Before Superman, Mikaela Hoover Starred In A Forgotten James Gunn Web Series

With over three decades in the filmmaking industry, James Gunn has had quite the journey. His background with Troma Entertainment helped shape his creative sensibilities in genre filmmaking and comedy. When you look at his mainstream screenwriting breakthroughs with "Scooby-Doo" and "Dawn of the Dead," you get a good idea of the booming career that was to come. Following his one-two punch of indie cult classics such as "Slither" and "Super," Gunn started gaining more recognition through the comic book movie genre with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy and "The Suicide Squad." Now, Gunn serves as the co-CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, and is currently enjoying the victory lap that was the DCU's debut film, "Superman," which has dominated the zeitgeist perhaps more than any blockbuster this summer.

Part of what makes James Gunn's creative process so fulfilling for him is his coterie of frequent collaborators. Looking beyond the main stars of both his Marvel and DC projects (i.e., Chris Pratt, John Cena, etc.), who reprise their respective roles in subsequent entries, there are actors who have contributed to numerous Gunn projects predating talking space raccoons and caped heroes. These include Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn (his brother), Nathan Fillion, Linda Cardellini, Gregg Henry, Lloyd Kaufman, and Mikaela Hoover. Hoover (along with Sean Gunn and Fillion) had a supporting role in "Superman," playing Daily Planet columnist Cat Grant, and previously appeared in Gunn's "Super," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Suicide Squad," and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." However, fans may not realize that Gunn and Hoover have both collaborated on a forgotten web series.

Years before James Gunn directed Mikaela Hoover in his sophomore effort "Super," the two first worked together on the comedy short film "Humanzee!," which also starred Sean Gunn and Michael Rooker. However, perhaps the most interesting project Gunn and Hoover collaborated on prior to the bigger budget comic book franchises was the web series, "Sparky & Mikaela." In the series, Hoover played a down-on-her-luck high school student who fights crime along with her friend, Sparky (Joe Fria), who happens to be a talking raccoon. Both "Humanzee!" and "Sparky & Mikaela" were produced for Xbox Live. Hoover reflected on her long-term collaborative relationship with Gunn in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

"I auditioned for James 17 years ago for an internet short called 'Humanzee!,'and after I auditioned, I asked to do it again. And he was like, "But that was great." And I said, "No, I want to do it again." So I did it again, and then he was like, "That was amazing." And I was like, "No, I want to do it again." So I kept doing it over and over again and bossing him around. He found it endearing and funny and charming, and he ended up casting me in 'Humanzee!.'

A few months after that, he called me and said that he and [producer] Peter [Safran] had created a show for me called 'Sparky & Mikaela.' So they asked if I would be interested in playing [the title character] Mikaela, and I, of course, said, 'Yes, that sounds like so much fun.' It was me, a raccoon [puppet], and Sean Gunn. After that, he cast me in other shorts and projects that he did."

Obviously, the fact that "Sparky & Mikaela" involved a talking raccoon is quite serendipitous for James Gunn. Several years later, he would introduce audiences to perhaps the most famous raccoon in popular culture today in "Guardians of the Galaxy." Hoover had a brief role in the first film, playing Nova Prime's assistant, but had a notable voice role in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," voicing the cybernetically altered rabbit, Floor, who was one of Rocket's earliest friends.

With "Superman" still at the center of much discussion amongst audiences a month after its debut in theaters, many have sung the praises of James Gunn's depiction of the Daily Planet. Of course, you have Clark Kent (David Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) at the heart of it all, but the staff of Metropolis' newspaper includes Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett), and the aforementioned Cat Grant. Of the staff, Jimmy Olsen is undeniably the most memorable, given his irresistible charm and direct involvement in one of the plot's major conflicts.

The Daily Planet staff is a wonderful highlight in "Superman," but beyond Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy, the rest of the staff felt a bit underused in comparison. Mikaela Hoover did a fine job as Cat, with one notable scene involving her having a one-sided discussion with Lois about relationships. The same can be said about Beck Bennett's Steve Lombard and Wendell Pierce's Perry White, who are commendable but deserved more screen time. Here's hoping that with a "Superman" sequel or any other DCU follow-up set in Metropolis, we get a chance to see more from the likes of Cat Grant, Steve Lombard, Perry White, and the rest of the Daily Planet.

"Superman" is now playing in theaters. You can read /Film's review here.