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Man of Steel's Zack Snyder tells Superman's James Gunn to do ‘more shots of punching’ in hilarious Rick and Morty cameo
Playing exaggerated versions of themselves, directors Zack Snyder and James Gunn engaged in banter that both roasted and celebrated their filmmaking styles.
Two Superman directors walk into a Warner Bros. cafeteria—and Rick and Morty turns it into animated gold. James Gunn and Zack Snyder, both of whom have helmed cinematic takes on the iconic superhero, made self-deprecating guest appearances as exaggerated versions of themselves in the seventh episode of Season 8, titled Ricker Than Fiction.
The episode centers around Rick and Morty’s disappointment with a fictional franchise called Maximum Velocitree. Their frustration leads them to the Warner Bros. lot to confront the film’s director—none other than James himself. Along the way, the episode pulls in Zack for an unexpected and delightfully ridiculous cameo.
Zack, who launched the DC Extended Universe with 2013’s Man of Steel, a visually stylized and action-heavy take on Superman starring Henry Cavill, doesn’t hold back in teasing his successor. As he runs into James at the WB cafeteria, he quips, “Just saw your new cut of Superman. And word of advice, he’s the ‘Man of Steel,’ not the ‘Man of Conversation.’ Do more shots of him punching! And here’s a secret move: start the punch at regular speed and then you’re gonna ramp it down.”
James fires back with a grin: “Your biceps are the size of my head.” SnyderZack, never missing a beat, replies, “Yes, but so is my heart.”
The animated roast continues with Zack explaining who Rick Sanchez is. “That’s the guy who sealed Christopher Nolan in the giant bookcase to ‘punish’ him for Interstellar. He doesn’t represent real fans. He’s just the smartest man in the universe. Don’t sweat it. He can’t do what we do. Probably,” he says.
The episode piles on the satire, taking jabs at Hollywood’s obsession with reboots, fan service, and cinematic excess. Even a potential Count Chocula movie gets skewered. The ongoing fandom debate—Henry Cavill’s Superman versus David Corenswet’s—gets cheekily addressed too. At one point, when Zack tries to offer advice with his signature slo-mo flair, James retorts, “It’s not a f***ing secret!”
According to executive producer Scott Marder, both filmmakers leaned fully into the show’s irreverent tone. “They were good sports,” he told Variety. “Both of those guys sort of implied that this is the show they watch when they have downtime. So they were thrilled to get to be a part of the world, and there was no pushback or bristling. If anything, they laughed at anything we threw at them,” he added.
