Much of the talk surrounding James Gunn in recent months centered around his ousting from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, after offensive jokes he tweeted several years ago were brought to Disney’s attention and they booted him from the project. However, another project of Gunn’s is starting to command a bit of the spotlight: BrightBurn, a horror film that is now scheduled to come out in May 2019.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that BrightBurn was originally supposed to come out in November of this year, but plans were changed when Gunn came under fire for his offensive tweets. The setback does not appear to have dampened Sony’s opinion of the project, as it will now be released over Memorial Day weekend. This is typically seen as a spot for surefire blockbusters, and BrightBurn will be competing with Disney’s live action version of Aladdin and the Warner Bros. Minecraft adaptation.
BrightBurn was supposed to be formally unveiled at San Diego Comic Con earlier this year, but Gunn was pulled from the event when the controversy surrounding him started to grow. Therefore, we know very little about the project, but here are the details we have so far:
- Gunn is producing the film, but not directing it.
- David Yarovesky will be sitting in the director’s chair – he appeared as bit roles in both Guardians of the Galaxy films, and has directed only one feature film: 2015’s The Hive.
- BrightBurn was written by Gunn’s brother Brian and his cousin Mark Gunn.
- We don’t know particulars about their roles yet, but the film has a strong cast: Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Power Rangers), David Denman (13 Hours, Logan Lucky), Meredith Hagner (Ingrid Goes West), and Matt Jones (Breaking Bad, Adventure Time) are all involved in the project.
Though BrightBurn has been pushed back, it seems likely that Sony has big things in mind for James Gunn’s next project. It is scheduled to release May 24, 2019. Stay tuned for more information on the film as it becomes available.
