Posted in: Movies, Pop Culture, TV | Tagged: james gunn, judy blume, stephen king

James Gunn Cites Stephen King, Judy Blume as Pivitol Gen X Influencers

In terms of authors who had some of the biggest impacts on Gen X, James Gunn (Peacemaker, Superman) credits Stephen King and Judy Blume.

We've said it before, but it bears repeating: Writer, director, and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn (Peacemaker, Superman) has become a pro at using social media to his advantage in all of the right ways. When he's not shutting down rumors and gossip, he's sharing a look behind the scenes of the projects he's working on and offering updates on how the New DCU is shaping up. Then, there are those times when a post touches upon a random topic from the pop culture universe. In this case, Gunn offered his thoughts on the books/authors most associated with Gen X in terms of both success and long-term influence – Stephen King and Judy Blume, two iconic authors who are definitely deserving of the honor.

With Gen X running from 1965 to 1980, you're talking about an early run from King that included Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand, The Dead Zone, Firestarter, and others. And look at just some of the titles from Blume that were published during that time period – with every one of them an influencer: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Then Again, Maybe I Won't, Freckle Juice, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Blubber, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, and Superfudge.

Here's a look at Blume being interviewed by Jimmy Fallon for NBC's The Tonight Show, and make sure to check out King sharing his personal top five works with Stephen Colbert for CBS's The Late Show:

Joining the cast for the season is Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr. (from Creature Commandos), Sol Rodriguez (Star Trek: Picard) as Sasha Bordeaux, Tim Meadows (Mean Girls, Saturday Night Live) as ARGUS Agent Langston Fleury, and David Denman (Bosch: Legacy) in an undisclosed role. Behind the camera, Gunn also confirmed that Greg Mottola (Superbad) and Peter Sollett (Ordinary Joe) had been tapped to direct a few of the season's episodes. Now, here's a look back at the opening credits for the first season as we imagine what the opener for Season 2 will be like:

Steve Agee (Super, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Brightburn) rejoined Gunn and Cena for Peacemaker, reprising his film role of John Economos, a warden of Belle Reve Federal Penitentiary and an aide to Viola Davis' Amanda Waller. Danielle Brooks (Orange Is The New Black) joined the series as Leota Adebayo, with Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) in the role of Auggie Smith. Jennifer Holland (Brightburn) reprised her film role of Emilia Harcourt, and Freddie Stroma (Bridgerton) took on the role of Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante. In addition, Chukwudi Iwuji (When They See Us) as Clemson Murn, Lochlyn Munro (Riverdale) as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang (Shades of Blue) as Detective Sophie Song, Christopher Heyerdahl (Togo) as Captain Locke, Nhut Le (Kroll Show) as Judomaster, and Elizabeth Faith Ludlow (The Walking Dead) and Rizwan Manji (Perfect Harmony) as recurring characters of Keeya and Jamil. Alison Araya (Riverdale) & Lenny Jacobson (Narcos: Mexico) were tapped for the roles of the married couple Amber and Evan, respectively.

Gunn, Brad Anderson (Session 9), Rosemary Rodriguez (The Walking Dead), and Jody Hill (The Righteous Gemstones) directed the eight-episode series. Gunn and Peter Safran served as executive producers, with Cena as co-executive producer. Peacemaker was produced by Gunn's Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros TV. The series explores the origins of Cena's The Suicide Squad character, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.

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