Superman fans are just discovering little-known link to another iconic movie

Superman fans are surprised after learning that director and writer James Gunn penned a divisive 2002 film before his foray into the superhero world. The new Superman movie stars David Corenswet in the titular role, with Nicholas Hoult as antagonist Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan playing Lois Lane.

It marks a reboot of the Superman franchise and is the first instalment of the new DC Universe, with James Gunn at the helm after leaving Marvel. The creator experienced success with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, which is part of the MCU, before his departure to join rivals at DC.

After some initial criticism, the film has been praised by superhero fanatics and film buffs alike, currently boasting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%.

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Some fans, however, didn’t realise James Gunn wrote the mystery comedy adventure film, Scooby-Doo, back in 2002.

The film had a stellar cast made up of Freddie Prinze Jr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and more but still pulled in just 32% on Rotten Tomatoes.

It received mainly negative reviews upon its release but has established itself as a bit of a cult classic.

On Reddit, one Scooby Doo fan was keen to point out the film’s link to the lauded new superhero movie.

They shared images of the film posters of both Scooby Doo and Superman and simply captioned them: “Same writer btw [by the way].”

In the comments section, people were keen to share their thoughts. One person said: “How am I only just learning this."

Another said: “Yeah and that’s why they are both great."

A third shared: “My one wish is for James Gunn to use his Hollywood clout to make a Scooby Doo 3 with the original cast."

A fourth commented: “Gunn has grown as a writer. Monsters Unleashed is one of my favourite films from him.”

Someone else replied: “Well, tell him to de-grow so we can get another Scooby Doo movie."

Another observed similarities between Superman and Scooby Doo: “Both movies have an unmasking, both movies have a strange dog, both movies have a kiss at the end."

Then one Reddit user simply said: “James Gunn sure has come a LONG way from Scooby Doo."

And another said: “[Ah], James Gunn... the man who hated Scrappy Doo so much he went out of his way to assassinate the character permanently. Loved both movies! EXACTLY who and what Superman needed to be.”

And someone decided to share their thoughts on the new Superman film. They penned: “I thought it was the best Superman movie since Reeves. I enjoyed the cameos and the other heroes who show up (trying to be spoiler free but Nathan Fillion was amazing).

“Thought Krypto was a fun addition but not over the top. Enjoyed that it didn’t rehash the origin story all over again.

“The plot was easy to follow but still interesting. The tone and vibe of the movie are much better than some of the stuff we saw with like Snyder DCEU.

“I’d honestly say it reminded me of Toby McGuire Spider-Man type superhero flicks but with updated effects and budget."