Zachary Levi (Shazam) gently roasts James Gunn’s nepotistic hiring habits

The DC Cinematic Universe we knew is gone. Gone is Henry Cavill as Superman. Ben Affleck will not be returning as Batman. If you’re were hoping for Zachary Levi to star in Shazam 3, give up. The old DCU is being swept to make room for a new universe to be built from the ground up by producer Peter Safran and director James Gunn, with a whole new crop of stars.

That said, a few actors may be sticking around. We’ve heard that Jason Momoa, who plays Aquaman in the current DCU, may continue to play the King of the Seven Seas, or maybe even transition into playing a new character. And we just heard that Sean Gunn, who played the minor roles of Weasel and Calendar Man in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, will be playing evil businessman Maxwell Lord, the role played by Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984. We’re not sure exactly which movies will feature Maxwell, but Sean Gunn will be around.

So why do some actors get to carry over from the old DC universe to the new and others don’t? Speaking to ComicBook.com, actor Zachary Levi — who played the title character in two Shazam movies — said that while those kinds of decisions were above his paygrade, he wouldn’t mind sticking around. “I would love to be able to do more iterations of it. I would love to collaborate with Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern.”

The interview is pretty mild, but the bit that’s getting a lot of attention online is when Levi makes a barbed comment about Sean Gunn — who is James Gunn’s brother — getting to stay on in the new DCU. “When you’re the brother of the guy who runs DC, I guess you get to play whoever you want,” Levi joked.

Sean Gunn, Gilmore Girls, superheroes, nepotism, and the art of letting go

I was actually familiar with Sean Gunn before I knew anything about his brother. I will always remember Sean Gunn as Kirk, the village strange person on The CW show Gilmore Girls back in the mid-2000s.

It was a little odd to then see Sean Gunn pop up in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy as Kraglin, not because he was bad — he’s got solid comedic timing — but just because I couldn’t stop remembering his Gilmore Girls character. The weirdest thing for me was when Sean Gunn was on the poster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. What was Kirk doing standing next to Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista?

The Guardians movies, obviously, were directed by Sean’s brother James Gunn, as was The Suicide Squad. Do I think that Sean Gunn would have had no career post-Gilmore Girls if it weren’t for his brother helping him out? No; he’s a talented guy. Do I think that Sean Gunn, who plays a supporting comic relief character in the Guardians films, would be given equal space alongside Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper if it weren’t for his brother helping him out? Also no.

Nepotism is nothing new, especially in Hollywood, and I think it’s pretty clear that Sean Gunn has benefitted from it. But also…eh, I don’t think it’s a huge deal. If your brother was a major mover and shaker and offered you an awesome gig, wouldn’t you take it?

I also don’t want to weigh in on whether Zachary Levi is overly bitter or anything. I don’t know his life. And he’s doing fine. His new movie, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, comes out on Netflix on December 15.

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