As a writer, I feel like a female and male: James Gunn

There’s one thing that ties together director James Gunn’s (right) films, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Slither (2006) and Dawn of the Dead (2004) and that is the presence of strong female characters. Gunn says it’s not intentional and comes naturally. “As a human being, I am male, but when I write, I feel like a female and a male. I have just always been attracted to female protagonists, as a writer,” he says.

In the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn found the idea of exploring the relationship between two sisters to be something that is not utilised much in films, especially in superhero movies. “They are always about brothers, or father or son... I think in the first part too, having a movie about a mother and son was a unique thing for a superhero movie,” he added. Adapted from the comics, Guardians of the Galaxy revolved around a group of intergalactic criminals forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe. The sequel continues the team’s adventures as they unravel the mystery of the protagonist’s true parentage. Gunn says that the sequel is an adventure film, a comedy and a space opera tied up into one brightly colored package, but that at its core, it’s a family melodrama. The films star Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Asian actor Pom Klementieff with Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as voice talent.

Gunn asserts that he doesn’t think about diversity, but definitely tries to get different types of people in a film. “I will say that one of the greatest experiences that I ever had in casting was for the role of Mantis (essayed by Klementieff). She is an Asian female in the comics and I thought that she should be Asian female in the film too,” he says.