’s never been done before. It’s poking fun at Marvel. That label takes itself so seriously, can you imagine them making fun of themselves in a movie? They’d rather stab themselves.”
Gunn, who led Guardians to a $773m worldwide gross, posted a long diatribe on Facebook to respond, saying the industry needs to be careful when following in the footsteps of a major success. Deadpool shocked many insiders this weekend when it made over $150m in the US.
He referred to the source as “the dumbest fucking Hollywood exec in the history of dumb fucking Hollywood execs” and said that people need to look deeper to discover why Deadpool was such a hit.
“Deadpool was its own thing,” he wrote. “THAT’S what people are reacting to. It’s original, it’s damn good, it was made with love by the filmmakers, and it wasn’t afraid to take risks. For the theatrical experience to survive, spectacle films need to expand their definition of what they can be. They need to be unique and true voices of the filmmakers behind them. They can’t just be copying what came before them.”
Many industry analysts were most surprised that an R-rated film could achieve such a total and yesterday brought a rumour that the third Wolverine film would now be similarly classified to appeal to a similar audience.
Deadpool has already made $284m worldwide since opening last week from a budget of just $58m. A sequel is already in development and star Reynolds has already picked up a major new role in sci-fi thriller Life. Gunn is currently working on the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy, set to open in 2017.
