After her DCEU debut in 2021's The Suicide Squad, Jennifer Holland's Emilia Harcourt ended up having more appearances in the franchise with a series regular role in Peacemaker and cameos in Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. She became one of the connective tissues within the recent DCEU projects.
However, her multiple appearances have been met with backlash from some fans since Holland is the wife of The Suicide Squad director and current DC Studios co-chairman James Gunn and she is being accused of getting more appearances due to marital privilege and connection.
Recently, Gunn addressed the issue on Twitter by responding to a fan who called him out to stop casting Holland in "every DC project." He clarified that he has nothing to do with his wife's casting in other DCEU projects besides his own film as they were shot way before his hiring as DC Studios co-chairman.
"The only DC movie I’ve ever cast my wife in was #TheSuicideSquad. I had nothing to do with the casting of any other movie - anything else was shot a year or so ago while I was deep in [Guardians of the Galaxy] Vol 3. But I know some of you are deeply in need of reasons to hate," he tweeted.
This should settle down the backlash regarding Holland's multiple involvements in the DCEU. After all, Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods was made under the previous regime of the DC and Gunn has no creative control over the making of those films since he was still a director-for-hire for the studio at that time.
It is also clear that Harcourt's appearances in the two aforementioned films were only for the sake of connective tissue and proof that they are all part of the shared universe. It also helps that the character is a government agent so it makes sense that she is the person who interacts with the heroes.
Now that Gunn is in charge of the franchise, it is interesting to see how Holland's character will play into the new DCU and whether her recurring appearances will still continue.
Also Read: DC Fans Find James Gunn’s Superman Reboot Film Underwhelming
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now showing in theaters. You can check more details about it here.
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