James Gunn has always been pretty open about his pop culture obsessions, but his latest confession may surprise even longtime comic book movie fans. The DC Studios co-head is a die-hard Big Brother viewer, and now he’s teasing the idea of sneaking some of his favorite houseguests into the DC Universe. Yes, the man who gave us Peacemaker, Guardians of the Galaxy and Superman (2025) might also be the guy who puts reality TV winners in Gotham or Metropolis.
The conversation started when Gunn popped up on Big Brother: Unlocked on September 19, sitting alongside Julie Chen Moonves to chat about the current season. Entertainment Weekly later pressed him on whether he could take a page out of Mike White’s book. White, the Survivor alum turned creator of The White Lotus, is living proof that you can merge the guilty pleasures of reality TV with the prestige of scripted storytelling. Gunn didn’t shoot the idea down. In fact, he sounded like someone who had already been mulling it over.
“I’ve become very friendly with [winners] Taylor [Hale] and Derrick [Levasseur],” Gunn told EW. “And so if they want a cameo in a DC project in the future — not necessarily with dialogue, but if they want to come by and do what other people have been doing in my movies for so long, they’re more than welcome to do that.”
For the record, he’s not promising Taylor Hale the role of Supergirl or handing Derrick Levasseur the keys to the Batcave. Gunn laughed off the notion, joking, “I don’t know if I see Derrick as necessarily somebody who would be a great actor. So I don’t know if I see them as characters. But they could be a cashier or something.” The man clearly understands the limits of reality TV alumni, but he’s also always loved peppering his films with oddball cameos.
Julie Chen Moonves, who has seen plenty of unexpected twists in her two decades of hosting Big Brother, was all in on the idea. “It was incredible! Talk about expect the unexpected!!! Who knew he’s been watching since season 1?!” she gushed to EW. “He is a true fan through and through and that really came through. I love how invested he is in the show, both time-wise and in his veins!” Moonves even pitched her own scene for the DCU: Taylor Hale cameoing while Zingbot takes a coffee break, headpiece off, laughing it up with The Mastermind and Jankie.
The timing for a crossover is tricky, though. Gunn’s current plate is stacked with superhero content. Peacemaker season 2 is streaming on HBO Max, Supergirl is slated to fly into theaters on June 26, 2026, and Superman: Man of Tomorrow follows on July 9, 2027. I suppose the Big Brother reality TV winners could fit into any one of those DCU projects.
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