James Gunn reveals the secret role he played in the origin of Tom Holland's Spider-Man

James Gunn is best known amongst Marvel fans for helming the Guardians of the Galaxy films, but he has also secretly played a role in shaping up the character arc of Tom Holland's Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Gunn revealed his role in helping shape the origin and character journey of Spiderman in Homecoming in a recent interview with The Wrap, where he said that he had read the script for the first solo outing of Holland's Spidey.

In the interview, he also admitted that he served as a consultant on other MCU projects as well, such as Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel.

"I was consulting on everything. I was consulting on all the Marvel movies. Kevin would send me the script for ‘Spider-Man’ and I’d give my notes. He’d send me the script for ‘Doctor Strange,’ ‘Captain Marvel,’ and I’d give notes on all of those scripts. It was really as a friend and as somebody who was a part of the team and a team player."

In the interview, Gunn also revealed that he had been hard at work at expanding the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by creating and setting up stories and characters to be introduced at a later date.

James Gunn held an executive producer credit on two of the most iconic Marvel films, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He also provided notes to Taika Waititi for the Guardians' brief appearance in the latter's film, Thor: Love and Thunder.

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Will Marvel miss James Gunn's inputs going forward?

James Gunn has proven himself to be a talented filmmaker who understands story and character. (Image via Getty)

The answer is yes, Gunn has proven via his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy films that he is a passionate storyteller, who cares about character dynamics and growth, world-building, emotional beats, and more.

To top it all off, he is also a comic book enthusiast by his own admission and his portfolio of work happens to include primarily superhero films or films about people with superpowers, such as Rainn Wilson's Super and Brightburn.

Gunn has also shown through his work in the Guardians films that he cares about the small moments in otherwise big films. He has shown that underneath all the action and special effects, there are characters who are very much similar to normal humans and have a sense of relatability in them.

Had James Gunn not been fired earlier by Marvel for his controversial tweets, there was a possibility that he could have become a top executive and taken on a more creative role for other MCU projects besides the Guardians of the Galaxy films. He could have directly helped Kevin Feige by providing valuable inputs on the critical story and character elements and important plot points.

Currently, James Gunn is hard at work at Marvel's rival studio DC, where he is now the co-CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran and is in a role similar to that of Kevin Feige. He will now supervise not only the films and television shows but will also include animation and video games under his purview and ensure that continuity exists between all the mediums.

Gunn's upcoming DC projects include the Superman reboot titled Superman: Legacy which will release on July 11, 2025, and which he will write and direct.

He is also working on the animated series Creature Commandos, which also includes some cast members from both the MCU and the Guardians of the Galaxy films such as Frank Grillo, Maria Bakalova, and his brother and frequent collaborator, Sean Gunn.

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James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently running in theaters. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Homecoming is currently streaming on Disney+ in the United States after having released on May 12.