James Gunn

James Gunn was born on August 5, 1966, in St. Louis, MO, and grew up between there and Manchester, MO.

James is a talented musician and writer whose career has included screenwriting work in both television and film, as well as musical endeavors. As the frontman of the St. Louis band The Icons, Gunn saw success with the songs “Sunday” and “Walking Naked,” which were in the movie Tromeo and Juliet. The band broke up and went their separate ways in the 1990s, but Gunn went on to compose music for the movies Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and Movie 43.

After creating the music for Scooby-Doo, James achieved more success in the film industry by writing the screenplay for the film’s sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, as well as the one for 2004’s remake of Dawn of the Dead. He couldn’t be limited to writing and composing music, however, so James moved on to directing with the movie Slither.

In 2008, Gunn worked on the short films Sparky and Mikaela and Humanzee!, and James Gunn’s PG Porn, which was a short-form web series for Spike.com. Another endeavor that year was working as a judge on the VH1 show, Scream Queens, in which a group of unknown actresses competed for a chance to act in the film Saw VI. His release of Super, a superhero satire starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page in 2010, added to his list of accomplishments.

Never one to settle for minor victories, Gunn took on the Guardians of the Galaxy project in 2014, co-writing and directing the film for Marvel Studios. His work on this movie opened the door for him to write the screenplay and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and work as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in the coming years. Finally, in 2019, he landed the job of writing and directing The Suicide Squad.

James’ personal life has included a marriage to Jenna Fischer, whom he met through his brother Sean. The couple married on October 7, 2000, and remained married for seven years until they separated in 2007 and divorced the next year. He is not married today but has enjoyed a five-year romance with actress Jennifer Holland. His career in the film industry is moving forward, as his film The Suicide Squad, sequel to the similarly titled Suicide Squad, is slated for release in August next year. With all these accomplishments under his belt, James Gunn is sure to have many ventures ahead of him in the film industry.