James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s. He then began working as a director, starting with the horror-comedy film Slither (2006), and eventually moving to the superhero genre with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), its sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and The Suicide Squad (2021). He also wrote and directed the web series James Gunn's PG Porn (2008–2009), and the superhero film Super (2010).