James Gunn faces nepotism accusations as Sean Gunn is set to play villain Maxwell Lord in brother's DC Universe

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Director James Gunn faced a wave of criticism over perceived nepotism when he tapped his brother, actor Sean Gunn, to play iconic DC Comics villain Maxwell Lord in the expanding DC Universe franchise.

The controversial casting choice was announced on Thursday, December 7, amid a slate of upcoming DC projects spearheaded by James and producer Peter Safran, as reported by IGN.

Iconic DC villain Maxwell Lord was most recently played by Pedro Pascal in 'Wonder Woman 1984'

While Maxwell Lord will reportedly only be referenced in the background of the highly anticipated Superman reboot 'Superman: Legacy', he is expected to play a pivotal role in future installments of the serialized 'Gods and Monsters' saga.

The decision to cast Sean immediately prompted a backlash on social media from DC fans accusing James of flagrant nepotism by casting his brother rather than considering other actors.

Sean steps into a role most recently played by Pedro Pascal as the unscrupulous villain hellbent on world domination in 2020’s 'Wonder Woman 1984'.

Maxwell Lord first debuted in the 1987 'Justice League' comic series as a wealthy businessman secretly manipulating the League for his own nefarious purposes. His shape-shifting abilities and mind-control powers have long posed a threat to the DCU.

Internet erupts with accusations of flagrant nepotism against James Gunn

The online backlash was swift and severe as fans accused James of nepotism and called his brother, Sean, unworthy of the coveted role.

An X (formerly Twitter) user fumed, "James Gunn needs to be stopped. This nepotism is getting out of hand," while another noted, "Dude, Pedro Pascal is 10000000 times better actor than Sean Gunn. Of course for [James Gunn] it is all about nepotism and lies."

Someone else expressed, "This is poor casting from James Gunn for the fact that Sean Gunn hasn't really been in anything other than something his brother was involved in making. There's so many actors that deserve the chance but James Gunn has got to cast his family in everything. Again."

One naysayer commented, "James Gunn [is] an absolute nepo-lord (I like Sean Gunn as an actor! But like, what we doing here lol)," while a person added, "Pedro [Pascal] is a legend meanwhile Sean Gunn has creeps roles and what’s funny [is] James Gunn is doing nepo." 

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