James Gunn

Described as

American screenwriter and filmmaker (born 1966)

Other names

James Francis Gunn Jr.

Born

August 5, 1966 · 1 reference

Born in

St. Louis · 1 reference

Citizen of

United States

Occupation

film director · 1 reference; film producer · 2 references; actor · 1 reference; film screenwriter · 1 reference; director · 1 reference; writer · 1 reference; musician · 1 reference; screenwriter · 1 reference

Positions held

chairperson (2022–2026); chief executive officer (2022–2026)

Education

Columbia University; Saint Louis University; Columbia University School of the Arts; St. Louis University High School (–1984) · 1 reference; Loyola Marymount University · 1 reference

Member of

Writers Guild of America West; The Icons

Known for

Guardians of the Galaxy; The Suicide Squad; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; Peacemaker; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; Superman

Field

film · 1 reference; screenplay · 1 reference; film production · 1 reference; film direction · 1 reference; film acting · 1 reference; film score · 1 reference

Spouse

Jenna Fischer (2000–2008); Jennifer Holland (2022–) · 1 reference

Father

James Gunn Sr.

Mother

Leota Gunn

Siblings

Sean Gunn; Matt Gunn; Brian Gunn

Religion

Catholicism

Website

https://www.jamesgunn.com

Wikipedias with a page

48

Wikidata item Q717015 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q717015), public domain (CC0). Copied November 13, 2026.

James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and former studio executive. He is known for his work as a screenwriter and director in the comedy, horror, and superhero genres, particularly for character studies with unconventional storytelling combining absurd humor, intense action sequences or violence, and emotional weight that often popularize lesser-known, misfit characters and feature themes of humanity, family, belonging, and redemption. His accolades include three Saturn Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Critics Choice Award, as well as a nomination for the Bram Stoker Award. Gunn has been the co-chairman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran since October 2022, and the duo is scheduled to be succeeded by Jeremy Latcham in December 2026.
Gunn developed an early interest in storytelling, making low-budget horror films, and initially pursued a music career. After studying writing at Saint Louis University and the Columbia University School of the Arts in New York, Gunn started his film career in the mid-1990s by working as a screenwriter for Lloyd Kaufman at his independent film studio Troma Entertainment, where he wrote Tromeo and Juliet (1996), a dark comedy B movie. He began collaborating with Safran on the superhero comedy The Specials (2000). Gunn began working with the major Hollywood studios when he wrote the films Scooby-Doo (2002), its sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and the Dawn of the Dead remake (both 2004). He subsequently made his feature film directorial debut with the body horror-comedy Slither (2006), followed by the dark comedy superhero film Super (2010), before transitioning to the mainstream superhero genre and receiving worldwide recognition with the Guardians of the Galaxy film trilogy (2014–2023) for Marvel Studios and its franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Gunn continued working predominantly within the superhero genre with The Suicide Squad (2021) and its HBO Max spin-off series Peacemaker (2022–2025), the first of which he developed for the competing DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise after he was temporarily fired in July 2018 by Marvel owner Disney from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) over the resurfacing of controversial jokes he had made online. Warner Bros. Discovery subsequently hired Gunn and Safran in October 2022 to lead the newly formed DC Studios, creating its flagship franchise, the DC Universe (DCU). The decision to have a high-profile director like Gunn transition to a top executive position at a film studio was considered shocking and unprecedented. He particularly created DC Studios's and the DCU's first series, the adult animated Creature Commandos (2024–present), and wrote and directed the first DCU film, Superman (2025), a reboot of the Superman film franchise. He wrote and directed Superman's follow-up Man of Tomorrow (2027), which finished filming before his DC Studios exit.
His other contributions to creative works include writing and producing the action horror film The Belko Experiment (2016), producing the superhero horror film Brightburn (2019), and producing and conceiving the story for the live-action animation legal comedy film Coyote vs. Acme (2026), as well as writing and directing a segment in the anthology comedy film Movie 43 (2013), the parody web series James Gunn's PG Porn (2008–2009), and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) for Disney+. Gunn also co-wrote Kaufman's biography All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger (1998) and wrote the novel The Toy Collector (2000) and the video game Lollipop Chainsaw (2012). Gunn has frequently collaborated with select actors who recur in his works.

Born, in its opening lines

August 5, 1966

From the Wikipedia article “James Gunn” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gunn), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 13, 2026; not changed.