James Gunn and Zack Snyder made a surprise guest appearance in the latest episode of Rick and Morty, where they voiced over-the-top versions of themselves.
Some fans have been speculating that Gunn and Snyder might be feuding ever since the former took over the DC franchise. However, they have clarified that they are friends and remain on good terms. Now, they are poking fun at the rumor through the popular animated series.
Did James Gunn and Zack Snyder Appear in Rick and Morty?
In the recent episode of Rick and Morty season 8 titled "Ricker Than Fiction," Gunn and Snyder made an appearance as a fictionalized version of themselves.
The story focused on Rick and Morty not being happy with the direction of their favorite movie franchise, "Maximum Velocitree." They headed to Warner Bros. to confront Gunn.
However, when Gunn shot down their complaints, Rick and Morty decided to use the "Movie-lizer" to write the franchise themselves.
Gunn and Snyder had a run-in at the Warner Bros. cafeteria, where they traded jabs about the new Superman movie.
"Just saw your new cut of Superman. Word of advice, he’s the ‘Man of Steel,’ not the ‘Man of Conversation.’ Do more shots of him punching," Snyder said to Gunn. He went on to offer tips on how to film the action sequences.
Gunn said in response, "It's not a f****** secret! I'm sorry, Zack Snyder. I shouldn't be lashing out at you. Your biceps are the size of my head." Then, he explained his dilemma with Rick and Morty's complaints about the franchise.
Many fans were surprised when the two filmmakers appeared in the episode, as their presence had been kept under wraps.
How Did Rick and Morty Manage to Recruit James Gunn and Zack Snyder?
In an interview with Variety, Rick and Morty executive producer Scott Marder revealed that the idea to bring in Gunn and Snyder originated from the episode that skewers Hollywood and fandom.
"We were like, if we’re going to do a movie and we’re going skewer Hollywood, we feel like we have to include our bosses. So we started thinking about Warner Bros. Who’d be a good face to be kind of the villain here? James Gunn just seemed like such a good choice," he explained.
"We were all pretty sure that whenever [writer Rob] Schrab reached out Gunn he would be a million percent in the middle of doing Superman. But he not only did he respond instantly with a yes, but I think he ran it up the chain at Warner Bros. that same day."
Marder continued, "We had people on our production side who were like, ‘How is it that James Gunn and Zaslav and all these people already know about this episode?’ We didn’t think it would actually move this quickly."
Gunn and Snyder recorded their lines back-to-back on the same day and took a photo together after the recording session ended.
"They both came in and were really good sports. I’m a very proud nerd, I idolize both these guys. They’ve got creative freedom very few people have in Hollywood to take big swings," Marder said.
"When [creator Dan Harmon] heard that they were on board and they were coming in, he sort of cracked his knuckles and wanted to make sure the episode lived up to and was worthy of them, having to deliver those lines."
What do you think of Gunn and Snyder's cameo? Let us know in the comments.
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