Timeline: James Gunn’s long and winding road from Troma to the top of DC Studios

James Gunn had a lot of news to share Tuesday. Honing his skills in the indie horror realm, Gunn became a household name after directing Marvel Studios’ hit “Guardians of the Galaxy”. In his review of the film, released in 2014, former Times film critic Kenneth Turan described “Guardians” as “pleasant and surprising,” adding that the film is “blessed with a loose, anarchic B-picture soul that encourages you to enjoy yourself even when you’re not quite sure what’s going on.” Other critics and audiences agreed, and “Guardians” went on to gross over $772 million at the worldwide box office, making it the third-highest-grossing film of that year. 2018 - 2022: Controversy, firing and return to the fold Despite Gunn’s successful record with the “Guardians” franchise, Disney was quick to fire him from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Gunn made his DC debut with “The Suicide Squad” in 2021, a sort of sequel/reboot of 2016’s critically panned “Suicide Squad.” In his review, Times film critic Justin Chang described the film as a “scuzzy cinematic joy-bomb,” writing “fter 2016’s ugly, bludgeoning ‘Suicide Squad,’ I couldn’t imagine liking — and could barely stomach the idea of seeing — another movie called ‘Suicide Squad.’ I’m delighted to be proven wrong.” The film received generally positive reviews, but its pandemic timing and simultaneous theatrical and streaming release resulted in a meager $168.7 million worldwide box office haul.