As James Gunn prepares his DC Universe reboot starting with Superman: Legacy, the writer/director is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to “cameo porn.” The practice was particularly egregious in the recent DC Comics film, The Flash, where a scene in the film featured several brief cameos including both Nicolas Cage’s Superman and Christopher Reeve’s.
While engaging with fans on Threads, Gunn responded to a commenter who was getting tired of superhero movies where a “character appear on screen for 10 seconds to mark a checkbox.” Gunn agreed.
Via Deadline:
“I call that ‘Cameo Porn’ and it has been one of the worst elements of recent superhero films,” replied Gunn. “If a character is in film, they have to have a reason to be there story-wise.”
That said, Gunn is not entirely adverse to a fun cameo here and there. “That’s fine if it doesn’t disrupt the story,” Gunn wrote to another commenter. “It’s the plot contrivances that develop from a cameo, not the cameo itself.”
The writer/director also pushed back against accusations that his upcoming Superman: Legacy has a “large cast” filled with cameos like Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), Hawkgirl (Isabel Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) and possibly even Jason Momoa as Lobo.
“The whole point was it’s NOT a large film – I mean, not in terms of cast. It’s normal for single protagonist films to have other characters – much more unusual for them not to,” Gunn wrote. “None of those roles [in Legacy] are cameos.”
Superman: Legacy flies into theaters on July 11, 2025.
(Via Deadline)